11 Research Opportunities in Economics for High School Students
If you are passionate about economics, there are a variety of research opportunities available for you to deep-dive into research or enhance your understanding. In this post, we will explore some well-regarded economics research programs for high school students and what they offer. We have also kept some great pre-college courses in the mix so that there is something for everyone.
If you are more interested in seeing how you stack up against your peers, check out our list of economics competitions here!
1. Economics Transformation Project (ETP) - J-PAL
Hosted by J-PAL, North America’s Economics Transformation Project (ETP) brings together highly talented students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to work with top researchers. The program offers insights into the applications and impacts of applied economic research, has workshops, and partnerships with institutions such as MIT to avail of courses there, and gives students a platform to get research mentorship from the extensive network of researchers.
The program website does not have a lot of particulars on the application etc. but provides this email id (jamador@povertyactionlab.org) as a contact for anyone who is interested in the program.
2. Lumiere Research Scholar Program - Economics Track
Lumiere has been founded by researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Hundreds of ambitious high school students do economics research through the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs. Each student is paired with a top PhD and works with their mentor 1-1 to produce a university-level research paper.
The programs are fully virtual and vary in durations based on the student’s end goal with respect to how much of a deep dive they would prefer. The research opportunities range from pure economics to economics combining economics with other STEM subjects.
Past research has explored the impact of non-profit employment on a country’s GDP and the use of machine learning methods accurately forecast cryptocurrency price return.
Also check out the Lumiere Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students.
Location: Virtual
Application deadline: four cohorts throughout the year, applications due in February, May, September, and December, apply here.
Program dates: There are four cohorts throughout the year in spring, summer, fall, and winter
Eligibility: All high school students may apply.
Veritas AI is an AI program for ambitious high school students, founded and run by Harvard graduate students. Through the AI + Finance program, students gain a deeper understanding of AI applications in the financial field. They get a chance to engage in lectures, code walkthroughs, and real-world projects using AI & ML models to predict future financial patterns using past data, forecasting stock prices, and more. Here is the program brochure and the application form.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1790
Eligibility: High school students from around the world are eligible to apply, completion of the AI Scholars program or prior Python experience is necessary.
Application Deadline:
Early Admission - March 24, 2024
Regular Admission 1 - April 21, 2024
Regular Admission 2 - May 19, 2024
Summer II Deadline - June 23, 2024
Program Dates:
Jun 9 - Aug 11 (Sundays, 11 AM - 1:30 PM EST)
Jul 7 - Sep 8 (Sundays, 11 AM - 1:30 PM EST)
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas such as data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, and more! It is one of the very few research programs for high school students that offers a choice between quantitative and qualitative research!
Once you select a particular subject track and type of research you’ll be paired with a professor or Ph.D. scholar (from a top university) who will mentor you throughout your research journey. You’ll work to create a 20-page, university-level research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student.
This program is a solid opportunity for you to pursue a research program in highly specialized fields, under the guidance of a top scholar. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student, as well as detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects and on college applications. Apply here!
Location: Virtual
Application Date: May 21, 2024 for the summer cohort, and September 25, 2024 for the fall cohort
Program Dates:
Summer seminar - June 24, 2024 - September 2, 2024
Fall seminar - October 23, 2024 - February 19, 2025
Lab dates are flexible, but you must apply 4 weeks in advance.
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders! Only a couple of tracks require formal prerequisites, more details of which can be found here.
5. Economics for Leaders (EFL) – Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE)
Established in 1975, the Foundation for Teaching Economics is a non-profit educational organization introducing young individuals to an economic way of thinking about national and international issues.
Their Economics for Leaders (EFL) is a selective summer program that empowers outstanding students with the tools to lead more effectively and teaches them how to use economic analysis while evaluating challenging public policy choices.
This course introduces students to leadership theory and focuses on teaching and application of economic ideas and reasoning abilities.
A bonus: The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) has partnered with EFL to provide students taking the program two semester hours of optional undergraduate credit (for an additional fee).
Location: Several Residential and Virtual Sessions here
Cost or stipend:
$2,100 for FTE residential student programs (incl. room and board)
$35 application fee
$244 for college credit (optional)
Application deadline:
February 8, 2023 (Early)
March 15, 2023 (Priority)
April 12, 2023 (Final)
Program dates: Several Residential and Virtual Sessions here
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors
6. Global High School Investment Competition - Wharton School, UPenn
You’re wondering what a competition is doing in this list? This is a competition which has a 10-week crash course and challenges you to research and apply your knowledge to win!
Hosted by the Wharton School of Business, one of the country's most prestigious undergraduate business schools, the Global High School Investment Competition is an exciting, engaging, and rewarding challenge. As part of the competition, you are required to build a portfolio with $100,000 in virtual cash, on a simulator. You must use your financial and business analysis skills to invest and make profits.
The best part about this challenge? Winners are not chosen simply based on profits, but also on the strength of the strategies they chose to make decisions. The competition also involves a 10-week crash course on investing, business analysis, pitch creation, and portfolio building.
You participate in a team of 4-7 students from your school and send in 2 deliverables that will be shortlisted for a semifinal round. At the Global Finale, the top 10 teams pitch their ideas for funding at Wharton. Here are some free learning resources and case studies from previous years!
Location: Virtual pitching rounds with a final presentation at UPenn
Prizes: Certificates, a complimentary spot in the Wharton Online Summer Program for winning teams
Application Deadline: September 16, 2023 (based on last year's timetable)
Dates: September 26 - April 22, 2023
Eligibility: High school students residing in the US
7. Berkeley Business Academy for Youth (B-BAY) – Haas School of Business, University of California (Berkeley)
This two-week course introduces students to the ideas of teamwork, communications, presentations, creating a business plan, and research methods in an intimate cohort of only 50 students. Along with being fully immersed in campus life, participants also engage in social activities, attend guest lectures, and work in teams to create a business plan that they subsequently have to present at the course's conclusion. They also get to interact with a group of UC Berkeley undergraduate students.
Location: Residential, University of California (Berkeley) campus
Cost or stipend:
California resident tuition: $6,050
Out-of-state resident tuition: $7,050
Application deadline: March 17, 2023
Program dates:
Session I: July 9 – July 22, 2023
Session II: July 22 – August 9, 2023
Eligibility: US and international high school students
8. Anson L. Clark Scholar Program, Economics/Business/Finance/Marketing research area – Texas Tech University
The Anson L. Clark Scholar Program is an intensive seven-week summer research program for twelve highly qualified high school juniors and seniors from around the globe. It gives students the chance to collaborate closely with prominent faculty in a research-intensive setting. Along with weekly seminars, the program also offers field trips, lectures, and discussions with faculty and other like-minded students.
Academic success, teacher recommendations, and professional goals are taken into consideration when choosing the 12 Clark Scholars each year. Past Clark Scholars focusing on the economics research area have done research on how the media is affected by IPOs and what the targeting effectiveness is of different digital advertising platforms for the travel industry.
Location: Residential, Texas Tech University campus
Cost or stipend: Free (on-campus meals and board) with a $750 tax-free stipend upon completion of a successful research project
Application deadline: February 13, 2023
Program dates: June 18 – August 3, 2023
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors – you must be at least 17 years of age by the program start date
9. Research Mentorship Program (RMP) – University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB)
The Research Mentorship Program is a competitive summer program for ambitious, high-performing high school students around the globe who want to participate in multidisciplinary, practical, university-level research. Students choose a research project from a list of disciplines given by the program, including economics, and are matched with a mentor (graduate student, postdoc, or faculty).
This program teaches students how to write technical papers in a professional style and present their research findings in formal academic symposiums. Students also earn university credits that will be recorded on their permanent record at UC Santa Barbara. If you’re interested in this program, we’ve also written an in-depth piece detailing everything you need to know about RMP 2023!
Location: UCSB Campus
Cost or stipend:
Commuter option: Around $5,000
Residential Option: Around $12,000
Application deadline: March 15, 2023
Program dates: June 20 – August 4, 2023
Eligibility: Students all over the world who are in 10th and 11th Grade with a minimum GPA of 3.8
10. Yale Young Scholars’ Politics, Law & Economics (PLE) Session – Yale University
The Yale Young Scholars’ PLE session is aimed at students wishing to pursue economics. Students learn to understand diverse economic theories, market regulation, international policy, public policy, and more.
This program is designed to enable students to critically examine social systems, issues, and current affairs through economic, legal, and political theory lenses. Some of their sample lectures and seminars are on international trade and US manufacturing, the commodification and economics of art and music, liberty sanctions in the modern world, and more.
Location: Residential, Yale University
Cost or stipend:
$6,500 program fee
$75 application fee
Application deadline: Applications for the 2023 sessions are already closed. Based on this year’s deadlines, the applications are open from November to early January each year.
Program dates:
Session I: June 18 – June 30, 2023
Session II: July 2 – July 14, 2023
Session III: July 16 – July 28, 2023
Eligibility: Students have to be
At least 16 years old by the first day of Session III
A current sophomore or junior (or any international equivalent)
A first-time participant
One way of bridging the gap between academic knowledge and its real-world applications is to go through a solid internship program. Pentacle’s High School Internship Program runs for eight weeks, during which students get hands-on work experience interning for a participating small business that shares their interests and goals. The workstreams require research and your understanding of how concepts in economics are applied in decision-making will be put to the test as you work with a real business. The program also has weekly professional development seminars led by Pentacle, where students have the opportunity to meet industry leaders among the Pentacle staff and other visiting professionals.
The program website does not have many details, but the application form provides this email id (Brittany Couch at education@pentacle.org) as a contact for anyone who has questions about the program.
Cost or stipend: $600 stipend
Application deadline: Intern applications are accepted on a rolling basis!
Program dates: Dates for upcoming sessions are announced through Pentacle's newsletter, blog, and social media. The last high school internship program ran from July 6 to August 31, 2021.
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
Note: Pentacle (DanceWorks, Inc.) is a not-for-profit management support organization for the performing arts
12. Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology Summer Institute (M&Tsi) – Penn Engineering and Wharton, University of Pennsylvania
For ambitious high school seniors and a small group of incoming high school juniors enthusiastic about learning how to integrate management principles with technical concepts, M&Tsi is a challenging and exciting summer program. The other great thing about this program is that it offers a full Penn college-course credit for students who complete it successfully!
Students attend courses and guest lectures by Penn faculty members and other field experts. Then, they must create a prototype and go-to-market strategy for their high-tech firm, present it, and get feedback from Penn faculty members, seasoned entrepreneurs, and industry innovators.
Location: Residential, University of Pennsylvania campus
Cost or stipend:
$9,000 On-Campus Program Fee
$100 application fee
Application deadline:
February 1, 2023 (Priority)
April 1, 2023 (Final)
Program dates: July 9 – July 29, 2023.
Eligibility: High school seniors and rising high school juniors
A few other options you can consider are the Voltage Scholars Program, Boston Leadership Institute: Finance, Babson’s Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience, Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!), and BETA Camp.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD 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.