15 Entrepreneurship & Marketing Summer Programs for High School Students
Why should you apply to entrepreneurship & marketing summer programs for high school students?
Entrepreneurship and marketing programs offer opportunities to learn the ins and outs of starting a business from scratch and sustaining it in a changing global economy. You’ll work with peers from all over the world, interact with leaders and entrepreneurs of your choice of field, and develop skills which will help you both in further study and an experience on your resume.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of 15 Entrepreneurship & Marketing Summer Programs for high school students, selected based on the rigor of the curriculum, networking opportunities, and the program's reputation.
If you’re interested in virtual entrepreneurship programs, you can check here. Or, if you’re looking for marketing competitions, check here.
15 Entrepreneurship & Marketing Summer Programs for High School Students
1. Wharton Global Youth Program: Essentials of Entrepreneurship
Location: The Wharton School, Philadelphia, USA
Cost/Stipend: $8,299
Dates: June 7 – 20 | June 21 – July 4 | July 12 – 25 | July 26 – August 8
Application Deadline: March 18
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grades 9–11
The Essentials of Entrepreneurship course at the Wharton School is a two-week summer program for high school students interested in learning the fundamentals of building a startup. You will learn marketing, innovation, and venture creation through interactive lectures, hands-on activities, and teamwork. You will learn about A/B testing, pitching a startup, and building a brand identity under Wharton faculty, lecturers, and PhD students. At the end, you’ll present your startup ideas in a pitch competition and receive real-time feedback.
2. Kelley Women's Leadership Institute
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Fully funded
Dates: April
Application Deadline: March 20
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher
The Kelley Women's Leadership Institute is designed to introduce high school students to business career opportunities and give them a glimpse of college. You will attend lectures by the Kelley School of Business faculty and explore business case projects with peers. The focus of the exercise is to identify your areas of interest for a career. The institute aims to increase the representation of women in business by equipping them with relevant skills.
3. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote. You can work from anywhere in the world.
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November).
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 tech/deep tech and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. Ladder’s start-ups are, on average, high-growth companies that raise over a million dollars. As an intern, you will work closely with your manager at the startup on real-world projects and present your work to the company. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.
4. Young Founders Lab
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
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 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.
5. The Academies by Harvard Student Agencies: Virtual Business Academies
Location: Virtual
Cost: $450
Dates: Multiple sessions from June to August
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students
The Business: Entrepreneurship Academy at Harvard is designed to introduce high school students to the fundamentals of launching a business. Harvard undergraduate students will mentor you as you examine startups from their launch to scaling and further. Furthermore, you will design a business idea, conduct a SWOT analysis, and assess the product-market fit for it. Finally, you will present the startup business idea to judges, simulating a startup pitch to investors.
6. NYU Tandon Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Science of Smart Cities
Location: New York University, New York, NY + Other institutions in NYC
Cost: No cost
Dates: TBA
Application Deadline: TBA
Eligibility: Current 9th graders – Graduating 12th graders
The Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Science of Smart Cities program at NYU Tandon is a five-week summer program for high school students interested in the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and science. You will work in teams to design a model for a sustainable city through applications of coding, microcontrollers, circuit deployment, and sensor integration. Alongside the technical proficiency learnings, you will also learn some of the entrepreneurial aspects of product development, spanning economics, project management, pitch presentation skills, patents, and copyrights. The program culminates in your team's presentation of your project.
7. Wharton Global Youth Program: Future of the Business World
Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,099
Dates: June 15 – 26; July 6 – 17
Application Deadline: January 28 (priority deadline); rolling after that
Eligibility: High school students
The Future of the Business World is a two-week summer program for high school students interested in the field of business. You’ll analyze relevant global business themes through tools used in Wharton undergrad and graduate classrooms. Led by Wharton faculty, you’ll learn the basics of design thinking and the business aspects of scenario planning, along with teamwork strategies. You will also participate in two business simulations to solve practical problems. Finally, you’ll work on a group project with the focus of predicting its future. You'll receive the Wharton Global Youth Certificate of Completion at the end of the program.
8. Young Entrepreneur Program Kansas City (YEP KC)
Location: In-person at various locations across Kansas City, Missouri + limited remote options available
Cost/Stipend: $12-14 per hour and $2,500 scholarship ($1,250 per session)
Dates: Session 1: June 2 – June 27 | Session 2: July 7 – August 1
Application Deadline: February 1
Eligibility: High school students completing their junior or senior year
The Young Entrepreneur Program, Kansas City, is an internship for high school students with an interest in finance and entrepreneurship. As part of the program, you’ll be placed at one of the 15 high-growth startups that YEP partners with, and work in fields like finance, engineering, and analytics, among others. You’ll be expected to work 30-hour weekly. Beyond the working hours, you will go for weekly site visits and get on-field knowledge of the functioning of local startups. Past internships have included working in the finance, marketing, and sales.
9. Babson Summer Study for High School Students
Location: Virtual or in-person at New England Innovation Academy, Marlborough, MA
Cost: Virtual: USD $6,295 + $95 application fee | In-Person at NEIA: $9,295 for Day Student, $12,995 for Residential Student
Dates: July 8 – 28
Application Deadline: March 13
Eligibility: Rising high school junior or senior, at least 16 by the start date of the program
Babson Summer Study is a three-week pre-college summer program for rising high school juniors and seniors willing to explore entrepreneurship and its fundamentals in a global setup. As a participant, you’ll be enrolled in the Babson College course, EPS 1110 Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience. Taught by Babson faculty, you’ll work closely with Summer Study Academic Mentors who are Babson graduate and undergraduate students. You will explore social, economic, and environmental problems outlined by the U.N. Global Goals, and work alongside peers to address them. Additionally, you will earn 4 college credits through the program.
10. Meta Summer Academy
Location: Meta offices across the U.S.
Stipend: Paid
Dates: June 16 – July 25
Application Deadline: February 14
Eligibility: Applicants must be tenth graders and full-year residents of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, or Redwood City.
Meta Summer Academy, in partnership with Foundation for a College Education and Mission Bit, is a six-week career exploration program. You’ll be expected to commit 30 hours per week to participate. You will learn coding, develop financial literacy, and explore art and media, along with strengthening soft skills like reflection and networking. You will also meet Meta employees and executives and learn about their career pathways. You will be placed in a department based on the requirement and your interest, and by the end, you will have more clarity about what career pathway you might be willing to pursue.
11. University of Colorado’s Business Leadership Program
Location: Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado, Boulder
Cost: No cost
Dates: June 21 – June 26
Application Deadline: March 13
Eligibility: Current high school juniors who are either Colorado residents or studying at a Colorado high school
The Business Leadership Program offered by the Leeds School of Business from the University of Colorado is a fully-funded, week-long program for high school students to develop their business acumen and leadership skills. The program’s main focus is in exploring real-world issues and expanding your perspective. You’ll take part in a case study competition, developing practical solutions to real business problems in a collaborative setting. Further, you’ll work towards applying your creativity and strategic thinking to create and implement a marketing campaign for the program’s corporate partners. The best team stands a chance to win a $1,000 scholarship to the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business.
12. Rice University’s Pre-College Program Entrepreneurship: From Ideas to Impact in Fintech
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1,795
Dates: Multi-length courses available throughout the year
Application Deadline: Varies depending on the course
Eligibility: High school students
The Entrepreneurship: From Ideas to Impact in Fintech course at Rice University is a course for high school students to learn the intersection of entrepreneurship, finance, and technology. You’ll explore how financial technology is democratizing financial access, generating revenue, and reshaping global economies. You’ll analyse major disruptors in the field, such as PayPal and Square, and examine how fintech startups attract customers and scale. Finally, you’ll be guided by a mentor on a capstone project where you’ll develop a basic business plan for a fintech product or service. At the end, you will receive a Certificate of Completion from Rice University.
13. Georgetown University’s Hoya Summer High School Sessions: Marketing & Personal Branding Academy
Location: Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Cost: Estimated Tuition is $5,950. Final TBA
Program Dates: Various
Application Deadline: April 15
Eligibility: Open to all high school students with at least a 2.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
The Marketing and Personal Branding Academy offered by Georgetown University is ideal for high school students interested to learn the fundamentals of marketing and business. You will explore this at both the business and personal levels. You’ll examine traditional marketing and social media influencers under the guidance of industry experts. You’ll see what a real-life marketing firm looks like and practice using techniques and tools used by professionals. You will explore studies, hands-on assignments, and participate in site visits to understand the challenges of global marketing. By the end, you will design and pitch an independent marketing campaign and present it to peers and faculty.
14. The Michigan Ross Summer Business Academy
Location: UMich Ann Arbor campus, Ann Arbor, MI
Cost: $5,500 + $75 application fee. Full and partial need-based scholarships are available
Program Dates: June 7 – 17; June 21 – July 1
Application Deadline: January 8
Eligibility: Open to current rising high school seniors with a minimum 3.0 GPA
The Michigan Ross Summer Business Academy at the University of Michigan is a two-week summer residential program for rising 12th graders looking to explore the fundamentals of business operations. Through a combination of coursework and interactive training sessions, you will engage with advanced business concepts and work on case studies that simulate real-world decision-making. The program additionally includes corporate site visits to provide an essential insight into real business environments, along with team-based projects to help develop collaboration. You can check out all the details here!
15. UC Berkeley Business Academy for Youth’s Summer Entrepreneurship
Location: University of California, Berkeley, CA
Cost: To be announced
Program Dates: To be announced
Application Deadline: To be announced
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
The Summer Entrepreneurship course at UC Berkeley is a summer program for high school students interested in learning the fundamentals of business. Professors, doctoral students, and undergraduate mentors guide you throughout the program. You’ll explore topics like entrepreneurial thinking, marketing strategy, financial principles, accounting basics, game theory, and negotiation skills. The key part of the program is the group project, where you develop a business proposal that you finally present as a team. Capped at 50 students, the program structure ensures you get opportunities to build connections. Additionally, you’ll participate in campus tours and sessions on applying to college.
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