10 Summer Entrepreneurship Programs for Middle School Students

Middle schoolers with a knack for business and entrepreneurship may consider participating in entrepreneurship programs this summer. Such programs help you learn the ins and outs of starting your own business venture. You can gain hands-on experience by building presentations and prototypes, pitching your business, networking with professionals, and so on.

Besides the practical activities, you also delve into the theory of business finances and fundamentals. These help strengthen your overall understanding of entrepreneurship. Here are 10 entrepreneurship programs you can opt for this summer.

10 Summer Entrepreneurship Programs for Middle School Students

1. Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program

Location: University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Cost: $1,550; financial aid available

Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Selective

Program dates:Session 2: June 22 – 26Session 3: July 6 – 10

Application deadline: Varies by session

Eligibility: Students entering grades 7 to 9

Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program is designed for middle schoolers who wish to pursue research. This mentored program pairs you with PhD mentors from prestigious universities, such as Harvard, Oxford, MIT, and Princeton, who are experts in their respective fields, including entrepreneurship. During this program, you conduct original research to gain specialized knowledge. As a result, you learn to read and interpret academic literature, build research questions, and create outputs such as a high school-level research paper or case study, which enables you to build crucial skills. You can expect to polish your scientific communication and research skills through feedback and writing coaching sessions. You can opt for the Junior Research and Publication Program, where you can publish your research in academic journals.

2. Duke Pre-College Program: Entrepreneurship

Location: Duke University, Durham, NC

Cost: $3,905 commuter or $6,050 residential

Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Not specified

Program dates: June 28 – July 9, session 2

Application deadline: To be announced

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8 with a 3.0 GPA or higher, age 11 or older, who completed one year of middle school

At Duke University, you can opt for a range of programs in different subjects. Students interested in entrepreneurship can opt for that specific track. Here, you learn all about innovation and problem-solving, skills essential to start your venture. You analyze needs, identify space in the market, and develop an idea that can become a profitable business. In teams, you explore market research, branding, budgeting, and pitching ideas. Thus, you not only develop an eye for business but also learn collaboration and communication skills. 

3. Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers

Location: Virtual

Cost: Varies; financial aid available

Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Not specified

Program dates:Spring cohort: 25 hours across 10 weeks on weekendsSummer cohort: 25 hours across 2 weeks on weekdays

Application deadline: Rolling deadlines

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8

You can opt for an interdisciplinary program such as Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers program for holistic learning. This program teaches you the basics of AI and machine learning. Various topics are covered in the classes like Python, data analysis, regression, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics. Thereafter, you apply your learnings to an entrepreneurial project. This project must use technology to solve a real-world problem in entrepreneurship. In the past, students have built a machine-learning model to classify music genres and a machine-learning algorithm to provide a custom list of educational resources based on selected specifications.

4. EXPLO 360°

Location: Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA

Cost: $6,295 overnight or $4,045 day program, financial aid available

Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Not specified

Program dates:Session 1: June 28 – July 11, overnight, or June 29 – July 10, daySession 2: July 12 – July 25, overnight, or July 13 – July 24, day

Application deadline: To be announced

Eligibility: Rising 7th to 9th graders

EXPLO 360° is a holistic learning program where you can choose a combination of tracks. You opt for 2 workshops and 2 electives based on your interests. Workshops are collaborative, project-based options, whereas electives emphasize skill development. Various business tracks are available, including entrepreneurship. Here, you brainstorm ideas and strategies to develop products or services as part of your business. You conduct market and customer research, develop a business plan, position your brand, and much more. 

5. Discover Business Academy

Location: Online

Cost: $2,995

Acceptance rate / Cohort size: 6 students

Program dates: June 22 – July 3

Application deadline: Rolling until seats fill

Eligibility: Students ages 12 to 14

This is a 2-week course for you to learn the fundamentals of business and economics. Each day in the program covers a different topic, such as How Businesses Compete, Branding and Marketing, Business and the Law, and so on. On the last day, you partake in the Business Start-up Challenge. Through this exploratory program, you can determine whether you wish to pursue a career in business. The program ends with a capstone team challenge. You also receive a course completion certificate.

6. Rice University’s Entrepreneurship: From Ideas to Impact in Fintech

Location: Online

Cost: $1,795

Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Not specified

Program dates: Multi length courses across the year

Application deadline: Varies by session

Eligibility: Students age 13 and older

This program by Rice University emphasizes entrepreneurship at the intersection of finance and technology. You learn how digital developments are creating disruptions in the finance world, providing opportunities for new kinds of businesses. Through this program, you explore how entrepreneurs are capturing revenue, democratizing access, and impacting economies. The final project will have you creating a business plan for an entrepreneurial fintech product or service. In addition, you learn about blockchain, cryptocurrency, and other financial technologies. 

7. NYU’s College and Career Lab

Location: New York University, New York, NY

Cost / Stipend: None

Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Selective

Program dates: July 6 – 31

Application deadline: March 31

Eligibility: All New York City students in 7th or 8th grade during the application period

With the College and Career Lab, you can consider a wide range of academic and professional pathways. You can try out different options depending on your interests. You can opt for the Introduction to Business track. You learn the core elements of business, including economics, accounting, marketing, technology, and entrepreneurship. In addition to daily classes, you meet and interact with Stern alumni who are established business professionals. Similarly, workshops equip you with hands-on skills relevant to the field.

8. Johns Hopkins CTY’s Social Entrepreneurship: From Idea to Impact

Location: Online

Cost: $1,365

Acceptance rate / Cohort size: 16 to 18 students

Program dates: Summer A: June 15 – July 20 | Summer B: July 14 – August 18

Application deadline: Summer A: May 11 | Summer B: June 8

Eligibility: Students in grades 7 to 9 who meet CTY level verbal or quantitative scores

Johns Hopkins’s CTY offers several programs for ambitious middle schoolers. This program on social entrepreneurship explores how an idea can become a business that effects social change. You learn to use business tools to solve social, environmental, or civic challenges. To put your knowledge into practice, you build a business plan, conduct market research, and develop a mission-driven pitch. These efforts are towards building a socially responsible venture. At the end of the program, you pitch your business idea.

9. Northwestern CTD’s Economics through Entrepreneurship

Location: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Cost: $3,025 tuition plus $2,405 residential fee

Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Selective

Program dates: June 28 – July 17

Application deadline: Varies by session

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8 who meet Indigo tier eligibility criteria

Talented middle schoolers can choose from several programs at Northwestern CTD. To explore entrepreneurship, you can select the Economics through Entrepreneurship course. This blends the theory and practice of economics and entrepreneurship. You learn math to understand financial models and how revenue and business are sustained. During the program, you work in teams on a social issue of your choice. You learn system thinking skills and develop an entrepreneurial mindset. You also receive tools to start your own business.

10. Camp BizSmart

Location: To be announced

Cost: To be announced

Acceptance rate / Cohort size: 30 students

Program dates: 10 days in the summer

Application deadline: To be announced

Eligibility: Students ages 11 to 15

Camp BizSmart is a 10-day camp where you complete business innovation challenges. You solve actual business problems to develop entrepreneurial skills. You work in teams of 6 – 7 students throughout the program. In these teams, each student takes on a different role inspired by a typical business, such as CEO, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and so on. You also receive mentorship from industry experts. On the final day, you present and defend your solution before a panel of venture capital and angel investors.

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.

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