7 Economics Summer Research Programs for High School Students
If you're considering a future in economics, applying to a research program in high school is a great step. These programs allow you to develop analytical skills and gain a deeper understanding of economic concepts. By working on real-world issues, you’ll enhance your ability to interpret data, apply models, and assess policy impacts. This experience sharpens your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Plus, working with experts gives you insight into how economic theories work in practice.
Here are 7 economics summer research programs for high school students!
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students in fields like data science, machine learning, behavioral economics, political theory, biology, neuroscience, and more. It stands out by offering both quantitative and qualitative research options. In the Behavioral Economics course, you’ll explore how psychology affects our economic decisions. You’ll get to participate in live experiments and understand how biases affect our decision-making.
After selecting a research area, you'll be paired with a professor or PhD scholar from a top university to guide you through the research process. By the end, you'll have a 20-page research paper suitable for submission to prestigious journals. This is a great opportunity to gain research experience in specialized fields under expert mentorship. Apply here!
Location: Remote
Program Dates: Summer seminar: June 24 – September 2, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders!
Application Deadline: May 21, 2025 for the summer cohort (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Lumiere Education, founded by Harvard and Oxford researchers, offers high school students the chance to conduct economics research through its Research Scholar Programs. Each participant is paired with a top PhD mentor for one-on-one guidance, leading to the creation of a university-level research paper.
The fully virtual program varies in length, allowing students to choose how deeply they'd like to dive into their research. Topics range from pure economics to interdisciplinary studies combining economics with STEM. Past projects have explored the impact of non-profit employment on GDP and used machine learning to forecast cryptocurrency returns.
Location: Remote
Program Dates: June to August (summer). Fall, winter, and spring cohorts are also available
Cost: $2,990 (12 weeks) | $5,900 (16-20 weeks). Financial aid is available
Eligibility: High school students with a minimum 3.3 out of 4 GPA
Application Deadline: Summer deadlines are usually in March, April, and May
The Young Founder’s Lab is a real-world start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X.
Apart from building the start-up itself, you will also participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and business ideations, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and more.
The program is an excellent opportunity to delve into the world of business in high school and have a space to explore multiple theoretical as well as practical frameworks that lead to a successful business. You can check out the brochure for the program here.
Cost: The total cost to attend the 3-week program is $2,900. There is need-based financial aid
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Eligibility: The program is currently open to all high school students
Program Dates: TBA for 2025. The 2024 edition of the program started on June 5 and spanned over 4 weeks
Application Deadline: May 12, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program). You can access the application link here!
Veritas AI is an AI program for ambitious high school students, founded and run by Harvard graduate students. Through the AI + Finance program, you will gain a deeper understanding of AI applications in the financial field. You will 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: $2,290. Need-based financial aid is available. You can apply here.
Application deadline: Varies according to cohort
Program dates: Various according to the cohort
Eligibility: Ambitious high school students located anywhere in the world
The University of California, Santa Barbara’s Research Mentorship Program gives you the chance to engage in hands-on interdisciplinary research. You'll work directly with a mentor—either a faculty member, graduate student, or postdoc—on an independent project, including options in economics. In addition to your research, you'll develop new techniques and professional skills by attending lectures, seminars, and presentations throughout the program. To learn about this program, check out our full guide here.
Location: University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Program Dates: June 16 – August 1, 2025
Cost: $4,975 (commuter) | $11,874 (residential). Some scholarships are available
Eligibility: High school students in grades 10 or 11 (or advanced 9th-grade students) with a minimum 3.80 GPA
Application Deadline: December 15, 2024 – March 17, 2025. Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis
Hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles, the Economics Summer Institute is a three-week program, available in both residential and virtual formats. This program immerses you in economic analysis, teaching you to think critically, analyze data, and explore economic policies like an economist. You’ll build strong data analysis skills and apply them to real-world economic issues throughout the course.
Location: University of California, Los Angeles, CA or virtual
Program Dates: TBA for 2025. The 2024 dates were:
Virtual: June 24 – July 12, 2024
Commuter: July 15 – August 2, 2024
Cost:
Virtual: $1,916
Commuter: $2,486 (additional fees apply)
Eligibility: Current 9th-12th graders who will be at least 15 years old by the start of the program
Application Deadline: June 1, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Students interested in economics research can opt for the research internship program in business or finance. You can explore all the options here on their application form.
Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average raising over a million dollars. Past founders have included YCombinator alums, founders raising over 30 million dollars, or founders who previously worked at Microsoft, Google, and Facebook. In the program, interns work closely with their managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present their work to the company. Here is the application form.
Interns are offered one-on-one training in communication, time management, and other such valuable skills and will also have the opportunity to attend group training sessions with other interns in their cohort. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.
Cost: $5,900 (Financial Aid Available)
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world
Application deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort
Program dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
The Stanford Compression Forum offers its summer program for high school and early community college students interested in engaging in interdisciplinary research. This program aims to provide early research experience by grouping students into projects that match their interests and strengths while introducing them to new fields. Past research areas have included engineering, the arts, the science of information and communication, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, technology, and more. If you are interested in Economics, you can design a research project that incorporates that field. Projects are mentored by Stanford faculty, students, and staff.
Location: Virtual
Program Dates: June 17 – August 9, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Cost/Stipend: No tuition, $50 application fee. Need-based stipends available
Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors who will be at least 14 years old by the program start date
Application Deadline: March 1, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 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 where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.