If you want a way to explore economics more seriously before college, New York City has programs that let high school students engage with the subject in a structured setting. These programs introduce foundational ideas in economics and often show how those ideas are used in business, policy, or analytical roles.
Why should you consider economics programs in New York City?
New York’s mix of universities, research centers, and professional groups creates opportunities for students to learn from people who study and apply economics in different ways. Many programs include guided lectures, discussions, group work, and examples drawn from real economic questions.
As all these programs happen in a city with so much economic activity, you can see how theory and practice connect. Participating in an economics program helps you decide whether you want to continue with the subject in college and gives you experiences worth sharing in applications and conversations.
With that in mind, here are 15 economics programs for high school students in NYC! If you’re looking for more flexible options, you can also check out our guide to free and online economics programs for high school students.
15 Economics Programs for High School Students in NYC
1. Finance Institute: Wall Street in the Classroom – Fordham University
Location: Fordham University, Bronx, NY
Cost: Typically $1,300 total, including a deposit (need-based financial aid available)
Dates: Multiple one-week sessions from June 15 – July 31
Application Deadline: Priority registration before April 1; applications accepted after, but with lower priority
Eligibility: All high school students can apply
Fordham’s Wall Street in the Classroom is a one-week intensive designed to introduce key economic and financial concepts, including time value of money, financial markets, personal finance, investment vehicles, and debt management. The curriculum combines structured coursework, discussions on monetary policy, and guest lectures from industry professionals, offering you a blend of theory and real-world applications. You also explore topics such as bonds and emerging financial sectors like cryptocurrency. The program awards a certificate upon completion and situates learning in the context of current financial systems, investment strategies, and economic reasoning.
2. NYU Precollege Program – Economics Track
Location: New York University, New York, NY
Cost: $4,004–$8,008 (need-based financial aid available)
Dates: Summer (July 1- August 12), Fall (September 2- December 11), Spring (January 20- May 5)
Application Deadline: Summer (June 5), Fall (August 15), Spring (January 5)
Eligibility: Rising 11th or 12th grade; minimum 3.0 GPA
NYU’s Precollege Economics Track offers high school students an opportunity to engage in college-level economics coursework while experiencing academic life in a major urban university setting. Courses within the track typically cover foundational topics such as macroeconomic indicators, supply and demand, inflation, unemployment, and fiscal and monetary policy. Instruction includes lectures, discussions, and quantitative exercises that develop analytical and economic thinking. You also gain exposure to university academic expectations and resources, with access to faculty and NYU’s broader student community.
3. NYIT High School Business Bootcamp
Location: New York Institute of Technology (NYC campus) & Virtual
Dates: One-day sessions across the year
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: All high school students
NYIT’s High School Business Bootcamp is a series of free workshops focused on foundational business and economic literacy skills, including financial literacy, stock market basics, leadership, and career readiness. Each session targets a specific topic with interactive lectures and faculty-led discussions, offering practical tools to analyse personal financial decisions. Workshops are available in person at the NYC campus and online, allowing flexible participation. You engage in interactive Q&A and receive certificates of completion, which may help structure your exploration of economics and related fields.
4. College Edge: Academic Year – Columbia University
Location: New York City (Columbia University, Morningside Campus)
Cost: $2,574 per credit point (approximately $7,722 per course). Financial aid is available.
Program Dates: Spring: January 20 – May 15
Application Deadline: December 15 for spring
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors (Grades 11–12)
College Edge Academic Year at Columbia University allows you to take approved undergraduate economics courses during the spring term and earn official Columbia credit while still in high school. In economics-focused courses, you work through core ideas such as incentives, markets, tradeoffs, and policy impacts using readings, problem sets, and written analysis that match the undergraduate syllabus. Classes move at a college pace, with regular preparation expected outside the classroom and active participation during lectures or discussions. Studying economics through College Edge gives you direct exposure to how economic reasoning is taught and tested at a top university, without simplified content or special grading.
5. Introduction to Corporate Finance – Columbia University Pre-College
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, New York, NY
Cost: $2,830 (application fee of $80 not included)
Dates: June 22–26; August 3–7
Application Deadline: April 2
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12 with comfort in mathematics
Introduction to Corporate Finance at Columbia focuses on how companies decide where to invest money and how they raise it. You spend the week working through ideas like time value of money, risk and return, discounted cash flow, NPV, and IRR, using examples drawn from real corporate decisions. The course relies on problem sets and short case exercises rather than lectures alone, so you actively apply formulas and frameworks to business scenarios. By the end of the program, you will understand how finance teams compare projects, price risk, and decide whether an investment makes sense on paper.
6. Introduction to Business, Finance, and Economics – Columbia University Pre-College
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, New York, NY (in-person sessions); online option available
Cost: $2,825 (1-week commuter); $6,300 (3-week commuter); $12,750 (3-week residential); $80 application fee separate
Dates: Session A: June 29–July 17; Session B: July 21–August 7 (in-person); multiple online session dates available
Application Deadline: Early March (priority); Late April (final)
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12
This program looks at how firms operate within markets and financial systems. You study how companies evaluate investments, raise capital through stocks and bonds, and respond to risk in financial markets. Coursework includes valuation models, basic accounting analysis, and market mechanics, supported by case studies and applied projects. In longer sessions, you connect microeconomic ideas to business decisions and market behavior. The structure gives you a working understanding of how economics and finance intersect inside real firms.
7. Young Finance Scholar Program – New York Institute of Finance
Location: Virtual (Live instructor-led sessions)
Cost: $1,990 for live virtual session; $950 for self-paced online
Dates: July 20 – 31 or self-paced
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students, ages 15–18, with demonstrated interest in finance, economics, or business
The Young Finance Scholar Program runs as live online classes taught by finance professionals. You cover topics such as markets, company analysis, IPOs, mergers, and portfolio construction while working through practical examples. A core part of the program involves researching public companies, building a portfolio, and explaining your investment logic in presentations. Sessions are discussion-based and require preparation between classes. The program mirrors how finance concepts are used in professional settings rather than treating them as abstract theory.
8. Wall Street Stock Market & Investment Experience – New York Institute of Finance
Location: New York, NY (in-person, co-hosted with Westcoast Connection)
Cost: Approximately $3,500–$4,500
Dates: July 6–17 (2-week immersive)
Application Deadline: Typically in early summer for July programs
Eligibility: All high school students can apply
This in-person program combines finance instruction with daily exposure to New York’s financial environment. You study how markets function, how investment funds operate, and how professionals think about risk, diversification, and valuation. Much of the learning happens through group work, including a fund manager competition where you research stocks and defend your portfolio choices. Lessons are grounded in examples drawn from trading, asset management, and corporate finance.
9. Bank of America – Student Leaders Program
Location: Multiple New York City locations with a culminating summit in Washington, D.C.
Cost: Free (fully funded; students earn hourly wages + paid trip to D.C. summit)
Dates: 8-week program in June–July; Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., July 21–26
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors; must have U.S. work authorization and permanent residence in an eligible NYC location; approximately 300 students accepted nationally.
Bank of America Student Leaders places you in a paid nonprofit internship where economic issues show up in everyday work. You support community organizations dealing with housing, education, or workforce access while learning how funding, budgeting, and public policy affect outcomes. Alongside the internship, you attend workshops on leadership and economic mobility. The program ends with a national summit in Washington, D.C., where you share your experience and hear from people working across finance, government, and social impact.
10. National Economics Challenge – Council for Economic Education
Location: State-level competitions held across New York; National Finals in Atlanta, GA (May 27–29)
Cost: Free
Dates: State competition dates vary; National Semi-Finals and Finals in May
Application Deadline: Varies by state; typically by mid-April for state competitions
Eligibility: All high school students in grades 9–12; no prior economics study required
The National Economics Challenge is a team-based competition focused on economic reasoning. You prepare for rounds that test microeconomics, macroeconomics, international economics, and current events. At advanced stages, your team analyzes a real economic problem and presents a solution under time pressure. Preparation involves reading, practicing data interpretation, and learning to explain ideas clearly as a group. The structure rewards depth of understanding and teamwork rather than speed alone.
11. High School Fed Challenge – Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Location: Virtual (team-based research and writing competition administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; eligible schools located in the NY Fed’s Second District, which includes NYC)
Cost: Free
Dates: September 9 – March 16
Application Deadline: February 17 (registration); March 16 (paper submission)
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12 attending schools in the Federal Reserve’s Second District (includes all NYC schools); homeschool students in eligible districts are also eligible
The High School Fed Challenge asks you to work as part of a research team, writing an economics paper tied to an annual theme. You choose a topic, gather data, apply economic models, and build an argument supported by evidence. The focus is on writing and analysis rather than exams or presentations. Papers are reviewed by Federal Reserve staff, and selected work is published. The experience closely resembles early-stage academic research in economics.
12. W!SE Institute – Financial Literacy & College/Career Readiness
Location: Multiple NYC high schools + partner organizations throughout the five boroughs
Cost: Free (integrated into participating NYC public high schools)
Dates: Year-round; students may engage throughout their high school tenure
Application Deadline: N/A; availability determined by school enrollment
Eligibility: NYC public high school students enrolled in partner schools
The W!SE Institute operates inside partner NYC high schools and blends classroom learning with real-world exposure. You attend seminars led by professionals on topics such as markets, budgeting, investing, and entrepreneurship. Over time, you can take part in internships and community service tied to financial education. The program runs alongside your regular school schedule and builds a practical understanding of how money and economic systems affect daily decisions.
13. Economics for Leaders – Foundation for Teaching Economics
Location: Multiple campuses nationally; NYC site available
Cost: $2,800
Dates: Specific dates vary by campus location; typically 2–3 week sessions in June–July
Application Deadlines: February (Early); March (Priority); April 9 (Final)
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores and juniors; competitive admissions (~2 applicants for every 1 accepted spot)
Economics for Leaders is a short residential program that teaches core economic ideas through discussion and simulations. You work through concepts like scarcity, incentives, labor markets, trade, and public policy using structured activities rather than lectures alone. Group exercises ask you to make decisions under constraints and explain tradeoffs clearly. Alongside economics, you practice communication and leadership through debates and presentations tied to economic problems.
14. Young Finance Scholar Accelerated Program – New York Institute of Finance
Location: Virtual (Live instructor-led sessions)
Cost: $1,090
Dates: One-week intensive sessions
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students, ages 15–18
This accelerated version of NYIF’s finance program compresses the curriculum into a single week. You move quickly through the fundamentals of economics, company financials, and market structure using practitioner-led sessions. Lessons focus on reading balance sheets, understanding cash flow, and thinking through basic investment logic. The pace is fast but focused, with clear links between concepts and how finance professionals use them day to day.
15. Summer@Brown Online: Economics Track
Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,454 – $6,238 (Financial aid is available)
Application Deadline: May 9
Dates: June 16 – July 25
Eligibility: Students completing grades 9 to 12, ages 14 to 18 by June 15
Summer@Brown Online provides a flexible yet rigorous program, letting you engage with college-level academics. The Economics track includes courses like Behavioral Game Theory, where you’ll study decision-making in strategic settings. The course challenges the assumption of purely rational behavior, incorporating experimental data to reveal how people make choices. You’ll work with economic models, analyze real-world cases, and design experiments to test behavioral theories. This interdisciplinary approach sharpens your ability to think critically, interpret data, and understand economic strategy.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like economics, econometrics, development economics, behavioral economics, and public policy analysis, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image Source: Columbia University