15 Virtual Leadership Programs for High School Students
Leadership skills are easier to develop when you actually use them. For high school students interested in business or entrepreneurship, virtual leadership programs offer a way to apply what they learn in class to real group work and decision-making.
What do virtual leadership programs for high school students involve?
In a virtual leadership program, you work with peers on shared tasks, participate in structured activities, and practice making decisions as a group. This gives you insight into how leadership works in real settings and helps you test whether this type of work suits you.
Why should you participate in virtual leadership programs for high school students?
You also get a clearer sense of how business ideas move from planning to execution. Since these programs are online, they remove many logistical barriers and make participation easier.
If you’re looking for in-person business leadership programs, go here, or check here for nonprofit leadership programs.
To help you explore strong options, we’ve put together a list of 15 virtual leadership programs for high school students!
15 Virtual Leadership Programs for High School Students
1. Wharton Global Youth Program’s Essentials of Leadership
Location: Online
Cost: $4,099
Program Dates: June 15– June 26 | July 6– July 17
Application Deadlines: January 28
Eligibility: Open to high school students in grades 9–12 who have shown leadership ability.
Essentials of Leadership is a two-week virtual summer program created to help you understand what effective leadership looks like in a modern business environment. The curriculum blends theory with hands-on practice, giving you the chance to build core leadership skills that you can apply across academic, extracurricular, and professional settings. You’ll explore leadership through several key themes: self-awareness, personal leadership styles, emotional intelligence, and team dynamics. You’ll learn to identify your strengths, lead in different contexts, communicate confidently, and make decisions under pressure. Two immersive business simulations: OPEQ Negotiation and the Wildfire crisis-management simulation, allow you to apply leadership in real time. In addition, you’ll practice negotiation techniques, ethical decision-making, and presentation skills as you work toward a capstone industry leadership project.
2. Young Founders Lab
Location: Online
Cost: Paid entrepreneurial work-learn experience
Program Dates: Vary by cohort
Application Deadlines: Varies depending on the cohort.
Eligibility: Open to high school students in Grades 9–12.
The Young Founders Lab offers a virtual incubator experience for those interested in learning how to lead and launch a real venture while still in high school. The program follows the model of well-known startup accelerators, guiding you through identifying a problem, developing a business idea, building an early product, and refining a pitch for potential investors. You’ll take part in a blend of workshops, case discussions, collaborative group work, and live sessions with founders and industry speakers. Throughout the program, you’ll receive mentorship from experienced professionals and can attend weekly office hours to fine-tune your business strategy, product direction, and overall approach.
3. Kelley Women’s Leadership Institute
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Program Dates: April 22 & April 29
Application Deadline: March 20
Eligibility: Open to current sophomores, juniors, and seniors with a minimum 3.5 GPA.
The Kelley Women’s Leadership Institute is a two-day virtual program run by Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business that looks at business through a leadership lens. You attend online sessions led by Kelley faculty that focus on communication, decision-making, and how leaders approach real business problems. A central part of the program is working through a business case, where you practice analyzing a situation and proposing solutions as a team. The program also addresses leadership from the perspective of women in business, giving you space to discuss challenges, build confidence, and think about how different areas of business might fit with your goals.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Cost: Varies according to program.
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
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 places you inside a real startup, working on projects that actually matter to the company. You are matched with a fast-growing startup in fields like tech, AI, health, marketing, journalism, or consulting, depending on your interests. These are not mock internships. You work directly with founders and managers, contribute to active projects, and get regular guidance from a Ladder Coach who helps you stay on track. Many of the startups are early stage but well funded, often led by founders with serious industry or startup experience. The program ends with you presenting your work to the company, giving you a clear sense of how startups operate and what it feels like to be part of a small, fast-moving team.
5. Future Business Leaders Webinar Series
Location: Online
Cost: $350
Program Dates: August 9–30
Application Deadline: July 1
Eligibility: Open to high school students who have demonstrated interest and academic strength in business.
The Future Business Leaders Webinar Series is a nine-session online program run by NYU’s Stern School of Business. Over the course of a month, you hear directly from Stern faculty and industry professionals as they break down how different parts of business actually work. Sessions cover areas like entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, management, accounting, data science, sports and entertainment, and fashion, with leadership themes running through each talk. The series begins with a focus on purpose-driven leadership, then moves into how leaders make decisions and operate across industries. If you attend the full series, you receive a certificate that reflects your participation in NYU Stern’s business and leadership programming.
6. Brown Leadership Institute (Online)
Location: Online (4-week virtual program)
Cost: Determined by the program you enroll in; detailed information is available here.
Program Dates: June 22 – July 17
Application Deadline: Not listed
Eligibility: Students completing grades 9–12
The Brown Leadership Institute’s online program is a four-week experience focused on leadership and social change. You choose a course that looks closely at issues like equity, civic engagement, education access, intercultural communication, or social entrepreneurship. Classes are discussion-based and center on how leaders think through complex problems rather than on abstract theory. Throughout the program, you practice skills such as listening carefully, speaking clearly, working in teams, and solving problems tied to real situations. The program ends with you creating an Action Plan, a concrete project designed to apply what you learned in your own school or community.
7. United Nations Young Leaders Online Training Programme
Location: Online
Cost: $750 (limited scholarships available)
Program Dates: January 12 – February 6 | April 13 – May 8 | June 8 – July 3 | July 27 – August 21
Application Deadline: First-come, first-served; capped at 30 participants
Eligibility: Open to high school students, university students, and other aspiring young leaders interested in global affairs.
The United Nations Young Leaders Online Training Programme is a four-week virtual program that shows you how global decision-making actually works inside international institutions. You move through a mix of self-paced modules, live sessions, and interactive workshops that introduce the structure of the UN, the role of diplomacy, and how international cooperation is carried out. The curriculum covers conference diplomacy, the Sustainable Development Goals, and cross-cultural communication, giving you a clear picture of how global priorities are discussed and negotiated. Each week includes live webinars led by UN experts who explain how the UN system functions, how the SDGs are implemented, and how students prepare for pathways like Model UN or careers in international organizations.
8. Lead4Change Student Leadership Program
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Program Dates: Self-paced; usable for one class period, one week, or an entire semester.
Application Deadline: Resources are available year-round.
Eligibility: Middle and high school students, grades 6–12
Lead4Change is a fully virtual leadership program built to fit easily into your school schedule while helping you build practical leadership skills. You can take part through short “10ers” that work as single lessons, week-long Leadership Labs that focus on one skill at a time, or a full semester program that guides you through leadership concepts and a real community project. The curriculum focuses on teamwork, communication, and taking initiative in settings like classes, clubs, or virtual groups. Students who complete the program can earn recognition such as graduation cords, possible school credit, and eligibility for grants through Lead4Change’s Small Grants Program to support projects they care about.
9. Berkeley Business Academy’s Academic Year Program
Location: Online
Cost: California Resident: $5450 | Out of State Resident: $6450
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts available, check here.
Application Deadline: Varies by the cohort
Eligibility: Rising 10th–12th-grade students and gap year students from anywhere in the world.
The Berkeley Business Academy Academic Year Program is a virtual program where you spend the school year learning how business leaders think and make decisions. Classes focus on real problems rather than theory, using case discussions, simulations, workshops, and team projects to push you to analyze situations, work with others, and defend your ideas. You learn directly from Berkeley faculty, scholars, and teaching assistants, and regularly engage with guest speakers who share how they approach leadership and innovation. By the end of the program, you receive a UC Berkeley Certificate of Participation along with a written evaluation that reflects your work and growth over the year.
10. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience (Online Leadership Pathways)
Location: Online programs + optional in-person activities
Cost: Varies by council and pathway
Program Dates: Flexible, ongoing
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Open to high school students who are registered Girl Scouts
The Girl Scout Leadership Experience focuses on developing leadership through choice, responsibility, and action. You work through online modules, virtual meetings, and independent activities that center on decision making, teamwork, and project leadership. The program is structured around selected pathways such as entrepreneurship, civic engagement, STEM, and community action, where you apply leadership skills to defined tasks. In the high school track, you complete badges and journeys that require you to plan, execute, and evaluate a service or community project, building experience in goal setting, coordination, and accountability.
11. Harvard Youth Leadership Summit (HYLS)
Location: Online
Cost: Not specified
Program Dates: Varies by summit cycle
Application Deadline: Varies by the cohort
Eligibility: Full-time students ages 14–18 who are academically fluent in English and committed to personal and academic growth.
The Harvard Youth Leadership Summit is a student-run program organized by current Harvard students. It takes place online and is designed around leadership development through discussion and applied problem-solving. You take part in seminar-style sessions modeled on Harvard classrooms, where mentors guide you through curated lectures and lead structured discussions focused on critical thinking and analysis. The program also includes keynote talks and an Impact Challenge, where you work in teams on a case study that requires decision-making, collaboration, and clear reasoning.
12. Student Self Leadership Collaborative Online Course
Location: Online
Cost: Not listed
Program Dates: Four-week cohorts
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students ages 14–18
The Student Self Leadership Collaborative Online Course is a four-week program focused on building self-leadership skills. You work through structured modules that emphasize self-awareness, responsibility, communication, and follow-through. The curriculum guides you in identifying personal habits that affect your performance, recognizing strengths, and setting clear, realistic goals that apply to school, activities, and daily decision-making. Each week centers on a specific skill, including taking initiative, asking for support, managing setbacks, and creating an action plan. The course combines independent online work with live virtual sessions led by trained student leadership instructors.
13. 21st Century Leaders’ Leadership Connect
Location: Online
Cost: 9th Grade: $300 | 10th Grade: $225 | 11th Grade: $175 | 12th Grade: $100
Program Dates: Self-paced
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students from grades 9–12.
Leadership Connect is a self-paced virtual program that introduces you to leadership through a structured, multi-level curriculum. It serves as the entry point to 21st Century Leaders and is designed to build leadership skills step by step rather than all at once. The program begins with core competencies such as self-awareness, communication, and teamwork through interactive online modules. As you move forward, the focus shifts to social and emotional intelligence, including understanding identity, perspective taking, and inclusive collaboration. Later levels concentrate on practical leadership preparation, covering areas like financial literacy, civic responsibility, health, and workplace readiness. The final level is a project-based capstone developed with Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, where you apply leadership skills to design a social enterprise.
14. Wharton Sports Business Academy (WSBA)
Location: Online
Cost: $4,799
Program Dates: July 6 – July 24
Application Deadlines: March 18
Eligibility: High school students in grades 10–11 with strong academics and an interest in sports, business, and management. Open to international applicants.
The Wharton Sports Business Academy is a virtual program that focuses on how the sports industry actually operates behind the scenes. You learn through lectures, case discussions, and guest talks led by Wharton faculty and industry professionals, with an emphasis on how teams, leagues, and sports organizations are built and managed. The program looks closely at revenue models, media rights, fan engagement, governance, and the business tradeoffs leaders have to make in a competitive, global market. A core part of the experience is the Emerging League Analysis, where you work in teams to study a real league, run a SWOT analysis, and present clear business recommendations. Along the way, you examine topics like player compensation, league structure, sports betting, and newer or niche sports markets.
15. Envision Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC)
Location: Both residential and virtual options available
Cost: Varies by location ($3,500–$6,500+ depending on city); financial aid available
Program Dates: Multiple sessions throughout June, July, and August
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions; early enrollment recommended
Eligibility: High school students, grades 9–12 (international students welcome)
Envision’s Global Young Leaders Conference is a two-week residential program that brings together high school students from around the world to study leadership in an international setting. You attend sessions where the curriculum focuses on how leadership works across cultures, governments, and global systems. Each day blends structured seminars with site visits to institutions like government offices, international organizations, and business centers, depending on location.
You work in diverse teams on case studies and simulations that address global challenges, practicing negotiation, collaboration, and cross-cultural communication. Reflection sessions are built into the schedule to examine how leadership decisions differ across societies and contexts. The program concludes with a certificate of participation and access to an international peer network, with need- and merit-based scholarships available.
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