15 Entrepreneurship Summer Programs in Connecticut for High School Students
More high school students are starting small ventures, running online stores, and testing ideas early. If you want to see how you would perform in that space, entrepreneurship summer programs are one of the smartest ways to start.
What are entrepreneurship summer programs?
Entrepreneurship summer programs for high school students help you develop skills like financial planning, communication, and decision-making. You might build a startup idea, test it with feedback, and present it in a structured format. Some programs also include internships or connections to startup teams, which give you exposure to real business environments.
Why should you choose a program in Connecticut?
Connecticut provides access to programs connected to universities, local startups, and community initiatives focused on entrepreneurship. Many of these programs are designed to be practical, with hands-on activities and direct mentorship.
If you are in or near the state, choosing entrepreneurship summer programs in Connecticut for high school students can be a practical option. You save on travel and housing while still gaining access to structured programs. These experiences can also add solid outcomes to your college applications and resume.
For adjacent opportunities, you can have a look at business internships in Connecticut.
Without further ado, here are 15 entrepreneurship summer programs in Connecticut for high school students!
15 Entrepreneurship Summer Programs in Connecticut for High School Students
1. Youth@Work – New Haven Work-Based Learning Experience
Location: New Haven, Connecticut (placements across local businesses, nonprofits, and agencies)
Stipend: Paid at CT minimum wage; Max 25 hours/week for Summer
Dates: Summer: July 6–31; Year-round opportunities available
Application Deadline: April
Eligibility: High school students ages 14–21 who reside in New Haven or attend a New Haven public high school
A placement through Youth@Work in New Haven connects you with local businesses, nonprofits, and agencies where you contribute to day-to-day operations while building practical workplace skills. Depending on your placement, you might assist with customer service, marketing support, administrative coordination, or basic financial tasks, giving you a closer look at how organizations function. The experience also introduces you to expectations around communication, time management, and accountability in a professional setting. Alongside your work, you engage with mentors and take part in enrichment activities that reinforce what you are learning on the job.
2. Young Founders Lab
Location: 100% remote with live interactive workshops
Cost: Varies depending on the program type
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring
Application deadline: Varies depending on the cohort
Eligibility: 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. City of New Haven Student Intern Program
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Stipend: Paid hourly
Dates: Year-round opportunities
Application Deadline: Applications open periodically; Check the City of New Haven’s employment site for postings
Eligibility: High school students aged 16+ enrolled in an accredited school (preference is given to New Haven residents)
Through the City of New Haven Student Intern Program, you gain exposure to how municipal departments manage operations tied to business, planning, and public services. As an intern, you may support tasks such as budget tracking, report preparation, workforce coordination, or project research. Working alongside city professionals gives you insight into how decisions are made in areas like economic development and public administration. The experience also helps you understand how large organizations coordinate across departments to deliver services and manage resources. Mentorship and supervision throughout the internship guide your work and provide feedback as you build professional skills.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November).
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
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 high-growth companies on average, raising over a million dollars. Interns work closely with their manager at the startup on real-world projects and present their work to the company. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long. Apply now!
5. P-TECH Norwalk
Location: Norwalk, Connecticut
Cost: Free
Dates: Year-round opportunities available
Application Deadline: Students must apply for admission to P-TECH Norwalk through Norwalk Public Schools’ program deadlines
Eligibility: Norwalk and Connecticut high school students entering grades 9–10
P-TECH Norwalk combines school with long-term industry exposure, where you take part in internships and workplace experiences alongside your studies. You work on tasks related to operations, coordination, or technical workflows, depending on your placement. The program connects classroom learning with real business environments, so you apply concepts as you learn them. You also receive mentorship from professionals who guide your development. The structure runs over time, not just in summer, which allows deeper engagement. You continuously build experience through different opportunities. By the end, you gain both academic and practical exposure.
6. CLA High School Internship Program
Location: Various locations across the U.S., including New Haven and Hartford in CT
Stipend: $18 – $20 per hour
Dates: Mid-June to August
Application deadline: Typically early January
Eligibility: Current high school juniors or seniors who are between the ages of 16 and 18
The CLA High School Internship Program gives you exposure to a professional services environment, where you observe and support work related to accounting, finance, and advisory services. You may assist with research, data organization, or components of financial analysis, helping you understand how firms support client decision-making. Alongside project work, you participate in simulations and case-based activities that mirror real business scenarios. Further, mentors explain workflows and provide context for the tasks you complete, helping you connect individual assignments to broader business goals. The experience also highlights how teams collaborate in client-facing settings.
7. ReadyCT Career-Connected Learning Internships
Location: Statewide, with employer partnerships across sectors
Stipend: Paid
Dates: Year-round, with internships and career-connected opportunities running during the academic year and summer
Application Deadline: Varies by school and program; Students must apply through their school counselors or ReadyCT partnerships.
Eligibility: Connecticut public high school students, with a focus on low-income and minority students
Through ReadyCT’s Career-Connected Learning Internships, you are placed with employers across industries where you contribute to projects tied to real business needs. Work may involve assisting with operations, supporting team initiatives, or observing how professionals manage workflows and decision-making. In addition to hands-on experience, you take part in career readiness activities such as resume workshops, mock interviews, and site visits. These components help you understand how to prepare for and navigate work environments, with professionals offering guidance as you progress through your placement. Exposure to different sectors also helps you explore potential career paths while building foundational workplace skills.
8. SparkCampus Internship Program
Location: Virtual
Stipend: Paid
Dates: July 6 – August 10
Application Deadline: July 4
Eligibility: High school students
During the SparkCampus Internship Program, you work with a student-led startup while participating in weekly sessions focused on entrepreneurship and business fundamentals. Your responsibilities may include supporting sales outreach, assisting with internal operations, or contributing to marketing-related tasks. Each concept introduced in workshops is tied directly to the work you complete, helping you see how ideas translate into action. Guest speakers add perspective by sharing insights into entrepreneurship and small business growth. Collaboration with peers is a central part of the experience, as you work in teams and receive feedback on your contributions.
9. iStart Valley High School Internship
Location: Remote
Cost: $700
Dates: June 20–October 31
Application Deadline: April 30
Eligibility: High school students
The iStart Valley High School Internship is structured as a longer-term experience where you explore entrepreneurship through team-based projects and guided learning. You work with peers to develop original business ideas, applying concepts such as design thinking, customer validation, and lean startup methodology. Mentors and industry professionals provide feedback during regular sessions, helping you refine your approach and decision-making. As the program progresses, your team documents its development and prepares to present outcomes. The final presentation brings together your research, strategy, and execution in a cohesive format.
10. Snider Enterprise and Leadership Fellows (SELF) Experience
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1,365
Dates: July 12–31
Application deadline: June 1
Eligibility: Rising students in grade 10 to graduating from grade 12
The SELF Experience combines entrepreneurship with leadership development, encouraging you to examine how ideas translate into real-world solutions. You work in a team to address challenges while studying topics such as marketing, economics, and strategy. Faculty and mentors guide discussions and provide input as your group refines its approach and develops a venture concept. The program places focus on both the practical side of business and the decision-making process behind it. Collaborative sessions and group work keep the experience interactive, allowing you to test and revise ideas continuously. By the end, you present your venture along with the reasoning that shaped your strategy.
11. Wharton Global Youth Program – Future of the Business World
Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,099; Scholarships available
Dates: June 15 – June 26 | July 6 – July 17
Application Deadline: January 28 (priority); Rolling
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9-12; International students can apply
In the Future of the Business World, you explore how industries and markets evolve by engaging with broad business concepts through live sessions and independent work. Topics such as design thinking, scenario planning, and collaboration are introduced and then applied through interactive simulations that mirror real-world decision-making. These activities help you understand how strategic choices are made in uncertain and fast-changing environments. You also work on a final project that asks you to analyze current trends and form your own perspective on future developments in global business. Along the way, discussions and exercises encourage you to think critically about how companies adapt and compete.
12. Entrepreneurship: From Idea to Early Design, Columbia Pre-College Online
Location: Remote
Cost: $2,868 per session
Dates: June 22-26
Application Deadline: Early: March 10 | Final: March 24
Eligibility: Applicants must be high school students currently enrolled in grades 9–12 with a broad interest in entrepreneurship and business.
Entrepreneurship: From Idea to Early Design is an online course that focuses on early-stage venture development using design thinking frameworks. You’ll learn to define problems through a customer-centric lens, conduct primary research through interviews and surveys, and evaluate existing market solutions to identify gaps. The course walks you through structured processes for ideation, solution mapping, and building a minimal viable product (MVP) for initial validation. You’ll collect and analyze feedback to test assumptions around customer needs, usability, and potential impact, using iterative refinement cycles. By the end, you develop a working understanding of how to move from raw problem identification to a testable product concept grounded in real user data.
13. Online Entrepreneurship Course | USC Pre-College
Location: Remote
Cost: $1990 + $35 application fee
Dates: Various start dates; Self-paced program
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students must be at least 14 years old or older and enrolled in a high school or secondary program
This self-paced online course introduces the foundational frameworks used in starting and evaluating a business, with a focus on market analysis, value creation, and operational strategy. You’ll study how to differentiate between business models, estimate market size, and identify competitive positioning using structured analytical approaches. The course also covers financial basics, including funding pathways and resource allocation, alongside concepts in ethical leadership and team management. Through recorded lectures, case studies, and applied assignments, you examine how small businesses and startups function across different industries. You’ll also work on developing a pitch strategy, integrating elements such as customer value propositions and growth planning.
14. Babson Summer Study
Location: Virtual
Cost: $6,295
Dates: July 8 – 28
Application Deadline: Early Bird: February 13 | Standard: March 13
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
Babson Summer Study centers on entrepreneurial thinking, combining academic instruction with collaborative project work in a structured learning environment. You work in a team to develop solutions tied to real-world challenges, using frameworks that guide problem-solving, innovation, and decision-making. Coursework introduces topics such as leadership, marketing, finance, and communication, all taught through an entrepreneurial lens. Faculty support helps you connect these concepts to the work you complete with your group, reinforcing how ideas translate into action. You continuously refine ideas, test assumptions, and adjust your approach as new insights emerge. Group discussions and feedback sessions add depth to the learning process. By the end, you have a project that reflects both your understanding of the material and your ability to apply it.
15. Entrepreneurship at Georgetown University
Location: Online
Cost: $1,795
Dates: Session I: March 17 to 31 | Session II: April 7 to May 5 | Session III: May 5 to June 2
Application deadline: Session I: March 10 | Session II: March 31 | Session III: April 28
Eligibility: Current high school students
Georgetown University’s Entrepreneurship program helps you with theoretical and practical knowledge. You will explore fundamental questions regarding the nature of entrepreneurship, its history, and its foundations. This will help you identify market needs and build support networks. During the program, you will participate in workshops, lectures, and group projects, gaining insights into the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship. You also understand the various business models.One of the key aspects of the program is developing a business idea and pitching it to real entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.In the end, you'll receive guidance from mentors and visit startups and innovation hubs in Washington, D.C.