Research Opportunities in Economics for High School Students (2026)
Updated: 4 days ago
Updated September 1, 2026
TL;DR
If you want genuine economics research experience as a high schooler, your realistic options fall into four groups: remote one-on-one mentorship (Lumiere, Horizon Academic), in-person faculty-mentored research (Anson L. Clark Scholars, UC Santa Barbara's RMP), a research-based team competition (the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition), and academic leadership institutes that teach economic reasoning through policy simulations rather than independent research (Economics for Leaders, Yale Young Global Scholars). Most campus programs want rising juniors or seniors, so if you're a freshman or sophomore, your strongest paths are remote mentorship or one of the leadership institutes built for younger students; the Lumiere Research Scholar Program pairs you 1:1 with a PhD mentor on an independent economics research paper, and it's open to any enrolled high schooler, anywhere in the world.
For the wider landscape, see our guides to free economics summer programs, economics competitions, and how admissions officers actually evaluate research. We don't have enough tracked AI-search data specific to economics research queries to know what students are asking AI tools about this topic, so we're not going to guess. If you're weighing options across every subject, not just economics, see our best research opportunities for high school students (2026).
How to get into economics research as a high schooler
Apply earlier than feels necessary. Several of the strongest programs on this list (Clark Scholars, UCSB's RMP, Yale YYGS) close applications in January or February for a summer that's still five or six months away.
If you're a freshman or sophomore, don't wait for "eligible" programs to open up. Most campus research programs want rising juniors and seniors. Remote mentorship and the two leadership institutes below are built for younger students.
Decide whether you want a solo paper or a team result. If you'd rather work with a small group toward one deliverable, the Wharton Investment Competition is a stronger fit than a mentored research placement.
If cost is the real constraint, start with the free options first. Clark Scholars is fully funded with a stipend, and the Wharton competition is free; several others offer real need-based aid rather than token discounts.
Read the current research or subject list before you write your application essay, since these lists rotate. Clark Scholars, for instance, doesn't guarantee an economics research area every year.
How to choose
If you... | Recommended program(s) |
Are a freshman or sophomore | Lumiere Research Scholar Program, Economics for Leaders, Yale Young Global Scholars: PLE |
Live outside the US or can't travel to a US campus | Lumiere Research Scholar Program, Horizon Academic Research Program |
Want the program to be completely free | Anson L. Clark Scholar Program, Wharton Global High School Investment Competition |
Want an independent paper you can call your own | Lumiere Research Scholar Program, Horizon Academic Research Program, Anson L. Clark Scholar Program, UCSB Research Mentorship Program |
Prefer working on a team toward one shared deliverable | Wharton Global High School Investment Competition |
Want a residential campus experience | Anson L. Clark Scholar Program, UCSB Research Mentorship Program, Economics for Leaders, Yale Young Global Scholars: PLE |
Want the strongest research credential regardless of cost | Horizon Academic Research Program, Anson L. Clark Scholar Program |
In-person, faculty-mentored research
Application deadline: The 2026 deadline was February 16; applications for 2027 open in fall 2026
Duration: 7 weeks, late June through early August
Location: Residential, Texas Tech University campus, Lubbock, TX
Eligibility: Must be at least 17 by the program start date and graduating high school in 2026 or 2027 (rising seniors or recent graduates, not juniors)
Cost: Free, including on-campus meals and housing; $750 stipend on successful completion of your research report
Selectivity: Highly selective; only 12 students are admitted each year from roughly 700 applicants
Twelve students spend seven weeks working one-on-one with Texas Tech faculty on a real research project, alongside weekly seminars and social activities. Research areas rotate each year and aren't limited to economics; recent cohorts have included an economics track alongside biology, computer science, chemistry, and other fields, but Texas Tech doesn't guarantee economics will be offered every summer, so check the current year's list before you build an application around it.
Who it's right for: Rising seniors or recent graduates who want the most funded, most selective research placement on this list and don't mind that eligibility now excludes juniors. If economics isn't offered the year you apply, the program is still worth considering in another field.
Application deadline: The 2026 window ran December 15, 2025 through March 9, 2026; expect a similar window for 2027, opening mid-December
Duration: About 6.5 weeks (2026 dates were June 15 to July 31)
Location: Residential or commuter, UC Santa Barbara campus
Eligibility: Currently in 10th or 11th grade (outstanding 9th graders considered case by case); minimum 3.80 weighted GPA; open to students worldwide
Cost: $5,675 total for the commuter option; $13,274 total for the residential option including housing and meals; limited need-based aid available, priority given to California residents
Selectivity: Highly competitive; estimated acceptance rate under 5%
RMP pairs you with a mentor, graduate student, postdoc, or faculty member, and you choose a project from a list of disciplines that includes economics alongside sciences and humanities. You'll earn university credit, attend the GRIT Talks lecture series, and finish with a professional-grade research paper and a symposium presentation.
Who it's right for: Sophomores and juniors specifically, since the program doesn't take seniors and rarely takes freshmen. It's a strong option if you want research plus college credit plus a campus experience, but the residential cost is the highest on this list, so the commuter option is worth considering if you're local.
Remote, mentored economics research
Application deadline: Rolling, with spring, summer, fall, and winter cohorts
Duration: 12 weeks to 1 year
Location: Fully remote, open worldwide
Eligibility: Currently enrolled in high school with strong academic achievement
Cost: Tuition-based; full financial aid available
Selectivity: Competitive; roughly 4,000 applicants for about 500 spots across all subjects
Lumiere pairs you one-on-one with a PhD mentor to design and complete an independent economics research project, ending in a university-level paper. Because the work is individual rather than cohort-based, you pick the question. Past economics projects have ranged from behavioral economics and game theory to development economics and the economics of AI. Longer cohorts add a publication-support track if you want to submit to a high school research journal afterward.
Who it's right for: Students outside the US, students without a research university nearby, and freshmen or sophomores who can't yet apply to campus programs that require rising-junior status. It's also the right fit if you want a paper with your name on it rather than a group deliverable.
Application deadline: Rolling across four cohorts a year (fall, winter, spring, summer); the fall 2026 cohort's deadline was August 30, so check Horizon's site for the next open round
Duration: 12 to 16 weeks
Location: Fully remote
Eligibility: Grades 9 to 12, most accepted students are sophomores or juniors; minimum 3.67 unweighted GPA; no prior research experience required
Cost: $6,450 tuition; need-based financial aid available for households under $75,000 income
Selectivity: Competitive; roughly 26% of applicants are admitted, with the program capping enrollment at about 200 students a year across all subjects
Economics at Horizon runs through its Labs track, meaning you work one-on-one with a PhD or postdoctoral scholar rather than in a seminar group. You'll pick 3 to 5 sub-topics you're interested in from a list that includes labor economics, game theory, and behavioral economics, and your mentor helps you narrow that into a specific research question. The program expects at least 100 hours of work over the term and ends in a roughly 20-page research paper, a grade report, and support for up to three rounds of journal submissions.
Who it's right for: Students who want individualized mentorship but can't access it through Lumiere's cohort dates, and students specifically drawn to a written 20-page paper as an output. Because this is the pricier of the two remote options, it's worth comparing directly against Lumiere before committing.
A research-based competition
Application deadline: Registration for the 2026 to 2027 competition closes September 11, 2026
Duration: Late September through the Global Finale the following April
Location: Virtual competition with an in-person Global Finale at the Wharton School, Philadelphia, for the top 10 teams
Eligibility: Grades 9 to 12, teams of 4 to 6 students with a teacher advisor; open internationally
Cost: Free
This isn't a mentored research placement, it's a team competition, and worth being clear-eyed about that distinction. Teams research a case study built around a real Wharton alum's financial goals, then build and defend a long-term investment strategy using a virtual trading simulator. You're evaluated on the quality of your research and reasoning, not portfolio performance, through two written deliverables: an Investment Policy Statement and a Comprehensive Final Report. Fifty teams advance to virtual semifinals, and the top 10 present at Wharton in person.
Who it's right for: Students who want a résumé-worthy economics credential but would rather work on a team with a fixed timeline than pursue a solo paper, and anyone whose school doesn't have funding for a paid program, since this one is completely free. Given the near-term registration deadline, it's also the fastest thing on this list you could actually start this fall.
Leadership and policy-analysis institutes (not independent research)
These two build real economic reasoning skills and carry real brand recognition, but neither ends in an independent research paper, so we're separating them from the mentored placements above.
Application deadline: The 2026 season is fully booked; applications for 2027 open in December 2026
Duration: 1 week per residential site; 5 days for virtual sessions
Location: Multiple US university campuses (2026 sites included Yale, Rice, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Cornell, Duke, and others) or fully virtual
Eligibility: Current sophomores and juniors
Cost: $2,800 for residential sessions (tuition, room, and board); $900 for virtual sessions; need-based scholarships of $100 to $2,000 (residential) or $100 to $600 (virtual) available to US students and residents
Selectivity: Competitive; roughly two applicants for every available spot, 25 to 40 students admitted per site
EFL teaches you to apply economic analysis to public policy decisions through case studies and simulations, with a leadership-development thread running through the curriculum. It's not a research placement, you won't leave with an independent paper, but it's one of the few well-known economics programs specifically restricted to sophomores and juniors, which makes it a genuine underclassman option rather than a watered-down version of the junior/senior programs above.
Who it's right for: Sophomores and juniors who want a recognized economics credential while they wait to become eligible for research placements, and students who'd rather build policy-analysis and leadership skills than pursue an independent paper right now.
Application deadline: For the 2026 cohort, Early Action closed October 15, 2025 and Regular Decision closed January 7, 2026; expect a similar Early Action window in mid-October and Regular Decision in early January for the next cycle
Duration: 2 weeks per session, three sessions offered each summer
Location: Residential, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Eligibility: Current sophomores or juniors (or international equivalent), first-time YYGS participants, at least 16 by the first day of the session
Cost: $7,000 tuition; need-blind admissions with over $3 million in need-based aid and scholarships distributed annually
Selectivity: Highly selective; over 10,000 applications for about 1,900 spots across all four YYGS tracks
The PLE track examines economic theory, market regulation, and public policy through Yale faculty lectures and small seminars, ending in a collaborative capstone project rather than an individual paper. Like EFL, this is a seminar-and-simulation program, not a mentored research placement, but it carries real brand weight and is one of the few prestige programs open to sophomores.
Who it's right for: Sophomores and juniors who want the Yale name and a genuinely global cohort (YYGS draws from more than 150 countries) and who understand going in that the deliverable is a team capstone, not a research paper.
Notes - bonus programs you should know about
The High School Fed Challenge is a free, team-based research and writing competition run by the Federal Reserve System, open to students in grades 9 to 12 within a Federal Reserve District. We've covered it in detail in a separate post, so we're linking rather than duplicating that coverage here.
The Economics Transformation Project (J-PAL North America), which appeared in earlier versions of this list, no longer has an individual student application. It's been folded into J-PAL's broader Economics Pathways work and is delivered through school and partner-organization requests rather than direct applications, so we've removed it here.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to have taken an economics class before applying to these programs?
No, for most of them. Horizon and EFL both explicitly say prior coursework isn't required, just genuine interest and strong grades overall. Programs like Clark Scholars and UCSB's RMP care more about your general academic record and demonstrated curiosity than whether you've taken AP Economics specifically.
Are there completely free economics research options?
Yes. The Anson L. Clark Scholar Program is fully funded with a stipend, and the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition is free to enter. Several others, including Lumiere, Horizon, and EFL, offer real need-based financial aid rather than symbolic discounts.
Can international students apply to these programs?
It depends on the program. Lumiere, Horizon, UCSB's RMP, and Yale YYGS are all explicitly open to international students. Clark Scholars is open to a national and international applicant pool but has historically skewed toward US students given the residency logistics. The Wharton competition accepts teams from outside the US as well.
What's the difference between this list and Lumiere's list of free economics programs?
This list focuses specifically on programs with a genuine research, mentorship, or rigorous-analysis component. Our free economics summer programs guide covers a wider range of no-cost options, including several that are closer to coursework or career exploration than research. If cost is your main filter, start there; if research experience specifically is your main filter, this list is the better starting point.
Is a competition like the Wharton Investment Competition as valuable as a research paper for college applications?
They signal different things rather than one being strictly stronger. A solo research paper demonstrates independent intellectual ownership and sustained individual effort. A team competition demonstrates collaboration, communication under a deadline, and applied financial analysis. Admissions officers read both as legitimate evidence of initiative; which one to prioritize depends on whether you'd rather work alone or in a group, and what other parts of your application already show.
How selective are these programs?
Selectivity varies widely. Clark Scholars admits just 12 students a year from roughly 700 applicants. UCSB's RMP has an estimated acceptance rate under 5%. Horizon admits about 26% of applicants. Lumiere and EFL are competitive but less singularly selective, since they run multiple cohorts and sites respectively. The Wharton competition doesn't reject applicants at entry, since any team can register, though only 50 of the field advance to semifinals.
Stephen Turban is the co-founder of Lumiere Education and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics before beginning a PhD at Harvard Business School. A former McKinsey & Company consultant and former researcher, his research has been covered by the Harvard Business Review, The Economist, BBC News, Freakonomics Radio, and the Washington Post. In his articles for Forbes, he writes on what students and professionals can learn from high school research, high school passion projects, critical thinking, and mentorship. At Lumiere, he leads a selective research program where students work one-on-one with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper. Connect with him on LinkedIn.