15 Leadership Courses for High School Students
No matter what career you are considering, leadership eventually becomes part of the equation. At some point, you will be expected to manage time, coordinate people, or take ownership of decisions that affect others. Leadership courses give high school students a structured way to start building those skills.
What do leadership courses involve?
You may explore topics such as communication strategy, ethical leadership, delegation, accountability, and planning under constraints. Some programs walk you through real-world case studies, while others focus on team-based activities where you practice leading discussions or managing small projects.
Why participate in leadership courses in high school?
Leadership coursework can strengthen your academic profile by showing initiative beyond regular school requirements. By gaining leadership skills through these courses, you can better plan, manage, and build your own ventures. They also prepare you for college environments where group work, campus organizations, and collaborative projects are common.
In addition to leadership courses, you can consider leadership pre-college programs, or have a look at leadership programs abroad for an international and globally-focused experience.
With that in mind, here are 15 leadership courses for high school students!
15 Leadership Courses for High School Students
1. Leadership and Impact: Applying Design Thinking to Real-World Challenges (MGMT S-542)
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts (On Campus at Harvard University)
Cost: Tuition required (Harvard Summer School rates apply)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Selective; enrollment capped at 36 students
Dates: July 13 – August 6
Application Deadline: June 15
Eligibility: High school students eligible for Harvard Summer School; undergraduate credit or noncredit option available
In this four-week leadership course at Harvard Summer School, you will examine your core values and learn how to translate them into meaningful, real-world impact. Using the framework of design thinking, you will develop practical strategies to solve complex problems, navigate ambiguity, and lead collaborative projects with empathy and clarity. Throughout the course, you will engage in hands-on, action-oriented projects that challenge you to address real-world issues that conflict with your values. You will strengthen your emotional intelligence, decision-making skills, and ability to guide teams through uncertainty, competencies that remain critical even as emerging technologies like generative AI reshape industries.
2. Young Founders Lab
Location: 100% Virtual (live, interactive workshops)
Cost: Varies by program type; full financial aid available
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Selective
Dates: Multiple cohorts offered in summer, fall, winter, and spring
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
The Young Founders Lab is a startup-focused boot camp founded and led by Harvard entrepreneurs, designed to help you build a revenue-generating venture from the ground up. Rather than learning business concepts in isolation, you will apply them directly to your own venture through structured milestones and feedback loops. In this program, you will identify a complex real-world problem, validate your idea, and work systematically toward launching a functional startup. You will participate in live classes covering business fundamentals, market research, product development, branding, and growth strategy. Along the way, you will engage in case studies, skill-building workshops, and panel discussions that help you build leadership, time management, and teamwork skills.
3. The Leadership Edge: Influence, Impact, and Innovation (MGMT S-116)
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts (On Campus at Harvard University)
Cost: Tuition required (Harvard Summer School rates apply)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Selective; enrollment capped at 36 students
Dates: July 13 – August 6
Application Deadline: June 15
Eligibility: High school students eligible for Harvard Summer School; undergraduate credit or noncredit option available
The Leadership Edge at Harvard Summer School studies how leaders operate when stakes are high and time is short. You analyze research from neuroscience and organizational behavior, then test it in simulations. Case discussions force you to choose between competing priorities and justify your call, and practice resolving conflict inside structured role plays. You examine how influence works when you lack formal authority. Each assignment pushes you to assess tradeoffs rather than chase perfect answers. The course closes with applied leadership scenarios drawn from real institutions.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote (work from anywhere)
Cost: Tuition-based program (financial aid may be available)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Selective
Dates: Multiple cohorts offered throughout the year (typically 8 weeks)
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: High school students, undergraduates, and gap year students able to commit 10–20 hours per week for 8–12 weeks
The Ladder Internship Program is a selective startup internship experience that places you directly inside high-growth companies across industries such as AI/ML, deep tech, health tech, marketing, journalism, and consulting. You will work on real-world projects that address active business needs within venture-backed startups with backgrounds at organizations such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Y Combinator-backed companies. During the program, you will collaborate closely with a startup manager while also receiving structured support from a dedicated Ladder Coach. You will participate in one-on-one training focused on communication, time management, and professional execution, along with cohort-based group sessions that strengthen collaboration and workplace readiness. By participating in internships with leading organizations, you’ll build business management, leadership, and communication skills.
5. Leadership Courses – Summer Leadership Institute
Location: On Campus, Dartmouth College
Cost: Tuition required (program-specific pricing applies)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Selective
Dates: Multiple two-week sessions from July 5 to August 14 (varies by course)
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: High school students (eligibility requirements vary by program)
The Summer Leadership Institute offers a structured series of two-week, on-campus leadership courses designed to help you explore leadership through focused thematic tracks. Each session concentrates on a distinct area, allowing you to align your learning with your academic or career interests. If you are interested in public policy and civic engagement, you can enroll in Leadership A or C: Politics & Society, where you will examine governance systems, political strategy, and societal challenges. If your interests lie in entrepreneurship or management, Leadership B or D: Business & Personal Development focuses on business frameworks, professional growth, and leadership execution. The Conflict Resolution and International Negotiation course strengthens your ability to manage disputes, negotiate strategically, and analyze international case studies.
6. Essentials of Leadership – Wharton Global Youth Program
Location: Online
Cost: $4,099
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Selective
Dates: June 15 – June 26; July 6 – July 17
Application Deadline: Priority deadline January 28; final deadline rolling admission
Eligibility: High school students (global applicants welcome)
Wharton Global Youth Program Essentials of Leadership introduces you to business leadership through structured simulations. You work through negotiation and crisis scenarios that require immediate decisions. Case discussions break down leadership styles and their outcomes. You apply frameworks such as situational leadership to group tasks. Team exercises require you to coordinate roles under time limits. You analyze how communication choices shift group performance. The program concludes with reflection assignments tied to your decision patterns.
7. Student Self Leadership Collaborative Online Course
Location: Online (Intrepid® learning platform with live virtual sessions)
Cost: Tuition required (program-specific pricing applies)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Open enrollment
Dates: Four-week program (multiple cohorts offered)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Students ages 14–18
The Student Self Leadership Collaborative Online Course is a four-week virtual program designed to help you develop the mindset and skill set needed to take ownership of your goals. This course emphasizes self-leadership - teaching you how to advocate for yourself, seek feedback, and take initiative in your academic and personal growth. Throughout the program, you will participate in moderated online modules and weekly one-hour live virtual sessions led by student leadership experts. Each week builds progressively: you will identify limiting beliefs, learn how to take responsibility for your actions, set measurable and compelling goals, and develop a forward-looking action plan.
8. Strategic Leadership: Impact, Change, and Decision-Making Specialization
Location: Online
Cost: Subscription-based (Coursera pricing; financial aid available)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Open enrollment (non-selective)
Dates: Self-paced; approximately 2 months (10 hours per week recommended)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Open to high school students and adult learners; beginner level
The Strategic Leadership: Impact, Change, and Decision-Making Specialization offered by Dartmouth College on Coursera is a four-course series designed to strengthen your leadership judgment, decision-making skills, and personal effectiveness. Taught by Professor Sydney Finkelstein of the Tuck School of Business, the specialization draws from extensive research on executive leadership and organizational behavior. You will explore why capable leaders fail, how to avoid common decision-making errors, and how to balance analytical reasoning with emotional intelligence. Across the four courses, you will examine the neuroscience behind effective decisions, talent development strategies used by high-performing leaders, and frameworks for managing change in complex environments.
9. Strategic Leadership and Management Specialization
Location: Online
Cost: Subscription-based (Coursera pricing; financial aid available)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Open enrollment (non-selective)
Dates: Self-paced; approximately 2 months (10 hours per week recommended)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Open to high school students and adult learners; beginner level, no prior experience required
The Strategic Leadership and Management Specialization from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a seven-course series designed to help you build practical leadership and business strategy skills. You will learn how to lead teams effectively, analyze business environments, and design organizations that create long-term value. The curriculum combines foundational leadership theory with applied management tools so you can move from conceptual understanding to strategic execution. You will explore topics such as team development, organizational culture, negotiation, business ethics, corporate strategy, and competitive advantage. Each course builds toward a capstone project in which you develop a comprehensive leadership and management plan based on a real or simulated business scenario.
10. Leading People and Teams Specialization
Location: Online
Cost: Subscription-based (Coursera pricing; financial aid available)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Open enrollment (non-selective)
Dates: Self-paced; approximately 4 weeks (10 hours per week recommended)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Open to high school students and adult learners; beginner level, no prior experience required
University of Michigan Leading People and Teams Specialization studies leadership within group dynamics. You learn how to define vision, align goals, and structure team roles in a way that reduces confusion. Frameworks such as the Michigan Model of Leadership are applied to case examples and exercises. You examine how motivation shifts depending on incentives and feedback. Assignments ask you to practice leading even without formal authority. The course frames leadership as influence grounded in clarity and structure.
11. Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
Location: Online
Cost: Subscription-based (Coursera pricing; financial aid available)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Open enrollment (non-selective)
Dates: Self-paced; approximately 3 hours to complete
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Open to high school students and adult learners; no prerequisites required
The Emotional Intelligence in Leadership course is a short, beginner-level program designed to help you strengthen one of the most critical components of effective leadership: emotional intelligence. In just a few hours, you will explore how to recognize and regulate your own emotions while developing the empathy and interpersonal awareness needed to lead others successfully. Throughout the course, you will learn how to assess your strengths and weaknesses as a leader, manage impulsive reactions, and adapt to changing circumstances. You will also practice reading the emotions and perspectives of team members, building stronger professional relationships, and resolving conflicts constructively.
12. Leadership - Coursera
Location: Online
Cost: Subscription-based (Coursera pricing; financial aid available)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Open enrollment (non-selective)
Dates: Self-paced; approximately 1 week (10 hours recommended)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Open to high school students and adult learners; beginner level
The Leadership course offered by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a short, foundational program designed to help you strengthen core leadership and managerial skills. As part of the Professional Success Skills Specialization, this course focuses on practical business competencies that apply across industries and organizational settings. You will explore various decision-making processes and evaluate the strengths and limitations of each. The course also introduces ethical considerations in managerial decisions, including common ethical traps leaders encounter. In addition, you will gain exposure to the traditional waterfall approach to project management and learn how emotionally intelligent leaders operate within teams and organizations.
13. Leadership: Being a Confident and Effective Team Leader Specialization
Location: Online
Cost: Subscription-based (Coursera pricing; financial aid may be available)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Open enrollment (non-selective)
Dates: Self-paced; approximately 4 weeks (10 hours per week recommended)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Open to high school students and adult learners; beginner level, no prior experience required
Leadership: Being a Confident and Effective Team Leader Specialization explores how leadership operates in digital and hybrid workplaces. You design communication systems that reduce confusion across remote teams and modules, and address how to provide feedback that improves performance without creating friction. Inclusion practices are examined through practical workplace scenarios. Projects require you to draft team charters and clarify expectations. The program treats leadership as coordination across people who may never share the same physical space.
14. Leadership: An Introduction Specialization
Location: Online
Cost: Subscription-based (Coursera pricing; financial aid available)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Open enrollment (non-selective)
Dates: Self-paced; approximately 3 months (10 hours per week recommended)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Open to high school students and adult learners; beginner level, no prior experience required
The Leadership: An Introduction Specialization from Johns Hopkins University is a three-course series designed to give you a structured foundation in leadership studies. If you are new to the field, this program introduces core definitions of leadership while exploring ethical, persuasive, creative, and agile leadership frameworks. Across the courses, The Ethical Leader, The Persuasive Leader, and The Creative Leader, you will examine the historical evolution of leadership theory and analyze how modern challenges, including artificial intelligence, shape leadership practice today. You will learn to identify ethical decision-making principles, persuasive communication strategies, and innovation-driven leadership approaches. The curriculum also explores agile leadership and the opportunities and risks AI presents for organizations and decision-makers.
15. Generative AI Leadership & Strategy Specialization
Location: Online
Cost: Subscription-based (Coursera pricing; financial aid available)
Acceptance Rate / Selectivity: Open enrollment (non-selective)
Dates: Self-paced; approximately 4 weeks (10 hours per week recommended)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Open to high school students and adult learners; beginner level, no prior experience required
The Generative AI Leadership & Strategy Specialization from Vanderbilt University is a three-course series designed to help you integrate generative AI tools such as ChatGPT into leadership, strategy, and decision-making processes. If you are interested in business, entrepreneurship, or innovation, this program introduces you to prompt engineering and shows you how to use large language models to improve productivity and problem-solving. You will learn how to craft effective prompts, simulate brainstorming sessions with AI, draft strategic documents, and refine proposals using structured AI-assisted workflows. The curriculum also explores responsible AI practices, risk management, and verification techniques so you can use generative AI ethically and strategically.