15 Economics Summer Programs in Pennsylvania for High School Students
If you’re interested in business, finance, or economics, participating in an economics summer program can be one of the smartest ways to explore those interests before college.
What do economics summer programs for high school students involve?
Economics summer programs give you the chance to move beyond textbooks and exams and start thinking like an economist. You will learn how to analyzing markets, understand incentives, and apply data to real-world problems.
Why consider economics summer programs in Pennysylvania as a high school student?
Economics summer programs in Pennsylvania typically cover a wide range of topics, including microeconomics, macroeconomics, entrepreneurship, public policy, finance, and market behavior. You build practical skills such as data analysis, critical reasoning, teamwork, and presentation that you can apply to your own ventures, from launching a startup to managing a student organization or personal investment project.
After pursuing economics programs, you can put your skills to use in paid economics internships for high school students. Additionally, you can look into online economics programs.
Here is our list of the best economics summer programs in Pennsylvania for high school students.
15 Economics Summer Programs in Pennsylvania for High School Students
1. Business Opportunities Summer Session (BOSS) – Penn State Smeal College of Business
Cost: $350
Location: University Park, PA (Pennsylvania State University – Smeal College of Business)
Program Dates: June 14–June 26
Application Deadline: October 20–March 20
Eligibility: High school juniors from the U.S. and Puerto Rico interested in pursuing business in college
You spend two weeks immersed in core business and economics concepts while living on Penn State’s campus. Your role includes participating in business fundamentals courses taught by Smeal faculty, completing a group-based business pitch project, and analyzing how real organizations operate. You examine how firms make decisions around operations, markets, and strategy, translating abstract economic ideas into observable outcomes. A defining feature is the program’s exposure to applied economics beyond the classroom. You visit corporate and operational sites to study how economic incentives, cost structures, and organizational strategy function in practice. Guest sessions with faculty and industry professionals emphasize college readiness, professional norms, and analytical thinking within business and economic systems.
2. Young Founders Lab
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring
Application Deadline: Varies according to cohort. You can access the application link here!
Eligibility: The program is currently open to all high school students
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. Economics Academy
Cost: $10,050 for the 3-week Summer Academy; scholarships available for select Philadelphia public and charter school students
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Program Dates: July 11–August 1
Application Deadline: January–April
Eligibility: Current grades 9–11; international students eligible with a tourist or B-2 visa
You spend three weeks working through core economic concepts with a focus on how economic models explain real-world outcomes. You analyze scarcity, market structures, competition, monopolies, and market failures using current global examples rather than abstract theory alone. The coursework emphasizes applying economic terminology and models to news events, policy debates, and international economic challenges. A key component is the group-based capstone project, where you evaluate a real economic problem facing a country and propose a policy-informed solution using models introduced in class. Lectures, workshops, guest speakers, and field trips expose you to how economists operate in academic, policy, and applied settings, while reinforcing analytical reasoning and structured argumentation.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Stipend: Varies by placement
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Application deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort
Program dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
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 economics, 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.
5. Penn Pre-College Programs
Cost: Residential: $14,962–$23,056 depending on course load (1–2.5 course units); Online: $8,462–$13,858 depending on course load (1–2 course units)
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (residential) or online
Program Dates: Online (Session I): May 27–July 2; Residential (Session II): July 3–August 8
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions (priority deadlines in spring)
Eligibility: Current grades 10–11; international students eligible (visa requirements vary by format)
You enroll in credit-bearing undergraduate economics courses taught by Penn faculty and complete the same coursework expected of Penn undergraduates. If you choose economics, you work through formal microeconomic analysis covering supply and demand, firm behavior under different market structures, pricing, income distribution, and international trade. The program emphasizes structured problem-solving, analytical writing, and exam-based assessment rather than enrichment-style activities. A defining feature is academic realism. You follow an authentic university course schedule, use Penn’s learning platforms, and are evaluated using undergraduate grading standards. In the online session, you complete economics coursework remotely alongside Penn students. In the residential session, you live on campus and attend classes in person, gaining direct exposure to Ivy League academic expectations while earning official university credit.
6. Wharton Global Youth Program
Cost: $8,299–$11,899 for on-campus programs; $329–$4,799 for online programs. Need-based scholarships available (limited)
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (on-campus) or online
Program Dates: On-campus: June 7–August 8 (multiple 2-week and 3-week sessions); Online: June 15–July 26 or July 6–July 17 (varies by program)
Application Deadline: Priority deadline January 28; final deadlines vary by program (rolling if space remains)
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors (grades 9–11); GPA requirements apply (minimum 3.3 unweighted; 3.5+ for select tracks)
You participate in an immersive Wharton-led program where you study applied economics through finance, entrepreneurship, management, or data-driven decision-making, depending on the track you select. Economics-relevant programs emphasize market behavior, financial modeling, risk analysis, and strategic decision-making, using frameworks drawn directly from Wharton’s undergraduate curriculum. A defining feature is access to Wharton faculty, structured coursework, and peer cohorts drawn from a global applicant pool. You engage in simulations, case discussions, and team projects that mirror how economists and business analysts approach real problems. Programs are offered in residential and online formats, with limited need-based scholarships awarded after admission.
7. Wharton Global High School Investment Competition
Cost: Free to participate (no registration fee); travel and lodging for the Global Finale are not covered
Location: Online (with an optional Global Finale in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Program Dates: Registration opens June 30; trading runs start in September
Application Deadline: Advisor registration closes mid-September
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12 worldwide; participation requires a teacher or school-affiliated advisor
You work in a team of four to six students to design and defend a long-term investment strategy for a real-world client case. Using the Wharton Investment Simulator (WInS), you build and manage a diversified portfolio with $500,000 in virtual capital, analyze companies and industries, assess risk, and justify asset allocation decisions. Performance is evaluated on the quality of your economic reasoning and strategic logic. You submit a midterm and final investment report explaining your assumptions, market outlook, and portfolio construction choices using finance and economic frameworks. Top teams advance to virtual semifinals, and finalists are invited to present their strategy at the Wharton School in Philadelphia. The program develops applied skills in financial economics, teamwork, written analysis, and professional presentation, making it especially strong if you’re interested in investing, economics, or finance without committing to a residential summer program.
8. Wharton Pre-baccalaureate Program - Business Economics and Public Policy
Cost: $4,230; tuition waived for City of Philadelphia public/charter school students for one course per session
Location: Online (Pennsylvania-based via Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania)
Program Dates: Summer Session 1: May 26–July 1; Summer Session 2: July 2–August 7
Application Deadline: Summer Session 1 deadline: March 25; Summer Session 2 deadline: May 6
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors; minimum 3.5 unweighted GPA (or equivalent); you can’t be a graduated senior; you can’t be matriculating into UPenn as a freshman; international students must verify English proficiency
You enroll in for-credit Wharton courses and do the same kind of weekly work you’d expect in a university class. If you take an economics-forward course like BEPP 0001 (Introduction to Behavioral Economics), your job is to treat “not-fully-rational humans” as your baseline model and then reason through what that implies for public policy and firm strategy. You apply welfare economics and market-failure logic to topics like externalities, public goods, inequality and redistribution, taxation, and market power, then extend that into behavioral settings (e.g., pricing to biased consumers, worker motivation under behavioral assumptions). Notable features are the credit + transcript structure (each course awards 0.5 Penn course units, typically ~2 college credits) and the mechanics of real academic participation.
9. Economics for Leaders (EFL) – University of Pennsylvania
Cost: ~$2,800; scholarships available
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Program Dates: July 6–July 12 or July 13–July 19
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions (until sessions fill)
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores and juniors
You spend a week on campus at the University of Pennsylvania learning how economists think about decision-making, incentives, and public policy. The program is structured around the “economic way of thinking,” where you analyze trade-offs, unintended consequences, and data-driven policy choices. You work through case studies on taxation, regulation, inequality, and market behavior, often debating real policy dilemmas in small, discussion-heavy classes. Alongside economics content, you explicitly build leadership skills by applying economic reasoning to group decisions, ethical challenges, and civic problems, making this program especially strong if you’re interested in policy, law, or economics-driven leadership roles.
10. Wharton Moneyball FLEX
Cost: ~$2,099
Location: Online (administered by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA)
Program Dates: June 21 – July 26
Application Deadline: Summer priority deadline: January 28; final deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students (typically grades 9–12); strong math skills recommended
You will explore how economic reasoning, statistics, and data analysis are used to make real-world decisions through the lens of sports analytics. During the program, you will work through self-paced learning modules while also participating in required live sessions with Wharton instructors and teaching assistants. You will analyze datasets, learn how incentives and performance metrics shape outcomes, and apply statistical models that are commonly used in economics and public policy analysis. You will complete a collaborative sports analytics project, where you design and present your own data-driven analysis using the R programming language. Throughout the program, you will build quantitative reasoning skills, strengthen your ability to interpret economic data, and gain experience communicating analytical findings, skills that directly translate to economics, business, finance, and policy-focused fields.
11. Drexel LeBow Camp Business (Pre-College Program)
Cost: $950 (Commuter) – $2,000 (Residential); limited need-based alumni scholarships are available
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Program Dates: July 13–17 (Residential Blue Session); July 20–24 (Commuter Session); July 27–31 (Residential Gold Session)
Application Deadline: Applications open in January (rolling until filled)
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
You participate in an immersive, daytime, or residential business program hosted by Drexel University that introduces you to economics-related business disciplines through hands-on learning. During the program, you work on team-based activities while exploring finance, accounting, management, marketing, leadership, and core market concepts. You build practical skills in decision-making, professional communication, and strategic thinking while gaining early exposure to college-level business and economics education.
12. Accounting Finance Business Initiative (AFBI) Summer Residency
Cost: Free (full scholarship for all accepted students)
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Program Dates: June 22–27
Application Deadline: February 28
Eligibility: High school students who are first-generation and/or from low-income backgrounds; minimum 2.5 GPA
The Accounting Finance Business Initiative (AFBI) is a fully funded, residential summer program hosted at Drexel University. The program is designed to prepare students for higher education and careers in accounting, finance, business, and related fields. During the residency, you participate in college-prep workshops, visit accounting firms and corporations, and work on collaborative case studies that introduce practical business decision-making. AFBI also includes year-round academic and professional development support, making it a strong access-focused economics and business pathway for students in Pennsylvania.
13. Camp for Exploring the World of Business – Penn State Scranton
Cost: $99
Location: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Program Dates: To be announced (Monday–Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.)
Application Deadline: To be announced
Eligibility: High school students in grades 10–12
The Camp for Exploring the World of Business is a short-format summer program hosted by Penn State Scranton that introduces you to core concepts in business and economics through faculty-led workshops. During the camp, you rotate through sessions in accounting, marketing, management, leadership, and introductory economics, giving you a structured overview of how different business functions interact within real organizations. The program is designed to be exploratory, so you focus on applied skills such as basic financial reasoning, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. By engaging directly with Penn State Scranton instructors in a small-group setting, you gain early exposure to business pathways and a clearer sense of how economics and management concepts show up in college coursework and practical decision-making.
14. Babson College — Babson Summer Study for High School Students
Cost: $6,295
Location: Online
Program Dates: July 8–28
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions (applications open)
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors; must be at least 16 years old by program start; English proficiency required
Babson Summer Study is a three-week, credit-bearing online program that introduces you to entrepreneurship through an economic and problem-solving lens. You enroll in a Babson College course called Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience, and earn 4 college credits while analyzing social, economic, and environmental challenges aligned with the U.N. Global Goals. Throughout the program, you work in teams to evaluate real problems, apply economic reasoning to market and policy constraints, and develop venture-style solutions using frameworks from entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, and leadership. The online format combines live instruction, collaborative group work, and applied projects, making it a strong option if you want structured exposure to economics-driven entrepreneurship while studying remotely from Pennsylvania.
15. Principles of Economics - Brown University Pre-College Online Program
Cost: $8,973
Location: Online
Program Dates: June 15–July 31
Application Deadline: May 8
Eligibility: High school students eligible for Brown’s Pre-College Program; prior coursework may be recommended, but is not always required
Brown University’s Principles of Economics is a rigorous online pre-baccalaureate summer course that introduces you to core economic concepts, institutions, and analytical tools used to understand real social and economic issues. During the seven-week program, you engage with college-level material covering markets, policy, and economic reasoning while participating in structured online instruction led by Brown faculty. The course is designed to help you build a strong foundation in economics, prepare for advanced study, and experience the expectations of a university economics classroom, all while participating remotely from Pennsylvania.
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