14 Business Programs for Middle School Students
If you want to see how ideas turn into actual businesses, middle school business programs can give you that exposure much earlier than most classrooms do!
What do business programs involve?
Business programs for middle school students focus on hands-on learning. You may work on budgeting activities, create a business pitch, study customer behavior, or build a plan around a product idea. Some programs also include group projects where students take different roles and work together to solve problems or present ideas to instructors and mentors.
How are business programs for middle schoolers helpful?
These programs help you develop practical skills that carry across subjects. You improve communication, teamwork, decision-making, and problem-solving while learning how ideas are developed and presented clearly. These are skills that remain relevant whether you later study business, engineering, media, or social sciences. They also help you test your interests early in a low-pressure environment. You get exposure to entrepreneurship and leadership while still in middle school, and the experience gives you stronger examples of initiative and project work later on.
For mentorship opportunities to build your business, you should have a look at this guide on building a business.
To make your search easier, here are 14 business programs for middle school students!
14 Business Programs for Middle School Students
1. UC Berkeley Academic Talent Development Program Secondary Division - Introduction to Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Location: University of California, Berkeley, CA
Cost: $790 ($225 with full financial aid)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 22 - July 29; June 23 - July 31
Application Deadline: May 29
Eligibility: Students completing grades 7 through 11
This Berkeley course introduces you to how startup ideas move from early concepts into actual products and services. Across the program, you work in teams to develop a venture idea while learning how entrepreneurs think about problems, markets, and product development. The sessions focus on areas like ideation, business strategy, and pitching, but most of the learning happens through collaborative projects and startup-style exercises rather than lectures alone. You also interact with instructors and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who guide discussions around how innovation works in real companies. The course gradually builds toward developing and presenting your own venture concept by the end of the session.
2. Junior Innovator Program
Location: 100% virtual, with one-on-one mentorship and interactive events
Cost: Varies by program; need-based financial aid is available
Program Dates: Flexible start dates; vary by cohort
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Open to middle school students
The Junior Innovator Program is a virtual entrepreneurship incubator program where you develop an actual project that solves a problem you care about. Over the course of the program, you take your idea from curiosity to creation by applying principles of entrepreneurship, pitching, and business thinking in a structured, hands-on setting. You work through one-on-one mentorship sessions that cover ideation, market thinking, and foundational business concepts, while also participating in fireside chats, remote socials, and group discussions with a global cohort of student founders. Throughout the experience, you receive mentorship from entrepreneurs and professionals with backgrounds at organizations such as Google, Microsoft, and McKinsey, helping you understand how innovation and venture-building work in practice. You refine your communication and leadership skills by presenting your project and incorporating feedback from peers and mentors.
3. NYU College and Career Lab - Practice Lab
Location: New York University, Washington Square Campus, NY
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 6 - July 31
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Middle school students attending New York City public schools
NYU’s College and Career Lab introduces you to business and entrepreneurship through workshops, field trips, and university-led classes on the Washington Square campus. During the summer portion, you attend sessions covering areas like marketing, accounting, and entrepreneurship while interacting with faculty and professionals connected to companies like Google and Facebook. The business track combines classroom discussions with career exposure, so the experience moves between learning concepts and seeing how industries actually operate. The program also continues during the academic year through Saturday Practice Labs, which means the support extends beyond just one summer session.
4. Girls Crushing It
Location: Orinda Library, 26 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA
Cost: $250
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: March 8
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Girls and gender-expansive youth ages 8 - 18
Girls Crushing It is a product-based entrepreneurship program where you create, market, and sell an actual product through a public pop-up shop event. First-time participants begin with Entrepreneurship 101 workshops before moving into product creation, branding, pricing, and booth planning. Returning students can join advanced workshops led by partners like Sephora and Nasdaq’s Entrepreneurial Center. Throughout the program, you also take part in mentorship sessions, pitch activities, and field trips connected to entrepreneurship and business ownership. The experience builds toward the final market event where you sell directly to customers in a live setting.
5. Summer Springboard: Middle School Business & Entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, University of Washington, and Vanderbilt
Cost: $1,298 - $1,598, depending on campus
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Multiple one-week sessions, June–July
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Middle school students
Held on campuses like UC Berkeley and Vanderbilt, this one-week program introduces you to how businesses are built from the ground up. Working in teams, you develop a company concept, create a marketing strategy, and build a business plan before presenting your final idea to mentors and mock investors. The sessions focus heavily on collaboration and pitching, so most of the program revolves around building and defending your business idea under time pressure. The final Shark Tank-style presentation becomes the center of the experience by the end of the week.
6. Duke Pre-College (Middle School Courses- Entrepreneurship)
Location: Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Cost: Residential: $6,050; Commuter: $3,950
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 13 - June 24, June 28 - July 9, July 13 - July 24
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Middle School: Current 6-8 grade
This Duke course introduces you to how entrepreneurs identify problems, research markets, and turn ideas into workable businesses. You spend time learning areas like branding, budgeting, pitching, and customer research through a mix of lectures and hands-on activities. The course is taught by Duke faculty, PhD students, and industry professionals, so discussions stay connected to both academic and startup perspectives. The final startup pitch project asks your team to present a complete business idea, including the target audience, business model, and branding strategy.
7. NFTE Enterprise Program: Next-Level Startup
Location: Online
Cost: $595
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Self-paced
Application Deadline: Self-paced
Eligibility: Teens ages 13-17
This self-paced online course focuses on building an actual business using AI tools throughout the process. Over 90 days, you work through modules on branding, customer acquisition, product engineering, business pitching, and AI ethics while developing your own venture idea. The structure combines independent coursework with live weekly check-ins and collaboration opportunities, so the experience stays flexible without becoming fully isolated. A major focus of the course is understanding how AI tools can support modern entrepreneurship even without investors or large budgets.
8. UMBC Middle School Summer Programs - Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy Track
Location: University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD
Cost: $374
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 13 - July 17
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: 6 - 8 grade students
This UMBC course combines entrepreneurship with personal finance through activities focused on budgeting, business planning, and financial decision-making. You create your own budget while also developing and presenting a business idea during the program. The sessions connect entrepreneurship to everyday financial habits, so the learning stays practical instead of purely theoretical. Alongside business planning activities, the course also brings in math and critical-thinking exercises connected to financial literacy.
9. Dallas College Youth Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
Location: Dallas College Pleasant Grove Center, Dallas, TX
Cost: Not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 9 - July 18
Application Deadline: May 23
Eligibility: 7th - 10th graders
This six-week hybrid bootcamp introduces you to entrepreneurship through a mix of in-person sessions, virtual learning, and business field trips. Each week focuses on a different business area, including product development, pitching, and financial literacy, while local entrepreneurs join as guest speakers throughout the program. The structure gradually builds toward a final business fair where you present your venture idea to a live audience. Since the middle portion of the course runs remotely, the format combines flexibility with hands-on activities across the full six weeks.
10. Discover Business Academy
Location: Online
Cost: $2,995
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 6 students
Dates: June 22 - July 3
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Middle school students ages 12-14
Discover Business Academy is a small-cohort online business course where you study core business and economics concepts through live interactive classes over two weeks. The curriculum moves through topics like finance, investing, branding, competition, and business law while gradually building toward a startup challenge at the end of the program. Since classes are capped at only six students, most sessions feel discussion-heavy and highly personalized instead of lecture-based. You also receive direct feedback and one-on-one tutorials from the instructor throughout the course, which allows the discussions to go deeper than many larger online programs.
11. Rice University Pre-College: Entrepreneurship: From Ideas to Impact in Fintech
Location: Online
Cost: $1,795
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: May 3 -May 31; May 17 - May 31; May 17 -June 14
Application Deadline: May 10
Eligibility: For students ages 13 and up
This Rice course explores entrepreneurship through fintech, focusing on how technologies like blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital payment systems are changing financial services. You study how fintech companies build business models, generate revenue, and reshape areas like investing and banking through innovation. The course connects concepts directly to startups and emerging technology companies operating in the real world. The flexible scheduling options also make it easier to complete the program across different timeframes instead of one fixed summer session. Throughout the course, the focus stays on understanding how technology and entrepreneurship intersect inside modern financial systems.
12. Business Enterprising with INCubatoredu
Location: Northwestern University, Evanston Campus
Cost: Tuition $3665; Residential Fee $2405
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Jun 28 - July 17
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Grade Level 6 - 8
This Northwestern-hosted program takes you through the full process of building and launching a product-based business. Working alongside instructors, you identify a real problem, develop a product idea, revise it through feedback, and eventually prepare it for an e-commerce marketplace. The course also introduces branding, pricing models, sales analysis, and pitch deck development, so the experience stays closely tied to how startups actually operate. Throughout the three weeks, you continuously refine your product and business strategy instead of working on disconnected classroom exercises. The final stages focus heavily on presenting and evaluating how your product performs in a market setting.
13. Entrepreneurship for Young Innovators
Location: Wangenheim Middle School, San Diego, CA
Cost: $495
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 13 - July 17
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Middle school students
This entrepreneurship course introduces you to how business ideas are developed, refined, and turned into small working ventures. Across the week, you build a business concept, create a business plan, and test how your idea could function in practice through hands-on activities and mini-business projects. The sessions focus heavily on creativity and experimentation, so most of the learning happens through building and revising ideas rather than listening to lectures. By the end of the course, you will have completed a project that reflects the business concept you worked on throughout the week.
14. Beta Camp (Prequel Explore)
Location: Online
Cost: $425 per month (2-month program); $2975 (8-month program)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 13 - July 17
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Open to middle school students
Beta Camp’s Prequel Explore program introduces you to entrepreneurship, technology, and startup thinking through weekly virtual workshops and collaborative projects. The sessions are activity-heavy, using simulations and creative exercises where you design business posters, research companies, and experiment with no-code tools to build simple digital projects. Since instructors come from startup and business backgrounds, many workshops revolve around how innovation and teamwork work inside real companies. The structure stays interactive throughout, with most sessions built around problem-solving and collaboration rather than lectures alone.