15 Business Summer Programs in Boston for High School Students
If you’re interested in a future in business, finance, or analytics, a summer program can be one of the most practical ways to test that interest early. Business summer programs give you the chance to move beyond textbooks and classroom theory, allowing you to explore how real companies operate, how financial decisions are made, and how data is used to guide strategy. In a city like Boston, where finance, startups, consulting, and innovation intersect, these programs offer exposure to real business environments.
What do business summer programs in Boston for high school students involve?
Business summer programs in Boston typically combine hands-on coursework, team-based projects, and applied problem-solving. You might analyze markets, build financial models, develop business plans, study entrepreneurship, or learn how data and analytics inform decision-making. Many programs emphasize presentation skills and collaborative work, helping you communicate ideas clearly.
How are business summer programs in Boston for high school students helpful?
Beyond skill-building, these programs can help you clarify your academic and career direction. You gain experience you can reference in college essays, interviews, and applications, showing admissions committees that you’ve explored business in a meaningful, structured way. Just as importantly, you often learn directly from faculty, industry professionals, and mentors, and connect with peers who share similar interests, creating early networking opportunities that can extend well beyond the summer.
If you’re also interested in paid business internship opportunities, check here.
Below is a list of business summer programs in Boston for high school students!
15 Business Summer Programs in Boston for High School Students
1. Suffolk University – Summer Entrepreneurship Program for High School Students
Cost: Free; lunch and a local subway/bus pass are provided
Program Dates: July 7–July 24
Application Deadline: Registration opens in January; applications close when spots are filled
Eligibility: Rising seniors with a minimum 2.7 GPA (rising juniors considered on a space-available basis)
Location: Suffolk University, Boston
In Suffolk’s Summer Entrepreneurship Program, you spend three intensive weeks learning how entrepreneurs launch ventures and create value in real organizations. You work in teams on a new venture concept, applying entrepreneurial frameworks to ideation, validation, and execution while building toward a final pitch presentation. The curriculum combines lectures, in-class activities, and hands-on projects, including designing crowdfunding campaigns and refining investor pitches. You also engage directly with guest speakers and entrepreneurs from Boston’s startup ecosystem, gaining insight into real-world decision-making and career paths. The program includes site visits and structured exposure to Suffolk’s business resources, including career development support and admissions workshops. This is an especially strong option if you want a free, in-person, credit-bearing entrepreneurship experience rooted in Boston’s business community.
2. Young Founders Lab
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring
Eligibility: The program is currently open to all high school students
Application Deadline: Varies according to cohort. You can access the application link here!
Location: Online
The Young Founder’s Lab is a start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a complex problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X. Apart from building the start-up itself, you will also participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and business ideations, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and more. The program is an excellent opportunity to delve into the world of business in high school and have a space to explore multiple theoretical as well as practical frameworks that lead to a successful business. You can check out the brochure for the program here.
3. Tufts University – Business Programs for High School Students
Cost: Varies by program; limited need-based financial aid is available
Program Dates: Multiple Summer sessions (varies by course and format)
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions until programs fill
Eligibility: High school students (typically rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors; specific prerequisites vary by course)
Location: Tufts University, Boston
Through Tufts’ pre-college business offerings, you participate in faculty-led intensives, seminars, and credit-bearing courses covering entrepreneurship, finance, marketing strategy, and management. Depending on the specific program you choose, you may work on startup ideation projects, market analysis case studies, or applied finance exercises grounded in real-world scenarios. You develop practical skills in business modeling, strategic thinking, and problem-solving using college-level frameworks rather than simplified classroom simulations. Instruction is delivered by faculty and practitioners from Tufts University, giving you exposure to both academic rigor and industry-informed perspectives. Many offerings include guest lectures, structured discussions, and collaborative group work, helping you build early experience with professional-style teamwork and presentations.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Program dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Application deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
Location: Online
Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Start-ups that offer internships range across a variety of industries, from tech/deep tech, and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average, raising over a million dollars. Past founders have included YCombinator alums, founders raising over 30 million dollars, or founders who previously worked at Microsoft, Google, and Facebook. In the program, you work closely with your managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present your work to the company. You are offered one-on-one training in communication, time management, and other such valuable skills, and you will also have the opportunity to attend group training sessions with other interns in your cohort. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.
5. Boston Leadership Institute — Three-Week Summer Business Program
Cost: Tuition: $2,500; Residential Fee (optional): $2,097
Program Dates: Session 1: June 22 – July 10 | Session 2: July 6 – July 24
Application Deadline: Rolling (space-available basis)
Eligibility: High school students with an interest in business, finance, and quantitative reasoning
Location: Boston Leadership Institute, Boston
You explore the fundamentals of finance and business analysis through a three-week, academically intensive summer program focused on how financial analysts evaluate markets and make decisions. You study core concepts such as stock, bond, and options valuation, cash flow analysis, forecasting, macroeconomic trends, and the role of institutions like the Federal Reserve. Alongside technical learning, you work on venture-style projects, designing a startup or strategic business concept complete with growth projections, revenue forecasts, and valuation models, which you present at the end of the program. The experience is supplemented by exposure to Boston’s financial and startup ecosystem, with past field trips including innovation hubs, investment firms, and business schools. This program is well-suited if you’re looking for a rigorous, finance-heavy summer experience that combines quantitative skills, business strategy, and presentation practice.
6. Harvard Secondary School Program
Cost: $4,180–$8,160, depending on credits; need-based financial aid is available
Program Dates: June 20–August 8
Application Deadline: Early Application & Priority Financial Aid: January 7, Regular Application & Financial Aid: February 11, Late Application: April 1 (or until courses fill)
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors; must be at least 16 years old by late June
Location: Online
Through Harvard’s Secondary School Program, you enroll in one or two college-credit courses and study alongside college students and adult learners. You can choose from business-relevant subjects such as economics, finance, entrepreneurship, global business trends, and public policy, depending on the session length and format. Coursework is intensive and discussion-driven, often involving case analyses, applied projects, and analytical writing. In the 7-week option, you can design a more specialized academic pathway by combining related courses, which is especially useful if you want depth in business or economics. You also gain exposure to professional-style learning through guest speakers, career-pathway courses, and collaborative projects capped at small cohort sizes.
7. Boston University Academic Immersion (AIM): Business
Cost: $5,640
Program Dates: Session 1 (Residential): June 28–July 17 | (Commuter): June 29–July 17 | Session 2 (Residential): July 19–August 7 | (Commuter): July 20–August 7
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions until program fills.
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors (entering junior or senior year in fall)
Location: Boston University, Boston
In BU’s AIM: Business course, you follow a structured “mornings = core concepts, afternoons = application” workflow that mirrors how business schools teach. You start with interactive lectures spanning marketing, finance, operations management, people/organizations, and quantitative methods for decision-making. In the afternoons, you apply those concepts through case studies and Boston-area field trips, then work in teams to build a New Product Development (NPD) business plan under instructor supervision. You practice business writing and slide-building, and you’ll need to organize your thinking into assumptions, customer logic, and operational constraints that hold up under questions. The program ends with you presenting your NPD business plan to peers, families, and select Questrom faculty, which adds a real “stakeholder presentation” layer to the experience.
8. Boston University High School Honors Program
Cost: Varies by course load and housing option
Program Dates: June 28–August 7
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions until courses fill
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors
Location: Boston University, Boston
In the BU High School Honors Program, you enroll in real undergraduate courses and study alongside college students, earning up to 8 college credits over six weeks. If you’re interested in business, you can choose from Questrom offerings such as management, business law, information systems, and emerging technologies, depending on availability and prerequisites. Coursework is intensive and mirrors the pace and expectations of BU undergraduates, requiring you to manage readings, assignments, and assessments independently. Beyond classes, you have access to BU’s academic resources and campus life, which adds a strong exposure-to-college dimension. This program is best suited if you want a serious, credit-bearing business or management experience that directly reflects how business is studied at the university level.
9. Boston University Summer Challenge – Business Seminar Track
Cost: $3,730; limited need-based scholarships are available
Program Dates: Session 1: June 14–June 26 | Session 2: July 5–July 17 | Session 3: July 19–July 31
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions (applications close when sessions fill)
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors
Location: Boston University, Boston
In the BU Summer Challenge program, you select two non-credit seminars, one of which can be a dedicated Business seminar focused on foundational business concepts and applied teamwork. In the Business seminar, you work in teams to develop new product ideas, build a basic business plan, and think through how to market and finance a new venture. The structure emphasizes discussion, group work, and project-based assignments, making it accessible even if you don’t have prior business coursework. Each seminar culminates in a final presentation, helping you practice communicating ideas clearly to an academic audience. You also gain early exposure to tools like BU’s learning management system and college-style instruction in small classes.
10. Babson Summer Study for High School Students
Cost: Online: $6,295; In-person (Day Student): $9,295; In-person (Residential): $12,995; need-based financial assistance is available
Program Dates: July 8–July 28
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions (priority information sessions in early January; applications close when seats fill)
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors; must be at least 16 years old by program start; English proficiency required for non-native speakers
Location: Online
In Babson Summer Study, you enroll in a credit-bearing entrepreneurship course (EPS 1110: Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience) and spend three intensive weeks learning how entrepreneurs approach real-world social, economic, and environmental challenges. You work in teams to analyze problems through an entrepreneurial lens, applying concepts from marketing, finance, leadership, and business communication to develop actionable solutions. A significant portion of your time is spent on collaborative projects, venture-style problem framing, and structured teamwork, closely mirroring how entrepreneurship is taught at the undergraduate level. Beyond coursework, you engage with Babson faculty, student mentors, and entrepreneurial leaders, gaining insight into how ideas move from concept to impact. If you choose the in-person format, your afternoons also include exposure to AI-for-business applications through NEIA’s complementary program.
11. Boston College – Business & Leadership Institute (Two-Week Non-Credit Program)
Cost: Residential: $5,800; Commuter: $3,200
Program Dates: June 29–July 10 | July 13–July 24 | July 27–August 7
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions (applications reviewed once complete; courses may fill early)
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors (ages 15–18); must be 15 by June 28 and not turn 19 before August 7
Location: Boston College, Boston
In Boston College’s Business & Leadership Institute, you participate in a two-week, non-credit business intensive focused on foundational business and leadership skills. The curriculum introduces design thinking, marketing, finance, international leadership, and emotional intelligence through interactive workshops. You work in teams to develop a startup-style business plan, moving from problem identification to solution design and final presentation. Guest speakers and applied activities help connect theory to real-world business contexts. The program concludes with a formal pitch-style presentation, emphasizing communication and teamwork over exams. This option is best suited if you want a short, structured introduction to business concepts in a university setting, without committing to a longer or credit-bearing program.
12. Boston Private Industry Council (PIC) – Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program
Cost: Interns are paid (wages are employer-paid or foundation/public-sector sponsored)
Program Dates: June–August
Application Deadline: Rolling (through Boston Public Schools and PIC Career Specialists)
Eligibility: Boston Public Schools high school students (grades vary by placement); must be eligible to work in the U.S.
Location: Boston Private Industry Council, Boston
Through the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program, you work in a paid internship or job placement with private-sector companies, nonprofits, or public institutions across Boston. Placements span business-adjacent fields such as finance, healthcare administration, technology, life sciences, law, and operations, giving you early exposure to real workplace environments. You take on structured responsibilities assigned by employer partners, rather than simulated classroom projects. The program emphasizes professional readiness, workplace communication, and accountability, with support from PIC Career Specialists throughout the summer. Depending on placement, you may gain experience in office workflows, customer-facing roles, basic data handling, or administrative support. This is a practical option if you want a paid, in-city experience tied directly to Boston’s employer ecosystem.
13. Experiential Entrepreneurship – Northeastern University (Accelerate Pre-College)
Cost: $7,095; need-based scholarships and program discounts are available
Program Dates: July 12–24
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions until spots are filled
Eligibility: High school students (typically rising sophomores–seniors); interest in entrepreneurship or business recommended
Location: Northeastern University, Boston
Through this program, you participate in a two-week, startup-style intensive on the Northeastern University Boston campus, where you learn entrepreneurship by actively building a venture. Working in teams, you take an idea through market research, business modeling, product development, and customer discovery before pitching to a panel of entrepreneurs. Along the way, you engage with industry professionals who guide audience growth, negotiation, business planning, and pitch design. The program emphasizes systems thinking, team dynamics, and entrepreneurial decision-making rather than lectures alone. By the end of the program, you leave with a complete startup pitch, practical exposure to venture creation, and a clearer understanding of how early-stage businesses are built in real-world settings.
14. Cats Academy Young Business Leaders
Cost: $4,460
Program Dates: June 28–July 11 | July 12–25
Application Deadline: Yet to be announced
Eligibility: Students aged 14–17
Location: CATS Academy Boston, Boston
Through CATS Academy Boston’s Young Business Leaders program, you take part in interactive lessons, workshops, and group projects focused on leadership, entrepreneurship, marketing, and professional communication. The program emphasizes real-world application, with students working on business challenges, developing ideas, and collaborating on a final pitch project rather than completing purely theoretical exercises. You build practical skills in teamwork, problem-solving, presentation, and strategic thinking within a structured academic setting. Instruction is delivered by experienced educators, and the curriculum is supported by guest speakers and a guided business visit. You’ll get early exposure to professional environments and contemporary business practices while working alongside an international cohort of peers.
15. Bentley University Pre-College Programs (Business & Finance Focus)
Cost: Online (Wall Street 101 courses): $1,490 per course | Commuter (5-day, in-person): $2,450 per course | Residential (5-day, in-person): $3,380 per course (Limited need-based scholarships are available)
Program Dates: Multiple 5-day sessions from June 8 – July 24
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions; applications open January 15 and typically close by June 1
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors. Must be 16+ to live on campus (younger students may attend as commuters or enroll in online courses). International students accepted; English proficiency required
Location: Online
You can participate in Bentley’s pre-college business program by enrolling in a one-week intensive course aligned with your interests in finance, entrepreneurship, analytics, leadership, or media. Course options include Wall Street 101 tracks, Data Analytics, Accounting Adventures, Social Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Design for Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs, and Sports Business and Performance. Depending on the course, you analyze real datasets, build investment theses, evaluate risk scenarios, or develop and present business ideas. Instruction emphasizes practical business tools such as Excel or Google Sheets, collaborative problem-solving, and structured presentations. The program is offered in online, commuter, and residential formats, allowing you to tailor both academic focus and campus experience.
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