15 Economics Camps for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- Nov 28
- 9 min read
You have probably heard that economics is about money, but it is really about choices: how people, companies, and governments decide what to do with limited resources. If you are curious about how these choices shape the world, economics camps can help you gain insights into the field beyond the high school curriculum. Economics camps offer opportunities for real-world exploration, allowing you to engage in experiences like analyzing trade policies or designing a startup that solves a local problem.
These opportunities can help you build technical skills, like data interpretation and market analysis, and soft skills, like teamwork and leadership. As a participant, you will connect with like-minded peers, economists, and professors, who can be a part of your professional network. Such experiences can also make your college applications stronger and your career goals clearer.
To help you find the right fit, here are 15 economics camps for high school students.
15 Economics Camps for High School Students
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Oakland University School of Business, Rochester, MI
Cost: $325, lunch included, OU staff discount available
Dates: July 21 to 25
Application deadline: Applications available after February 1, deadline not specified
Eligibility: Students across Metro Detroit entering grades 10, 11, and 12
The International Economics and China Camp at Oakland University is a five-day opportunity to explore the global business environment through an economic lens, focusing on both the U.S. and China. The camp covers key business aspects, including economics, marketing, entrepreneurship, supply chain management, and emerging tech like artificial intelligence. You will participate in learning activities, games, and sessions led by Oakland University business professors and local business leaders. You will work with peers on group tasks and learn how to present your insights to peers and instructors.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: Online
Cost: Changes by program type, full financial aid available
Dates: Multiple cohorts in summer, fall, winter, and spring, program length runs 12 weeks to 1 year
Application deadline: Changes by cohort
Eligibility: High school students with strong academic achievement
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a selective, 1-on-1 research mentorship program for high school students, founded and run by researchers from Harvard and Oxford. You will work directly with Ph.D. mentors to design and conduct an independent research project, choosing from fields like economics, public policy, business, or finance. The program is designed to simulate the rigor and depth of undergraduate-level research. It also offers you access to a writing coach who can help you build scientific writing skills. By the end of the program, you will produce a full-length research paper that can be submitted to journals or competitions.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,099 plus $100 non-refundable application fee; need-based financial aid available
Dates: June 15 to 26, July 6 to 17
Application deadline: Priority deadline January 28; rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grades 9 to 12
The Future of the Business World Program, offered by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, is a two-week virtual learning camp-like experience for high school students interested in business and economics. Designed to introduce you to business research and global trends, the program combines live sessions with independent work, helping you learn how to think critically about the future of business, economies, and leadership. You will connect with Wharton faculty, participate in simulations, and explore frameworks such as design thinking, competitor analysis, and scenario planning during the program. Working within a group, you will develop final projects that predict future business challenges and opportunities.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: Various sites, including London, New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Tokyo
Cost: Varies according to program; financial aid available
Dates: Two weeks during the summer
Application deadline: Multiple summer cohorts with rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students ages 15 to 18
Immerse Education’s Career Insights Pathway introduces high school students to professional industries through experiential learning in major global cities. Over the course of the two-week program, you will participate in interactive workshops, company visits, and hands-on projects that simulate real-world workplace settings. Industry mentors and professionals provide feedback and career advice as you explore sectors like business, journalism, medicine, law, or engineering. Weekly one-on-one coaching sessions will help you refine your goals and build confidence in presenting your work. The program concludes with a final presentation where you will share your findings and experiences with peers and professionals. You can find more details about the application here!
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cost: $5,625; need-based financial aid offered
Dates: June 14 to 27
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 to 11
This residential UChicago course allows you to engage in camp-like experiences while exploring the key concepts in finance, entrepreneurship, leadership, and economics. Led by UChicago lecturers and researchers, the program combines lectures with group activities, discussions, and practical learning experiences. You will engage with practitioners through presentations, informational interviews, and field trips around the city. Additionally, you will maintain a journal and work on assignments, which can be added to your portfolio. The program is designed to offer exposure to a university campus and opportunities to build skills required for pursuing careers in economics or business.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Virtual or in person at various sites; check details here.
Cost: $900 (virtual), $2,800 (residential); scholarships available
Dates: Multiple one-week sessions in the summer
Application deadline: Opens in December
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors
The Economics for Leaders program allows high school students to learn about key concepts in economics and leadership through lectures, group activities, and projects. The camp-like program covers topics like economic growth, scarcity, labor markets, incentives, open markets, international markets, opportunity cost, inflation, and property rights. You will also get to connect with economics professors and leadership instructors. The program focuses on helping you explore the concept of the “economic way of thinking” and examine how various economic concepts shape the global economy. The program also offers opportunities to build leadership skills and learn how to apply economic analysis to assess public policy decisions.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Cost: $5,675 (commuter), $13,274 (residential); scholarships available
Dates: June 15 to July 31
Application deadline: March 17
Eligibility: High school students in grades 10 or 11
This UC Santa Barbara program is a summer research experience, where you will work directly with a UCSB faculty member, postdoctoral researcher, or graduate student mentor on an original research project. You can choose from a wide range of disciplines, including economics. The program also includes writing workshops and seminars that guide you through producing a formal research paper and delivering a final presentation. The program also offers the opportunity to earn eight university credits through participation in two courses that cover topics like research techniques, methods, scientific writing, and research presentation.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT
Cost: $7,000; need-based aid available covering up to 100% of tuition
Dates: June 21 to July 3, July 5 to 17, July 19 to 31
Application deadline: October 15
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors, ages 16 to 18
The Politics of Law & Economics (PLE) track of Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) is designed for high schoolers interested in exploring how political systems, legal structures, and economic principles shape the world. Here, you will examine topics like public policy, human rights, governance, and market regulation through interdisciplinary lectures and seminars taught by Yale faculty and graduate instructors. You may also attend lectures like Development Economics: Agricultural Microcredit, Game Theory in Action, and An Introduction to Originalism in Constitutional Interpretation. In the process, you will exercise critical thinking and analytical skills and learn how to examine social systems and current issues through the lenses of political, economic, and legal theory.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~150 students
Location: University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Cost: $225
Dates: July 18 – 29
Application deadline: January 21
Eligibility: Current high school juniors who are planning to attend college immediately after high school, who will be at least 16 years old by or on August 1, and have demonstrated leadership abilities in school, church, community, and/or social organizations.
The University of Notre Dame Leadership Seminars is a low-cost, 10-day camp-like program designed for high school students interested in building leadership skills. The program offers opportunities to attend instructor-led sessions, engage in deep discussion, and exercise critical thinking through seminar-style courses led by Notre Dame faculty. You will explore topics ranging from global peace and social and economic inequality to financial literacy and data innovation, gaining insights into how leadership intersects with societal issues. You will participate in debates, research projects, and workshops. You will live in residence halls, interact with current university students, and earn one transferable college credit upon program completion.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Cost: $4,180 to $15,735 plus $75 application fee, depending on credits and housing; financial aid available
Dates: June 20 to August 8
Application deadline: January 7 (early), February 11 (regular), April 1 (late)
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, ages 16 to under 19 during the program
This program lets you spend seven weeks on Harvard University’s campus taking real college courses and earning credit alongside peers from around the world. You can choose the Economics, Finance, and Public Policy track and enroll in college-level courses such as Principles of Economics, Public Finance, Strategy, Conflict, and Cooperation, or Neuroscience and Economic Decision-Making. All courses are taught by Harvard faculty. You will explore core economic concepts through lectures, discussions, and projects that will also help you gain insights into markets, data, and governance.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 120 students
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $11,899; need-based financial aid available
Dates: June 7 to 27, June 28 to July 18, July 19 to August 8
Application deadline: March 18
Eligibility: Current high school juniors with a 3.5 unweighted GPA or higher
This camp is UPenn Wharton’s on-campus summer initiative for high schoolers interested in leadership, management, and entrepreneurship. Over three weeks, you will explore business fundamentals like strategy, marketing, and negotiation through lectures, case studies, and simulations taught by Wharton faculty. Each week includes hands-on team projects and culminates in a capstone case competition, where you will present your analysis of a real company to peers and instructors. You will also gain insights into economics to examine how a business’s external environments affect its operations.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Murray State University, Murray, KY
Cost: $35
Dates: TBA
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students in grades 5 to 12
The Fun with Economics Youth Camp is an opportunity to explore key concepts within economics and business to better understand complex economic markets. At camp, you will work with Murray State University instructors on assessing real-life economic scenarios. You will also engage in exercises to build stronger analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as business acumen. The camp offers a glimpse into Murray State’s economics curriculum as well as opportunities to connect with faculty.
Cohort size: Not specified
Location: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cost: $8,900 for residential participants, $5,850 for commuters; need-based financial aid offered
Dates: July 7 to 26
Application deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 to 11
UChicago Summer Session’s Introduction to Macroeconomic Models course is a three-week residential program designed to help you explore neoclassical macroeconomic models. The course is split into five modules: consumption and savings, fiscal policy, economic growth and production, business cycles and unemployment, and monetary policy and forecasting. During the program, you will explore all of these concepts through lectures, readings, and discussions. You will use relevant data to deepen your understanding of theoretical concepts. Additionally, you will build skills in interpreting macroeconomic news and analyzing policies.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Cost: $10,050; scholarships available for School District of Philadelphia public or charter school students
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Dates: July 11 to August 1
Application deadline: Rolling; applications open December 1
Eligibility: Current 9th to 11th graders
The Economics Academy at UPenn is designed to offer high school students an introduction to key economic concepts within a global context. Here, you will spend three weeks exploring topics like markets and their failures, scarcity, competition, and monopolies while applying models to real issues. You will engage in lectures, workshops, and guest speaker sessions. You will also work on a project, for which you will analyze and propose solutions to an economic issue. Field trips and group activities are also part of the experience. Additionally, you will experience life on a college campus and connect with peers from across the world.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Brown University, Providence, RI
Cost: $8,372 (residential), $6,416 (commuter); financial aid available
Dates: June 23 to July 11
Application deadline: May 8
Eligibility: High school students
This Brown University on-campus course offers an introduction to the key concepts in macroeconomics to help you study real-world economic data and the role of fiscal and monetary policies. Here, you will spend three weeks exploring how to identify key economic indicators, learning about policymaker tools, and applying economic models to analyze current events. The course focuses on helping you build critical thinking and explore civic engagement, offering insights to help you frame questions, collect data, and interpret economic phenomena. Additionally, you will gain exposure to macroeconomic trends and their impact on society. Hands-on activities, simulations, and programming exercises are also part of the program.
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.
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