12 Finance Summer Programs for High School Students
Finance is a promising field to pursue as a career. However, high school classrooms don’t really dive into the subject. In this article, we present a list of 12 finance summer programs for high school students through which you can explore the domain. These programs not only provide a solid foundation in financial principles but also offer hands-on experiences and exposure to real-world scenarios.
Whether you want to understand the stock market, navigate the complexities of corporate finance, or explore the intersection of finance with other areas like business and math, these programs can help you get there. Each entry on this list offers a unique experience and you should choose the one that best fits your interests as well as your academic and professional goals.
Let’s dive in!
Application deadline: April 3, 2024
Eligibility: All high school students, including international applicants, with a minimum GPA of 3.3
Program dates: Session 1 from June 9, 2024 – June 22, 2024, Session 2 from June 23, 2024 – July 6, 2024, Session 3 from July 14, 2024 – July 27, 2024, Session 4 from July 28, 2024 – August 10, 2024
Location: Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Fee: $7,599
Financial assistance: Limited need-based scholarships are available
Covering the basics of personal and corporate finance, this program will give you a fundamental introduction to the subject. Through the two-week intensive program, you will attend lectures, examine case studies, and complete an analysis project in small groups. The curriculum includes topics like equities, capital structure, valuation models, risk and the cost of capital. As a Wharton pre-college offering, this program comes with a high level of prestige but can also be selective to get into. At the end of the program, you will receive a Wharton Global Youth Certificate of Completion.
If you are unable to make it to the Philadelphia campus, you can consider Understanding Your Money, which is a self-paced, online program.
Application deadline: The program runs in cohorts throughout the year. The deadline for the winter cohort is December 3, 2023
Eligibility: Students from grades 8-12 who have a background in coding or have completed the AI Scholars program
Program dates: December 16, 2023 – February 17, 2024 (for the winter cohort)
Location: Online
Fee: $1,790
If you’re interested in both AI and finance, this program is a great way to study how one influences the other. Over the course of ten sessions of 2.5 hours each, you will learn about the implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning in fields like banking, asset management, fraud detection and more. Exploratory Data Analysis, Regressions, and Convolutional Neural Networks are a few of the key topics you will dive into. The program is entirely virtual and structured using a combination of lectures and group sessions. You will also work on a group project featuring hands-on work, such as developing a model to predict stock prices or other financial patterns.
Application deadline: February 15, 2024
Eligibility: Current juniors and seniors who are at least 17 years of age and a US citizen or permanent resident
Program dates: June 16, 2024 – August 1, 2024
Location: Texas Tech University (residential)
Stipend: $750
Only twelve high-achieving students are accepted into this prestigious research program. It is an intensive seven-week experience where you will engage in hands-on research in a specific field and one of the available research areas is Economics/Business/Finance/Marketing. This is perfect for students looking to have a completed research project in the field of finance. It is a highly competitive program (standardized test scores are also required in the application) but it comes with an equally high level of prestige — which means it can give your college applications a real boost.
Application deadline: TBA
Eligibility: Students who have completed grades 9, 10, and 11
Program dates: Six sessions available from July to August
Location: New York University (Residential, commuter and online versions available)
Fee: $2,495 (An additional $607 per week for housing and dining)
Financial assistance: Not available
If you’re looking for a shorter time commitment, NYU offers this one-week program that covers various aspects of the finance industry. The curriculum aims to provide an introduction to the subject that will help students who are thinking of pursuing this field. You will learn the foundations of financial analysis and investment management along with topics like the role of the Federal Reserve System, the use of financial derivatives, techniques for measuring risk, and more. Previous students have visited Federal Hall and the Finance Museum as well as explored Wall Street as part of the program’s schedule. You won’t receive a certificate at the end of this course but you will receive a NYU transcript.
Application deadline: June 1, 2024
Eligibility: All high school students aged 14 – 18, international students can apply as well
Program dates: Three weeks in June and July (tentatively, based on previous years)
Location: University of California, Los Angeles (residential program)
Fee: $461
Financial assistance: Limited full and partial scholarships available
This three-week UCLA summer program offers a focus on the field of investments and career paths related to investing. Through lectures and discussions led by UCLA students and faculty, you will learn about financial markets, stock ownership, valuation styles, financial panics, private equity and more. The curriculum also includes case studies and you will be graded on the basis of your class participation, homework and exams. The bonus point is that you will also earn transferable college credit! As a mandatorily residential program, you will also get a taste of university life as you live on campus.
Application deadline: April 2024 (exact date TBA)
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors
Program dates: 4-5 days in June (tentatively, based on previous years)
Location: University of Houston
Fee: Free
If you are interested in experiencing college life on campus, as a finance major, while also learning how to manage your personal finances, then consider applying to this program. It’s free of cost and by the end, you will have learned about budgeting, money management, goal setting and more. The aim of the program is to equip you with the tools to plan your financial future. With the short duration and lack of cost, this is a great choice for those who do not want to invest a lot of time and money in a summer program.
7. Ladder Internship Program - Finance Track
Application deadline: April 16 and May 14
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates and gap year students!
Program dates: 8 weeks, June to August
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Cost: $1490 (Financial Aid Available)
Ladder Internship is a selective program equipping students with virtual internship experiences at startups and nonprofits around the world! The startups range across a variety of industries, and each student can select which field they would most love to deep dive into. This is also a great opportunity for students to explore areas they think they might be interested in, and better understand professional career opportunities in those areas. The startups are based all across the world, with the majority being in the United States, Asia and then Europe and the UK.
You can explore all the options here on their application form. As part of their internship, each student will work on a real-world project that is of genuine need to the startup they are working with, and present their work at the end of their internship. In addition to working closely with their manager from the startup, each intern will also work with a Ladder Coach throughout their internship - the Ladder Coach serves as a second mentor and a sounding board, guiding you through the internship and helping you navigate the startup environment.
Interns are offered one-on-one training in communication, time management and other such valuable skills and will also have the opportunity to attend group training sessions with other interns in their cohort. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.
Application deadline: April 1, 2024
Eligibility: All high school students
Program dates: Three one-week sessions available to choose from in June and July
Location: Fordham University (commuter)
Fee: $1,000
Financial assistance: Limited need-based scholarships are available
Along with learning the fundamentals of finance, this program will also give you the opportunity to interact with business officials in NYC. The syllabus includes investment analysis formulas, asset management, risk theories, ethics, market manipulation, microfinance, and more. Hosted by the university’s Gabelli School of Business, this program is geared towards students who want to study finance further. Previous students have mentioned that the coursework helped their understanding of broader subjects like economics and business as well.
Application deadline: Applications open on November 1 and there is no hard deadline, applications are accepted on a rolling basis
Eligibility: All high school students
Program dates: One week in June or July (tentatively, based on previous years)
Location: Wake Forest University (residential)
Fee: $2,800
Financial assistance: Need-based scholarships available
This is another summer program that does a deep dive into the field of investing, covering everything from market analysis to the power of compounding and the time value of money. The institute is one of the offerings of the university’s summer immersion. The highlight is the curriculum’s hands-on experiences — you will visit financial institutions, tour companies, and even participate in a mock investment competition! Additionally, you will learn how to pitch prospective investments, practice public speaking and build your investment portfolio.
If an in-person program is not feasible, you can consider this online immersion program instead.
Application deadline: Applications open on November 1, 2023 and students are accepted on a rolling basis
Eligibility: All high school students
Program dates: Session 1 from June 24, 2024 – July 12, 2024, Session 2 from July 8, 2024 – 26, 2024
Location: Gann Academy/ Bentley University in Waltham or the institute’s Boston location
Fee: $2,200 for tuition and $2,097 for the residential fees
Financial assistance: Limited scholarships available for rising seniors
This program is ideal for students who are interested in and want to learn about math and business alongside finance. As a participant in this three-week intensive program, you will learn about what financial analysts do as well as the mathematical concepts and techniques used in the field. Some of the topics covered include bond valuation, dividends, developing forecasts, cash flow, and spotting trends.
Previous students have even taken part in a stock game where they made trades every day. BLI’s three-week programs are known for their in-depth curriculum as well as research experience. However, do consider that these programs look for high-achieving students and can be fairly competitive. You can read more about our review of the Boston Leadership Institute here.
Application deadline: April (tentatively, based on previous years)
Eligibility: Current sophomores and juniors, with 25-40 students accepted at each site
Program dates: Varies with each location but the program runs for a week in between June and August
Location: Various locations available
Fee: $2,100
Financial assistance: Limited partial scholarships are available
Economics for Leaders is a well-known program that trains students in the field of economics and leadership. This makes it an ideal choice for students who aren’t looking for a narrow approach to finance but would like to study it in a broader sense, while also honing leadership skills. Topics like economic growth and scarcity, open markets, opportunity costs, incentives, money, and inflation are covered within the economics section.
The coursework also includes hands-on elements where you will study theoretical concepts through simulations and implement economics analysis in practical situations. However, do keep in mind that only one student per high school is admitted to this six-day residential program, making it quite competitive.
Application deadline: May (tentatively, based on previous years)
Eligibility: All rising high school students
Program dates: June and July (tentatively, based on previous years)
Location: Online
Fee: $50 registration fee
Prizes: $600 for the first place, $500 for the second, $400 for the third, $300 for the fourth, and $200 for the fifth
Competitions can lead to just as much learning as academic programs and this particular one offers a unique hands-on experience in the field of finance. As a participant, you will get to manage your stock portfolio using a virtual trading platform. You will start with a sum of one million dollars and then must try to increase the value of your portfolio by investing in stocks and ETFs. Educational videos and quizzes will help you learn about the subject and you can also earn Investment and Personal Finance Knowledge certificates through the process.
This program takes place completely online and you can participate from anywhere in the world. If you’re interested in investment management in particular, this program is a great way for you to put theory into practice. However, if you’re happy to take on a program outside of the summer months, then consider the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition which is a more prestigious option.
And for those of you who read this far, here is a bonus program!
Application deadline: January (tentatively, based on previous years)
Eligibility: High-achieving graduating seniors in New York City, who can balance their education with work
Program dates: Four years of
Location: New York City
Pay: You get a paid four-year internship and a full-tuition scholarship
While this isn’t a summer program, we have still included it on this list because of the immense value it offers. This is particularly lucrative for graduating seniors who plan to pursue a career in finance. Officially titled the Thomas G. Labrecque Smart Start Program, this program is a long-term internship which also offers a full four-year scholarship to an approved college or university.
You will work part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer in one of J.P. Morgan’s businesses or corporate functions. The internship will give you a head start on your career while teaching you technical and soft skills. Each year, you will move to a different department to get a comprehensive experience. More than 300 alumni of this program are still working at the company.
If you’re looking for an incubator program that helps you establish a developed startup in high school, consider the Young Founders Lab!
The Young Founder’s Lab is a real-world start-up bootcamp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X.
You can access the application link here!
If you’re looking for the opportunity to work on an in-depth research project in the field of finance, you could also consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students I founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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