12 Economics Programs for High School Students in NYC
If you are a high school student interested in economics, a structured program can be a great way to learn more about your field of interest. Economics programs can provide you a unique opportunity to gain early exposure to a field that shapes business, policy, and society at large. These programs not only build a strong foundation in economic theory but also emphasize practical skills such as data analysis, critical thinking, and problem-solving. You can also learn from experts in the field and interact with peers to start building a network for yourself.
Several are run by prestigious universities and organizations based in New York City, giving students access to world-class faculty, industry professionals, and peer networks. Whether you are interested in pursuing economics as a major, exploring careers in finance or public policy, or simply building analytical skills for the future, these programs can be a beneficial experience.
We’ve narrowed our list to 12 economics programs for high school students in NYC.
1. Fordham University - Finance Institute: Wall Street in the Classroom
Location: Fordham University, Bronx, NY
Cost: $1200; Need-based financial aid is available for students with family incomes below $50,000
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: Week I: June 16 – 20 | Week 2: June 23 – 27 | Week 3: July 21 – 25 | Week 4: July 28 – August 1.
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: High school students in grades 10-12 are eligible
Finance Institute: Wall Street in the Classroom is a one-week program for high school students interested in exploring finance, economics, and investing. The course covers fundamentals such as the time value of money, financial markets, personal finance, savings, investing, and debt management. You will also learn about investments in stocks and bonds, monetary policy, alternative investments such as hedge funds and private equity, and emerging areas like cryptocurrency. The program features guest speakers from leading finance companies and Gabelli alumni, offering you both academic insight and industry perspectives. You will also receive a certificate of completion from the Gabelli School of Business.
2. Veritas AI - Deep Dive: AI + Finance
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: Multiple 12-15-week cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter
Application Deadline: On a rolling basis. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November)
Eligibility: High school students are eligible to apply. Completion of Veritas AI’s AI Scholars or a background in coding is required.
Veritas AI Deep Dive: AI in Finance is a 10-week program designed for high school students interested in the intersection of artificial intelligence and finance. The program combines expert-led lectures, programming exercises, and collaborative projects to explore how AI is transforming financial markets. You will apply machine learning models to tasks such as forecasting stock prices, predicting financial patterns from historical data, and examining applications in banking, asset management, wealth management, and fraud detection. The program consists of 10 sessions (2.5 hours each) delivered in small groups with a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio, culminating in a team project with 3–5 peers. You can apply to the program here.
3. Foundation For Teaching Economics - Economics for Leaders
Location: Virtual or in-person at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Cost: Online: $900 | In-person: $2,600; need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; 25-40 students per campus.
Dates: Multiple cohorts for the virtual program. In-person: June 30 – July 6
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: Current sophomores and juniors in high school are eligible
The Economics for Leaders Program is a selective course designed to equip high school students with both leadership skills and the ability to apply economic analysis to public policy. The curriculum introduces key concepts such as opportunity cost, markets in action, labor markets, innovation, property rights, and international trade, framed through Economic Reasoning Propositions (ERPs). You will also engage with topics such as government, finance, and inflation while discussing contemporary national and global issues. Leadership training is integrated through the Leadership Pyramid Matrix, helping you strengthen teamwork, critical thinking, and decision-making skills in the context of economics.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program - Economics Track
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type; need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Application Deadline: Multiple deadlines depending on the cohort
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement (Note: accepted students have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 out of 4)
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 that you can explore as a high schooler. 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 12-week 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.
5. Columbia University - Globalization: Challenges in International Economics & Politics
Location: Virtual or in-person at Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: $3,965 – $12,764; need-based financial aid available
Cohort size: 30 students
Dates: In-person - A: June 30 – July 18; B: July 22 – August 8 | Online - A: July 7 – 18; B: July 21 – August 1
Application Deadline: Residential: March 17 | Online: March 24
Eligibility: High school students are eligible to apply
This pre-college program explores the intersection of global and domestic political economies, focusing on how populism, nativism, geopolitical rivalry, China’s efforts to globalize the renminbi, and rising public debt shape international relations and economic growth. You will examine globalization and national interests through case studies on trade, capital flows, sovereign debt, foreign aid, non-state actors, humanitarian crises, energy sustainability, and the role of international institutions. Domestic dynamics such as ideology, policymaking processes, income distribution, welfare, defense, debt, and globalization are also analyzed. Learning methods include lectures, research, discussions, group projects, presentations, peer critiques, and guest speakers, with a visit to the United Nations Headquarters.
6. New York University - Precollege: Economics Track
Location: Virtual or in-person at New York University, New York, NY
Cost: $4,004 – $8,008; Need-based financial aid is available for the summer cohort
Acceptance rate: Highly selective.
Dates: Multiple cohorts in fall, spring, and summer
Application Deadline: Multiple deadlines depending on the cohort
Eligibility: Rising 11th or 12th-grade high school students in the summer with a minimum 3.0 GPA
The NYU Precollege Program – Economics Track gives high school students the opportunity to experience college life while earning academic credit. You can take up to 8 credits in the summer or 2–4 credits during the fall and spring, with access to NYU’s resources, faculty, and community. Within the economics track, you may choose Intro to Macroeconomics, which examines national and international economic performance through concepts such as GDP, unemployment, inflation, interest and exchange rates, trade balance, and government fiscal and monetary policies. You may also take Intro to Microeconomics, which focuses on decision-making at the level of individuals, firms, and industries, exploring topics such as consumer theory, market structures, and government intervention in maintaining efficiency and competition. Both courses combine theoretical foundations with real-world applications.
7. Columbia University - Game Theory: A Course in Mathematical Economics
Location: Virtual or in-person at Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: Residential: $12,764 | Online: $3,965; need-based financial aid is available
Cohort size: 20 students
Dates: In-person: June 30 – July 18 | Online: July 7 – 18.
Application Deadline: Residential: March 17 | Online: March 24.
Eligibility: High school students are eligible
Game Theory introduces high school students to the science of strategic decision-making under conditions of choice, rationality, and uncertainty. The program examines foundational works in the field and their applications across economics, business, political science, and project management. You will explore real-world scenarios such as pricing strategies, negotiation, and cooperation, while solving probability problems and analyzing payoffs between competing actors. By the end of the course, you will gain a deeper understanding of how game theory shapes major decisions and how its principles can be applied to your own decision-making.
8. Columbia University - Macroeconomics: An Introduction
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: Residential: $12,764 | Commuter: $6,310; need-based financial aid is available
Cohort size: 20 students
Dates: July 22 – August 8
Application Deadline: March 17
Eligibility: High school students are eligible
Introduction to Macroeconomics is a fast-paced course designed for high school students interested in understanding the forces that shape national and global economies. The curriculum covers key concepts such as GDP, inflation, deflation, unemployment, economic growth, and the impact of fiscal and monetary policies. You will also examine real-world cases, including financial crises and global trade dynamics, to see how economic theories play out in practice. By the end of the course, you will gain a solid foundation in macroeconomic theory and the ability to analyze contemporary economic challenges, preparing you for further study in economics or related fields.
9. The School of The New York Times - Follow the Money: Reporting on Business
Location: New York City, NY
Cost: Residential: $6,990 | Commuter: $5,660; need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: Session I: June 22 – July 4 | Session II: July 6 – 18
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: Rising 10-12 high school students and graduating seniors. Applicants must be 15-18 years old by the first day of the program.
This summer program gives high school students an inside look at how journalists cover money, markets, and the economy. You will build both financial and media literacy as you learn what makes a business story, how companies operate, and how markets shape everyday decisions about spending, saving, and investing. Taught in the heart of New York City, the program features discussions with professional reporters, practice in business reporting, and site visits to notable locations such as Wall Street, The New York Times, and CNBC. You will gain experience analyzing economic data, tracking financial developments, and writing about the forces that influence businesses and consumers alike.
10. New York Institute of Finance - Young Finance Scholar Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,200
Acceptance rate: Open enrollment
Dates: August 4 – 15
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: High school students aged 15 to 18 years
The Young Finance Scholar (YFS) Program is a multi-dimensional training program designed for high school students interested in finance, business, and economics. The curriculum encompasses both microeconomics and macroeconomics, covering topics such as GDP, unemployment, inflation, fiscal and monetary policy, and supply and demand. You will also learn to analyze companies financially, explore the history and structure of Wall Street, and examine areas such as investment banking, IPOs, sustainable finance, blockchain, and fintech. The program combines case studies, research, and group projects, with students receiving a certificate of completion and an award certificate for project presentations.
11. Rice University - The Business of Economics
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1,795; need-based financial aid is available.
Acceptance rate: Open enrollment.
Dates: Multi-length courses available throughout the year
Application Deadline: Varies depending on the cohort
Eligibility: High school students are eligible
The Business of Economics by Rice University is an online precollege program for high school students who are interested in how economic principles shape business decisions. You will study markets, prices, costs, inflation, labor, energy, and loanable funds while examining how firms respond to fluctuations, government policies, and global challenges. Case studies and expert insights highlight the connection between economics and careers in business, including roles such as research analyst, pricing analyst, and financial planner. The program concludes with a capstone project on stagflation, where you will design policies to address unemployment, inflation, and inequality.
12. Harvard University - Principles of Economics: Microeconomics
Location: Virtual
Cost: $ 3,850 tuition + $75 application fee; need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 23 – August 8
Application Deadline: June 17
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years old by June 20. Knowledge of elementary algebra and geometry is required.
Principles of Economics: Microeconomics is a summer precollege course by Harvard University that introduces high school students to the fundamentals of the market system. You will study decision-making by individuals, firms, and governments, with topics including supply and demand, competition, efficiency, and market failures. Policy applications such as environmental regulation, healthcare, and income distribution are also explored. The course is offered live online or asynchronously, and upon completion, you will earn 4 credits with an official transcript.
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