15 Online Marketing Courses for High School Students
Whether you want to start a business, build a personal brand, or just work in business someday, marketing is one of those skills worth picking up early.
What do online marketing courses involve?
A good course gets into branding, social media strategy, content creation, SEO, email marketing, consumer behavior, and digital analytics- the actual mechanics behind why some things spread and others don't. Many courses also have you apply what you learn directly, building a mock campaign or picking apart a real business's marketing to see what's actually working.
Why should high school students take a marketing course?
What you take from this sticks around well past the course itself. Whether you're promoting a startup, running a school club, growing a YouTube channel, or getting ready for a college entrepreneurship program, knowing how to actually reach people is a real advantage.
To help you get started, we've compiled a list of 15 online marketing courses for high school students! For related opportunities, check out our guides on marketing internships for high school students in Chicago and 30 startup ideas for high school students.
Quick Look
1 free course: Yale Online's Capitalism course, self-paced and open to high school sophomores through seniors.
1 fully virtual, entrepreneurship-focused option: Young Founders Lab, which pairs you with mentors as you build a real startup.
Most courses cost between $1,795 and $1,990 for flexible 1-, 2-, or 4-week sessions, including options from Georgetown, Northwestern, Rice, and Dartmouth.
1 dedicated bootcamp on social media specifically: NextGen Bootcamp's Social Media Marketing Summer Program, covering platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Wharton's Pre-Baccalaureate Marketing Programs are the only option offering college credit specific to marketing coursework.
15 Online Marketing Courses for High School Students
1. Columbia University Pre-College – Online Summer (Marketing & Business Courses)
Location: Online (live synchronous instruction through Columbia University’s learning platform)
Cost: 1-Week Online: $2,867 per session; 2-Week Online: $4,017 per session; need-based financial aid available for eligible U.S. residents
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Moderately selective; cohort size not specified
Program Dates: Session AA: June 22–June 26, Session A: July 6–July 17, and Session B: July 20–July 31
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions; the Early Registration deadline is March 10, and the General Registration deadline is March 24
Eligibility: Students entering grades 9–12 and graduating seniors worldwide
Columbia's Online Summer program lets you explore business, marketing, entrepreneurship, and economics through live classes with Columbia instructors. Depending on your course, you will study topics like branding, consumer behavior, digital marketing, and business strategy using case studies, simulations, discussions, and practical assignments. Group activities encourage you to apply marketing concepts to real business situations rather than simply learning the theory. At the end of the course, you receive a Certificate of Participation along with a written evaluation from your instructor.
2. Young Founders Lab
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective; cohort size not specified
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 ideation, 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. Wharton Pre-Baccalaureate Marketing Programs
Location: Virtual
Cost: Approximately $4,230 per course (varies by program)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: Offered during Summer, Fall, and Spring terms
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors (rising 11th and 12th graders during the summer session); international students must verify English language proficiency at a C1 equivalent level
Wharton's Pre-Baccalaureate Marketing courses let you earn college credit while studying marketing through a university-level curriculum. You will explore topics like consumer behavior, digital marketing, advertising, social media analytics, and brand strategy using business case studies and practical assignments. Depending on the course, you may also work with marketing data to understand how companies measure customer engagement and campaign performance. Projects often involve evaluating real brands, building marketing strategies, and analyzing consumer trends.
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. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Strategic Marketing
Location: Virtual
Cost: $3,080
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Competitive admission
Program Dates: Session 1: June 15–June 26 and Session 2: July 6–July 17
Application Deadline: Historically mid-March
Eligibility: Students in grades 8–11 at the time of application and between the ages of 13 and 19
Marketing sits at the intersection of psychology, business, and communication, and that's exactly how Stanford approaches this course. You'll learn how companies identify customers, build brand positioning, choose marketing channels, and communicate value through case studies and discussion-based classes. Throughout the program, you'll develop marketing plans, evaluate business strategies, and receive feedback on your work from instructors. The focus stays on understanding why certain campaigns succeed while others fail. It serves as a strong introduction to university-level marketing without assuming prior business experience.
6. UC San Diego Futures: Marketing for High Schoolers
Location: Online
Cost: $250–$390 (varies by course)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Open enrollment
Program Dates: Multiple sessions offered throughout the year; self-paced options available
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12
If you want a practical introduction to marketing without committing to a full pre-college program, UC San Diego Futures is a good place to start. You'll learn how businesses research customers, build brands, and create marketing strategies across different industries. The course covers topics like audience segmentation, content strategy, social media, market research, and brand positioning through real business examples and case studies. Along the way, you'll examine how companies make marketing decisions based on customer behavior rather than guesswork. Over ten weeks, you'll build a solid understanding of the frameworks that shape modern marketing while strengthening your analytical and communication skills.
7. USC Pre-College Program - Digital Marketing: From Content Creation to Strategic Planning
Location: Online
Cost: $1,990 tuition + $35 application fee
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified; admissions are rolling
Program Dates: Self-paced; designed to be completed in 4 weeks with up to 90 days of access
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions, with final application and tuition due exactly 5 days before each session's start date
Eligibility: High school students aged 14+; exceptions may be available for recent graduates and gap-year students
Digital marketing changes quickly, and USC's online course is designed to help you understand the thinking behind it rather than just the latest trends. You'll study branding, content marketing, social media strategy, customer experience, digital advertising, and campaign analytics through recorded lessons and business case studies. The course also explores how companies choose different platforms for different audiences and measure whether a campaign is actually working. Practical activities encourage you to apply what you learn instead of simply watching lectures. Since the course is self-paced, you can complete it alongside your regular school schedule.
8. Georgetown University’s Discover the Power of Marketing
Location: Online
Cost: $1,895 (enrichment course) | $3,995 (college credit course)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Program Dates: Available in 1-week, 2-week, and 4-week formats throughout the year
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Students aged 13 and older
Georgetown University's Pre-College Online Marketing course introduces you to the principles behind how organizations build brands, reach customers, and promote products and services. The curriculum explores both traditional marketing approaches and modern digital strategies, covering topics such as branding, audience targeting, consumer behavior, and marketing communication. In this course, you will work through multimedia lessons, simulations, and guided assignments designed to help you understand how marketing campaigns are developed and executed. A dedicated mentor provides support, answers questions, and offers feedback as you progress through the program. The experience includes a capstone project where you analyze a company's marketing strategy, evaluate its target audience, and assess the techniques used to engage consumers.
9. Northwestern University’s Business: Strategies, Innovation, and Success
Location: Online
Cost: $1,895
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Program Dates: Offered in 1-week intensive, 2-week, and 4-week formats throughout the year
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Students aged 13 and older
Northwestern's Business: Strategies, Innovation, and Success course looks at marketing through the broader lens of how companies grow. You'll study topics like product-market fit, customer targeting, business strategy, and value creation while examining how successful businesses make strategic decisions. Throughout the course, you'll receive feedback from a mentor as you work through business scenarios and assignments. The final project asks you to analyze a company and develop a strategy for a new product or service. It's a good fit if you're interested in entrepreneurship as much as marketing itself.
10. Cornell SCE Business and Marketing Programs
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1,940 per credit
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Program Dates: Multiple sessions offered during summer and winter terms
Application Deadline: Varies by session; applications reviewed on a rolling basis
Eligibility: Students aged 15–19 who have completed the sophomore year of high school; international applicants must demonstrate English proficiency
Cornell’s School of Continuing Education (SCE) offers online marketing courses for high school students that allow you to study university-level concepts while earning college credit. Depending on the term and course selection, you can explore topics related to marketing strategy, business management, consumer behavior, and organizational decision-making. Marketing-focused coursework examines product positioning, pricing, promotion, and distribution, often through case studies and guided discussions. Classes are designed to encourage critical thinking by asking you to analyze business challenges and evaluate potential solutions. You may also work on projects that apply marketing concepts to scenarios and industry examples.
11. Dartmouth’s Entrepreneurship: Driving Change Through New Businesses
Location: Online
Cost: $1,895
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Program Dates: Multiple sessions offered throughout the year
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions (typically closes one week before each session's start date)
Eligibility: Students aged 13 and older
Dartmouth's entrepreneurship course is built around a simple question: how do good ideas become real businesses? You'll start by identifying problems worth solving before moving into customer discovery, idea validation, and product development. Along the way, you'll learn how founders test assumptions, build a minimum viable product, and shape a business model that fits the market. Industry professionals share their own experiences of launching ventures, giving the lessons a practical context. The course ends with a capstone project where you'll present your business idea through a pitch backed by research and audience analysis.
12. Rice University’s Entrepreneurship: From Ideas to Impact in Fintech
Location: Online
Cost: $1,795
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Program Dates: Multiple year-round cohorts offered in 1-week, 2-week, and 4-week formats
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Students ages 13 and older
If you're interested in both business and technology, Rice's fintech course explores where the two meet. You'll study how startups are changing areas like digital payments, investing, lending, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies through case studies and practical examples. The course looks at how fintech companies identify market gaps, attract users, and compete with traditional financial institutions. Throughout the program, you'll work on a capstone project where you either develop your own fintech idea or expand an existing business concept. A mentor provides feedback as you refine your work before earning a Rice Certificate of Completion.
13. Yale Online: PLSC 270 – Capitalism: Success, Crisis, and Reform
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Open enrollment
Program Dates: Self-paced
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
Yale Online’s Capitalism: Success, Crisis, and Reform is a self-paced course that examines how modern economic systems operate and how they influence businesses, markets, and society. Through a combination of video lectures, readings, and interactive learning activities, you explore topics such as economic growth, competition, financial crises, inequality, and public policy. The course encourages you to analyze how businesses function within broader economic systems and how market forces shape consumer and organizational behavior. You also examine historical and contemporary case studies that highlight major debates surrounding capitalism and economic reform. The curriculum emphasizes critical thinking and evidence-based analysis, helping you evaluate different perspectives on business and economic development.
14. NextGen Bootcamp: Social Media Marketing Summer Program
Location: Live Online, New York City (in-person), or Self-Paced Online
Cost: $1,299 (early registration pricing; standard tuition $1,499)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Open enrollment; small class sizes
Program Dates: Multiple summer sessions; self-paced option available year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: High school students; basic computer skills recommended
Social media marketing is more than posting content, and this bootcamp shows you what happens behind successful campaigns. You'll learn how brands build audiences on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook while exploring topics such as content planning, branding, audience growth, and campaign strategy. Much of the learning happens through projects where you'll create and evaluate your own marketing content. Live classes also give you opportunities to ask questions and receive feedback from instructors. If you miss a session, recordings and additional learning resources remain available throughout the course.
15. AMA Marketing Certification
Location: Online
Cost: Exam and preparation costs vary depending on the learning materials and certification package selected
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Open enrollment
Dates: Available year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment
Eligibility: Open to students and learners interested in marketing fundamentals
The American Marketing Association's certification is a good starting point if you want a structured introduction to modern marketing. You'll study topics like branding, market research, customer behavior, pricing, paid media, and ethical marketing while preparing for the certification exam. Practice materials include interactive simulations that mirror the kinds of decisions marketers make in real companies. Instead of focusing on one industry, the course introduces frameworks that apply across different business settings. Since enrollment is open year-round, you can prepare for the certification whenever it fits your schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do I need a marketing background before taking one of these courses?
No. Most of these courses, including Georgetown's Discover the Power of Marketing and USC's Digital Marketing course, are designed for beginners and build up from foundational concepts like branding and audience targeting. If you want to apply what you learn to a real venture instead of a hypothetical brand, Young Founders Lab pairs you with mentors as you build and market an actual startup.
2. Is there a course focused specifically on social media marketing?
The NextGen Bootcamp's Social Media Marketing Summer Program focuses specifically on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, covering content planning and audience growth. If you want to apply marketing skills to something you're building yourself, Young Founders Lab lets you develop a real go-to-market strategy for an actual startup.
3. Which courses let you earn college credit?
Wharton's Pre-Baccalaureate Marketing Programs and Cornell's SCE Business and Marketing Programs both offer college credit alongside their marketing curriculum, unlike most other courses on this list, which are enrichment-only.