7 Business Summer Camps for Middle School Students
If you’re a middle school student, you may be looking for rewarding ways to spend your summer. Business camps for middle school students offer an exciting opportunity to learn about leadership, innovation, and problem-solving while having a fun summer experience. These programs provide hands-on activities that teach you the fundamentals of business, from marketing and finance to teamwork and strategy.
In this blog, we’ll explore 7 great summer camps that can give you valuable skills and introduce you to the world of business.
Location: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Program Dates: One week in July (2025 dates TBD)
Cost: $275
Eligibility: Middle school students
Application Deadline: No information available
The Middle School: Entrepreneurship for Young Innovators program, offered by UC San Diego's Extended Studies through Sally Ride Science Academy, is a hands-on course designed to introduce middle schoolers to the basics of entrepreneurship. This week-long, in-person camp walks you through each step of building a mini-business, from refining your initial ideas and creating business plans to understanding essential marketing and financial concepts.
Fostering creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration, the program gives you foundational business skills. By the end, you will complete a project that reflects your growth in entrepreneurship. This course provides 1.5 units of credit and emphasizes experiential learning to help you explore business fundamentals in an interactive environment.
Location: Virtual
Program Dates: The 2025 dates are yet to be announced
Cost: $425
Eligibility: Students aged 7-15
Application Deadline: None specified. Register here
Moolah U is a week-long program that offers middle school students the opportunity to launch their own businesses and earn real money. The program helps you create a business from scratch by identifying a customer problem, developing a business plan, and solving real-world challenges. Through live online sessions, you will work alongside successful business mentors who guide you in tasks such as budgeting, customer research, and effective communication.
Each day includes two Zoom sessions, morning and afternoon, along with a mid-day “office hours” session where you will receive one-on-one mentorship to refine your ideas. You will learn the fundamentals of money, adapt to challenges, and build resilience through real-life negotiations and product pitches.
Location: Virtual
Program Dates: June 9 – 20, 2025
Cost: $2,795
Eligibility: Middle school students between the ages of 12 and 14
Application Deadline: The 2025 deadline has not been released yet
The Discover Business Academy is a two-week online program designed for middle schoolers who are curious about business and economics. Led by Dr. Gerard H. Dericks, an instructor with extensive academic and consulting experience, the program introduces you to fundamental principles in various business fields. The curriculum covers key topics such as economics, finance, marketing, leadership, and business law, blending theory with real-world examples. You will also build entrepreneurial skills, including business planning, financial strategy, and customer research.
This live, interactive program includes ten group sessions and two personalized academic tutorials, allowing you to receive individual feedback. At the end of the course, you will receive a completion certificate and a letter of recommendation, along with continued access to video recordings for future review.
Location: University of California, Berkeley, CA
Program Dates: June 9 – 20, 2025
Cost:
California Residents: $3,640
Out of State: $4,160
Eligibility: Current middle school students
Application Deadline: 2025 deadline yet to be announced
The Berkeley Business Academy for Youth (B-BAY) at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business is a two-week program designed for middle school students eager to step into real-world entrepreneurship. At B-BAY, you will experience the full lifecycle of business creation, from launching and managing your own enterprise to winding it down, all while developing essential skills in finance, marketing, and accounting. Led by a team of professors, PhD candidates, and business mentors, this program goes beyond basic business knowledge by covering corporate social responsibility, leadership, and teamwork.
B-BAY’s curriculum covers key areas such as effective teamwork strategies, entrepreneurial thinking, and ethical decision-making within a business context. You will explore core business principles, including supply and demand, product development, and profitability, as well as financial accounting concepts like income statements and strategic planning. The marketing component enables you to understand consumer motivations, develop marketing plans, and create promotional strategies. Additionally, you will gain experience with essential computer tools for presentations and data analysis.
Location: Virtual
Program Dates: Students can choose between multiple 2 and 4-week sessions
Cost: $1,795
Eligibility: Middle school students in 8th grade who are at least 13 years old
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
In this pre-college program from Northwestern, students ages 13 and up can explore essential business concepts like marketing, sales, finance, and product development. Over 2- or 4-week sessions, you will bridge the gap between theory and real-world application, building skills that define successful business leaders. Through interactive lessons and hands-on projects, you will solve complex problems, make strategic decisions, and tackle the challenge of creating an innovative product concept under the direction of a “CEO.”
Guided by experienced mentors, you will engage with core topics, including business structure, strategy, operations, and the fundamentals of supply chain management. A highlight of the course is the Final Capstone Project, where you will step into the role of a product innovator to present your ideas to leadership. Upon completion, you will receive a Certificate of Completion from Northwestern University.
Location: Local FBLA Chapters and online
Program Dates: July 25 – August 1, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Cost:
Membership Fee: $10
State Dues: $5 to $15 (varies by state)
Eligibility: Middle school students
Application Deadline: May 25, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
The FBLA Middle School Programs are designed to build leadership and business acumen through a variety of organized activities and hands-on workshops. You will delve into key topics like business ethics, strategic planning, marketing, and financial management. Through leadership drills, case studies, and collaborative projects, you will put business theories into action. Additionally, competitive events allow you to demonstrate your skills and earn recognition. For more details, contact your local FBLA chapter.
Location: Virtual
Program Dates: The program runs for an entire semester; however, exact dates have not been released yet
Cost: Not specified
Eligibility: Current middle school students
Application Deadline: The deadline has not yet been released
The Middle School C.E.O. program is a semester-long course designed to introduce middle school students to the essentials of business and entrepreneurship in a hands-on, team-based format. The curriculum guides students through each step of building a business, from brainstorming innovative ideas to developing business plans. Throughout the course, you will learn about key business principles such as market research, financial planning, product development, and marketing strategy.
The program’s collaborative approach fosters critical skills like teamwork, problem-solving, and public speaking. Each lesson is crafted to build confidence and entrepreneurial thinking, helping you gain skills that will benefit you in future academic and career pursuits. By the end of the course, you will have developed and presented a business project, gaining practical experience and insight into the world of entrepreneurship.
One more option—The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program
The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is a program for middle school students to work one-on-one with a mentor to explore their academic interests and build a project they are passionate about. Our mentors are scholars from top research universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, Duke, and LSE.
The program was founded by a Harvard & Oxford PhD who met as undergraduates at Harvard. The program is rigorous and fully virtual. We offer need-based financial aid for students who qualify. You can find the application in the brochure!
To learn more, you can reach out to our Head of Partnerships, Maya, at maya.novak-herzog@lumiere.education or go to our website.
Multiple rolling deadlines for JEP cohorts across the year, you can apply using this application link! If you'd like to take a look at the cohorts + deadlines for 2024, you can refer to this page!
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 where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.