13 Business Programs in California for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- Jun 25
- 10 min read
If you’re interested in business, you might be looking for ways to explore the field beyond what is typically covered in high school classes. Structured programs can introduce you to areas like entrepreneurship, finance, economics, marketing, and business strategy while helping you build analytical, communication, and leadership skills. They also provide opportunities to study how businesses operate across industries such as technology, healthcare, sustainability, and media.
In California, business programs are offered by universities, startup initiatives, and professional organizations across cities such as Berkeley, Los Angeles, Irvine, and San Francisco. These opportunities include pre-college courses, startup incubators, internships, and research-focused programs that vary in format, specialization, and level of academic intensity.
Why should I do a business program in high school?
Business programs allow you to explore how organizations make decisions, manage growth, and respond to changing markets while developing practical academic and professional skills. You might analyze case studies, create business pitches, study investment strategies, develop startup ideas, or collaborate on projects under the guidance of faculty, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals. Over time, these experiences can help you strengthen problem-solving and communication skills, explore different career paths, and prepare for future study in business and related fields.
To help with your search, below is a list of 13 business programs in California for high school students.
If you’re looking for online summer programs, check out our blog here.
Location: Remote
Cost: Varies depending on program type | Full financial aid available
Dates: Varies by cohort: summer, fall, winter, or spring | Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas. The program pairs high school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper. You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: Internships are offered at 15 CLA offices across the U.S., including California.
Stipend: Paid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Very selective | <70 interns are selected in total
Dates: June 15–July 16
Application Deadline: Varies | Typically in March
Eligibility: High school students aged 16+ | Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without a visa and (for interns under 18) acquire any required working papers | Must have reliable transportation to the office
CliftonLarsonAllen offers a competitive, paid internship program for high school students interested in business and wealth advising. Placements are offered in numerous locations, including California. You’ll explore a variety of careers in business and finance, learning about the professional services CLA offers, including financial advising, accounting, and consulting. You’ll also take on work of your own, including a case study assignment, internal documentation, record management, and assisting employees with other client projects. Your professional development opportunities will include networking events, shadowing employees in multiple corporate specializations and leadership roles, and attending client meetings.
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
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring
Application Deadline: Varies according to cohort. You can apply 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 ideations, 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 to have a space to explore multiple theoretical and practical frameworks that lead to a successful business.
Location: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Cost: $7,950 | $7,450/person if you apply/attend as a team of founders
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 14–27
Application Deadline: February 22
Eligibility: High school founders with a validated product or service that has traction in revenue and/or user |. B-BAY recommends 250+ active users and/or $1,000+ in revenue, though any student founders are eligible to apply
If you’ve already launched a startup and are looking to grow your business, the B-BAY Summer Founder Bootcamp at UC Berkeley offers an intensive accelerator program for high school student founders. You’ll study under UC Berkeley Haas School of Business faculty and alumni founders to learn about “growth hacking” strategies in venture capital and business. You’ll study topics such as validation and metrics, user testing, prototyping, and acquisition and retention tactics. You’ll apply the strategies you learn to your own startup, from analyzing business metrics to testing out new product iterations with users. You’ll also develop core interpersonal skills for successful entrepreneurship, including delivering investment pitches, networking, marketing, storytelling, and resilience.
Location: University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
Cost: Commuter: $5,675 | Residential: $13,274 | Financial aid is offered, with priority given to California residents
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Very selective
Dates: June 15–July 31 | Must attend a Preparation Webinar on May 28 or May 30
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions from December 15–March 9
Eligibility: Current 10th-11th grade students with a minimum 3.8 GPA (weighted) | Outstanding 9th graders are considered on a case-by-case basis
UCSB’s RMP is an intensive 6-week research program for high school students, including a specialization in Economics for students interested in business. You’ll begin with a brief virtual orientation, learning introductory research strategies and meeting with mentors. Once you’re on campus, you’ll collaborate with a mentor to design a project matching your business research interests and goals. You’ll spend up to 50 hours each week working on your project while completing training in research skills and presentation techniques through the Introduction to Research lecture course and the exploratory Presentation Techniques course. At the end of the program, you’ll conclude your project by writing a technical research paper that you’ll present at the final RMP symposium. You’ll also earn transferable college credits for each of the two courses you complete.
Location: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Cost: $10,499 | Financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 21–July 8
Application Deadline: December 16 (Early) | January 27 (Round 1) | March 24 (Round 2)
Eligibility: Rising 11th and 12th grade students | Must have taken Trigonometry and one lab science course and received a grade of B or above
UC Berkeley’s M.E.T. Innovation Academy is an engineering and business program in California for high school students interested in the intersections of entrepreneurship and technology. You’ll be taught by faculty from Berkeley’s College of Engineering and Haas School of Business, learning skills in both technological product development and successfully bringing your products to market. You’ll cover topics such as product management, marketing, design, and more. You’ll complete a capstone project with a small group of peers, developing a startup idea and a product prototype that you’ll pitch to a panel of real investors. You’ll also participate in professional development activities, including networking with industry experts, building a LinkedIn profile, and on-site visits to Silicon Valley companies like Dolby and Ambi Robotics.
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business, San Francisco Campus, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $8,959 | Scholarships available
Dates: July 5–17 | July 19-31
Application Deadline: Priority: January 28 | Final: March 18
Eligibility: Rising 10th-12th-grade students interested in innovation and startup culture | International students must meet English proficiency requirements
The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School offers a business program in California for high school students at its San Francisco campus. You’ll study entrepreneurship in the startup industry under Wharton faculty, learning skills in market research, competitor analysis, and assessing product-market fit. Your assignments will include developing business models, leveraging AI for product innovation, conducting case studies, participating in small-group projects, and delivering pitches. You’ll apply your work to personal business development, working to develop original startup ideas that can be turned into a successful real-world venture. You’ll also meet with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and startup founders, gaining networking experience and industry exposure.
Location: Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
Cost: $1,495/week | Includes a non-refundable $700 deposit for commuter-only program
Dates: Session 1: June 22–26 | Session 2: July 6–10 | Session 3: July 20–24 | Session 4: July 27–31
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions until capacity is reached
Eligibility: Incoming high school freshmen through recently graduated seniors | No prior background in finance or economics required
Hosted by the UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, IFPY is a business program for high schoolers interested in finance and investments. You’ll learn about core investment vehicles across stocks, corporate and municipal bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds to explore diversified investment strategies. You’ll then move on to more technical, quantitative investment concepts, such as asset allocation, technical analysis, bond math, and more. You’ll additionally explore job pathways in the financial industry, learning how to leverage your college experience to pursue a successful career in the field. You’ll finish the program with a final capstone project, in which you will create an individualized wealth management plan to present and defend in the final Strategy Presentation.
Location: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Cost: Session C: $15,987 | Session D: $14,687 | One full-tuition scholarship is awarded
Dates: Session C: June 22–August 14 | Session D: July 6–August 14
Application Deadline: March 17
Eligibility: Rising 11th-12th grade students with a GPA of 3.0+ (or equivalent) | Must be aged 16+ by June 21 | International students must meet English proficiency requirements, obtain a proper visa, and maintain personal health insurance
UC Berkeley’s Precollege summer program offers for-credit courses to high school students, including opportunities to study at its Haas School of Business. You’ll enroll in an undergraduate-level Haas course, attending on-campus sessions alongside current Berkeley students. Course offerings vary each year, but span business administration, responsible business practices, economics, and more. Your work may include analyzing the impact of modern political systems on economic policy, developing communication and leadership skills for business careers, exploring the impact of modern technological developments on business growth, or studying the uses of AI for digital transformations across industries. Outside of class, you’ll attend social events, participate in college preparation workshops, take field trips, and more. UC Berkeley provides a list of recommended courses for pre-college students to choose from, but you may also select from other Haas School of Business courses for which you meet prerequisites.
Location: University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA | A remote option is also offered
Cost: $3,156 | Financial aid offered
Dates: July 13–31 (for both commuter and virtual sessions)
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions from February 18 to June 12
Eligibility: High school students with a GPA of 3.2+ | Must be aged 15+ by program start date | Students aged 17+ may apply for on-campus housing | Younger students may only attend as a commuter
The Introduction to Investments program at UCLA offers three weeks of college-level coursework and career preparation in finance, business, and economics. You’ll study under UCLA faculty members in lecture sessions while receiving additional support from current Economics students in small-group discussion sessions. You’ll learn about the economy from a big-picture perspective, covering topics such as global markets, the Federal Reserve, and economic cycles. You’ll also study specialized concepts and skills, including valuation methods, quantitative analysis, personal investing, and international investing. You’ll explore future careers through exploring industries like venture capital, private equity, and hedge funds, supplemented by programming on determining academic and career trajectories for a finance career in a field of your choice. You’ll receive 4 units of college credit for your work, equivalent to UCLA’s Economics 4 undergraduate course.
Location: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Cost: Domestic Residential: $11,570 | Domestic Commuter: $8,130 | International Residential: $12,208 plus applicable visa fees
Dates: June 22–July 17
Application Deadline: Domestic: May 8 | International: March 13
Eligibility: Rising 10th to 12th-grade students pursuing a rigorous coursework curriculum | International students must meet English proficiency requirements; see details here
In USC’s Building Sustainable Businesses Pre-College Program, high school students take undergraduate-level coursework exploring how entrepreneurship can positively impact environmental sustainability. You’ll learn about the environmental challenges posed by major industries, along with current business initiatives to reform energy generation and distribution, transportation, manufacturing, and more. You’ll also study and develop strategies to expand and improve these processes, considering how customer priorities, buying power, and market forces can drive large-scale change. You’ll complete assignments such as analyzing the role of resource availability and regulations on sustainable business models, creating targeted marketing campaigns, and promoting environmental consciousness in consumers. Through completion of the course, you’ll earn official college credit from USC.
Location: University of San Francisco Investment Lab, San Francisco, CA
Cost: Residential: $3,025 | Commuter: $2,150
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Maximum of 50 students per cohort
Dates: Cohort 1: June 22–26 | Cohort 2: July 13–17
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students interested in finance and investing
The University of San Francisco’s Wall Street Academy is a business program for high school students in California seeking practical skills for professional-level work in finance and banking. You’ll learn to use and apply core software tools, including the Bloomberg Terminal and Excel for financial analysis, while studying concepts such as personal investing, alternative investments, and global financial markets. The program offers a series of on-site visits, guest speakers, and networking opportunities to help you build connections in the field and gain firsthand industry exposure. You’ll meet with business professionals from institutions such as Merrill Lynch, Silicon Valley Bank, and Bloomberg; many former guests have held high-level roles, including Managing Partner, Director of Client Strategy, and Head of Portfolio Analytics Research.
Location: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Cost: Domestic Residential: $11,570 | Domestic Commuter: $8,130 | International Residential: $12,208 plus applicable visa fees
Dates: June 22–July 17
Application Deadline: Domestic: May 8 | International: March 13
Eligibility: Rising 10th to 12th-grade students pursuing a rigorous coursework curriculum | International students must meet English proficiency requirements; see details here
The University of Southern California Business Summer Program is a month-long course providing college-level training in introductory business principles. You’ll learn about business management, operations, finance, and more, and apply them to study diverse industries, from entertainment to real estate. You’ll learn quantitative and qualitative skills, including analyzing financial statements, evaluating business strategies, accounting, and data analytics. To prepare for professional work, you’ll also learn how to successfully manage and grow a small business of your own, with added considerations of ethical business practices, diversity, and sustainability. You’ll finish the course with a final project, conducting a business analysis and delivering a company pitch that culminates in a Capstone Case Competition. You’ll earn transferable college credits for your work.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program in which students work one-on-one with a mentor to develop an independent research paper.