15 Entrepreneurship Courses for High School Students
Pursuing entrepreneurship as a high school student gives you the chance to take initiative, learn new things, and gain practical experience, all of which are valued by colleges and can be added to your resume and college applications.
What do entrepreneurship courses involve?
Entrepreneurship courses offer insight into how entrepreneurs create businesses and what it takes to operate them. They do this by giving you an overview of fundamental entrepreneurial concepts, such as ideation and pitching, and outlining the tasks needed to run a business, such as branding, marketing, operations, and pitching to investors.
Why pursue an entrepreneurship course in high school?
Entrepreneurship courses are not just useful if you want to pursue a business pathway, but also help you develop many other skills that are useful across different streams. You learn to take initiative, build leadership skills, and become a better communicator and team player.
To help you make your decision, we've narrowed down a list of 15 entrepreneurship courses for high school students. For related opportunities, check out our guides on ivy league entrepreneurship programs and 15 best startup accelerator programs for high schoolers.
Quick Look
1 free course: Suffolk Summer Entrepreneurship Program, though it's limited to greater Boston-area rising seniors.
1 fully virtual, entrepreneurship-focused option: Young Founders Lab, the only program on this list built around launching an actual revenue-generating startup rather than coursework, with need-based financial aid available.
6 pre-college courses priced between $1,595 and $1,895: including offerings from William & Mary, Wake Forest, Dartmouth, Notre Dame, and Georgetown's non-credit track.
Highest-cost programs: USC's Exploring Entrepreneurship (up to $11,570 residential) and Babson Summer Study (up to $12,995 for the in-person residential option).
Nearly every course on this list concludes with a final pitch competition or capstone presentation of a business idea.
15 Entrepreneurship Courses for High School Students
1. William & Mary Pre-College - Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital: From Idea to Investment
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: $1,595; need-based scholarships available
Dates: Multi-length sessions available throughout the year; 1-week intensive, 2-week, and 4-week sessions offered depending on time of year; approximately 20–30 total hours of instruction and coursework per session
Application Deadline: Rolling; decisions issued within approximately 1 week of applying
Eligibility: Students ages 13 and up; international students welcome
The Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital course gives you an insider view into how Venture Capital works and what it takes for entrepreneurs to secure funding for their start-ups. During the course, you will understand when to raise capital and what it takes, such as market research, valuation techniques, and creating a convincing pitch. With the Capstone project, you will assume the role of an entrepreneur looking to secure funding from a VC and create a recorded presentation to secure funding.
2. Young Founders Lab
Cost: $2,900 (need-based financial aid available)
Location: 100% virtual, with live interactive workshops
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
Program Dates: 4-week program starting June 5th tentatively
Application Deadline: Early Decision: March | Regular Admission 1: April | Regular Admission 2: May
The Young Founders Lab is a real-world startup bootcamp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. You will work towards building a revenue-generating startup that addresses a real-world problem, mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X. Alongside building your startup, you'll participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and ideation, workshops, skill-building sessions, case studies, and panel discussions. The program gives you a structured space to explore both theoretical and practical frameworks for building a successful business. You can access the application here.
3. UC Berkeley Business Academy for Youth
Location: Berkeley
Cost/Stipend: Tuition required (amount not specified)
Dates: Session 1: July 5–18; Session 2: July 19–August 1
Application Deadline: February 22
Eligibility: High school students; rising grades 10–12 and gap year students; international students eligible; able to attend the full residential program
The Berkeley Business Academy for Youth is a business and entrepreneurship-focused program for high school students. There are various courses you can choose from, including the Entrepreneurship Residency, Founder Bootcamp, and Startup Launch Pad. Each program varies in duration and focuses on providing participants with conceptual knowledge and an experimental environment where they can validate their ideas, conduct business research, and plan to start their ventures. The programs include mentorship support, along with projects and activities that will help you develop professional skills for pursuing entrepreneurship, such as leadership, critical thinking, and collaboration.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Cost: Starting at $2,490 (financial aid available)
Location: Remote, work from anywhere in the world
Application Deadline: Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), Winter (November)
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Eligibility: Students who can work 10–20 hours/week for 8–12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
Ladder Internships is a selective startup internship program for ambitious students. You'll work with a high-growth startup on real projects across industries including tech, AI/ML, health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. Ladder's startups are high-growth companies on average, raising over a million dollars — past founders include YCombinator alums and former employees of Microsoft, Google, and Facebook. You'll work closely with your manager and a Ladder Coach and present your work to the company at the end of the internship. You can apply here.
5. Suffolk Summer Entrepreneurship Program
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: Free; lunch and commuting pass provided; housing excluded
Dates: July 7–24
Application Deadline: Not specified; applications typically open in January
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors; rising juniors considered on a space-available basis; minimum 2.7 GPA; intended for students from the greater Boston area
The Suffolk Summer Entrepreneurship program gives high school seniors insight into how entrepreneurs launch new ventures. During the three-week program, you will gain hands-on experience through team projects and visits to entrepreneurial organizations, where you will learn from successful entrepreneurs. A day at the program includes morning lectures, discussions, guest speakers, class activities, and workshops. The program culminates in an event where you will present your own idea for a new venture.
6. USC Pre-College Entrepreneurship: Exploring What It Takes to Create Your Own Business
Location: Online
Cost: $1,990 with a $35 application fee
Dates: Self‑paced; multiple 4-week sessions throughout the year
Application Deadline: Varies based on cohort
Eligibility: High‑school students who are at least 14; international students with English proficiency
USC Pre-College offers an entrepreneurship course that offers insight into the mindset and fundamentals needed to start your own venture. The course uses a mix of lectures, case studies, and industry spotlights to help you understand fundamental topics through business examples. You will cover competitor analysis, value proposition, market analysis, and how to pitch a business plan to potential investors strategically. Additionally, the course includes readings and assignments to help you practice what you're learning.
7. Babson Summer Study for High School Students
Location: Marlborough
Cost: $6,295 (online) / $9,295 (in‑person day) / $12,995 (in‑person residential) + $95 application fee
Dates: July 8–28
Application Deadline: March 13
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors who are at least 16 by program start; English proficiency required if non‑native
Babson Summer Study is a three-week entrepreneurship-focused program for rising high school juniors and seniors. The program takes you through key concepts in entrepreneurship, including finance, business communication, marketing, and leadership. You'll work on projects that will help you develop your problem-solving and teamwork skills. The program focuses on addressing the UN global goals and social, economic, and environmental problems through an entrepreneurial lens and by solving them through venture creation.
8. University of Notre Dame Pre-College Business: From Startup to Success
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: $1,795; no additional fees; need-based scholarships available
Dates: 2-week and 4-week sessions available; multi-length sessions available throughout the year; approximately 20–30 total hours of instruction and coursework per session
Application Deadline: Rolling; decisions issued within approximately 1 week of applying
Eligibility: Students ages 13 and up; international students welcome
The From Startup to Success course gives high school students insight into the inner workings of businesses through case studies and projects. The course covers fundamental topics required for business operations, such as understanding the differences among businesses, reading financial data, reviewing business statements, key strategies for growing a business, and going public. The capstone project requires you to build a credible business plan that includes a strategy, the type of incorporation, operations, and plans for going public.
9. Wake Forest Pre-College Business: Learn How To Become an Innovator
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: $1,595; need-based scholarships available
Dates: Multi-length sessions available throughout the year; 1-week intensive, 2-week, and 4-week sessions offered depending on time of year; approximately 30 total hours of instruction and coursework per session
Application Deadline: Rolling; decisions issued within approximately 1 week of applying
Eligibility: Students ages 13 and up; international students welcome
Learn How to Become an Innovator is a course that takes you through how businesses create products and develop an effective business strategy. During the course, you will learn from case studies of businesses to understand how they work, review their strategies, and understand what goes into building a business model. You'll also gain insight into competitor evaluation and seeking new opportunities to market your business. Additional topics to explore include evaluating the customer experience, creating a product matrix, and building an effective business strategy.
10. Dartmouth Pre-College - Entrepreneurship: Driving Change Through New Businesses
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: $1,895; need-based scholarships available
Dates: Multi-length sessions available throughout the year; options include 1-week intensive, 2-week, or 4-week sessions, depending on time of year; approximately 20–30 total hours of instruction and activities per session
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students between the ages of 13 and 19; international students welcome
This course guides students on what it takes to pursue an entrepreneurial journey, right from identifying real-world problems to building a viable solution through venture creation. During the course, you will learn essential entrepreneurial skills such as understanding customer needs, designing a minimum viable product, conducting market research, connecting with customers, and creating a compelling pitch for investors. The course culminates in a project in which you will develop and pitch a business idea, including a business model sketch, an audience analysis, and a presentation.
11. Bentley University Pre-College Social Entrepreneurship
Location: Waltham
Cost/Stipend: Not specified
Dates: July 13 - 17
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students
Social Entrepreneurship is a week-long program in which high school students learn to address the world's biggest challenges by creating ventures. The program includes a mix of morning lectures, field trips, rainstorm sessions, presentations, and workshops where you will learn how to create a successful social venture that addresses challenges such as sustainability and social justice. By the end of the program, you will brainstorm, design, and pitch your own idea tied to a real-world problem and detail how you would solve it through venture creation.
12. Georgetown Pre-College Becoming an Entrepreneur: An Inside Look at Innovation
Location: Online
Cost: $1,895 (non‑credit) / $3,995 (credit)
Dates: Varies based on the session
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: Students age 13 and above (high school or equivalent)
Becoming an entrepreneur gives high school students insight into what it takes to launch a business. During the course, you will learn essential, hands-on skills to start your own ventures, such as identifying target customers, conducting market research, creating a brand story, writing a business pitch, and developing professional skills in leadership and program management. The course culminates in a capstone project in which you will develop your own business idea and create a video presentation that addresses its brand story, value proposition, target customers, and how your business will generate revenue.
13. Wharton Global Youth Program: Essentials of Entrepreneurship
Location: Philadelphia
Cost/Stipend: $4,099
Dates: Multi-length sessions available throughout the year
Application Deadline: March 18
Eligibility: High school students, grades 9–11; international students eligible; students interested in finance, investing, and accounting
Essentials of Entrepreneurship is an introductory two-week course designed to help students explore what it takes to launch a startup. During the program, you will participate in interactive lectures, team collaboration, and hands-on activities to explore topics such as branding, identity, marketing narrative, designing a minimum viable product, conducting market research, and developing an effective pitch. At the end of the experience, you will participate in a pitch competition to present your startup idea and receive feedback.
14. Georgetown University Entrepreneurship Academy
Location: Washington
Cost/Stipend: Residential: $6,465; commuter: $5,075
Dates: June 7–19
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students
Entrepreneurship Academy gives high school students an in-depth look at the process of creating a startup, from ideation to running business operations. You will learn from entrepreneurs' experience and gain insights into topics such as prototype testing, market research, competitor analysis, and crafting a compelling pitch. You will practice what you're learning through projects that cover the basics of design thinking, brainstorming, building business plans, and participating in a final pitch competition where you present a compelling business idea.
15. USC Pre-College Exploring Entrepreneurship
Location: Los Angeles
Cost/Stipend: Residential: $11,570; commuter: $8,130
Dates: Summer; four-week on-campus residential or commuter program (exact dates not specified)
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: High school students; minimum age 15 by the start of the program; completed at least ninth grade
The Exploring Entrepreneurship program equips high school students with tools and techniques to identify entrepreneurial opportunities and learn what it takes to build a business. Some topics that you will cover include marketing, human resources, ethics, accounting, personal branding, and finance. You will work on weekly projects that include ideation, finding product-market fit, financing a go-to-market strategy, and pitching your venture. The program culminates in a final pitch competition where you will present your business idea.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are there free entrepreneurship courses for high school students?
The Suffolk Summer Entrepreneurship Program is free, including lunch and a commuting pass, though it's designed primarily for rising seniors in the greater Boston area.
2. Which course is best if I want to build a real business instead of studying entrepreneurship theory?
Young Founders Lab is designed specifically for this, guiding you through market validation and go-to-market strategy as you build an actual revenue-generating startup, led by Harvard entrepreneurs with need-based financial aid available.
3. Which courses let me earn college credit?
Babson Summer Study and Georgetown's Becoming an Entrepreneur (credit track, $3,995) both offer college credit, unlike most other courses on this list, which are enrichment-only.