If you’re in high school in Texas, thinking about studying economics, business, or social sciences in college, exploring economics now can help you get a head start.
Economics programs help you develop quantitative reasoning, learn how to interpret real-world data, and understand how decisions are made in markets, governments, and large organizations. You move beyond theory and start working with examples drawn from policy debates, business decisions, and institutional behavior.
Why should you consider doing a program in Texas?
Texas is a strong location for economics-focused learning because of the range of institutions and industries based in the state. It is home to major universities, research centers, policy institutes, corporate headquarters, and financial hubs across cities like Austin, Dallas, and Houston. This environment gives students exposure to areas such as energy economics, technology-driven markets, real estate, healthcare systems, and international trade, all shaped by Texas’s role in the global economy.
With that in mind, here are 15 economics programs for high school students in Texas worth exploring! You can also check out our full blog on economics summer programs for high school students, here.
15 Economics Programs for High School Students in Texas
1. Texas Tech University’s Anson L. Clark Scholars Program
Location: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Cost: Free (tuition, room, and board covered; $750 tax-free stipend upon completion)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; 12 students/year
Application deadline: February 16
Dates: June 21 – August 6
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who are at least 17 by the start date and are U.S. citizens/permanent residents
The Anson L. Clark Scholars Program at Texas Tech University is a seven-week residential research experience for high school juniors and seniors. In the program, you work with a faculty mentor to design and carry out an independent research project in a field you choose, which can include economics. You also participate in seminars, lectures, and field trips that introduce you to different approaches to academic research. Past economics students have explored topics such as how the media report on IPOs and how digital advertising influences market behavior. Your work in the program concludes with a formal written report that presents your findings.
2. Discover Yourself in Accounting Majors and Careers (DYNAMC)
Location: University of Texas at Austin – McCombs School of Business, Austin, TX
Cost: No cost
Acceptance rate/cohort size: No information available
Application Deadline: January 31
Dates: June 21 – 28
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores and juniors
The Discover Yourself in Accounting Majors and Careers (DYNAMC) program at the University of Texas at Austin introduces you to accounting and its place within broader business and economic systems. Throughout the program, you take part in sessions led by UT faculty and industry practitioners, work through case studies, and receive guidance from current McCombs School of Business students. These activities are designed to help you understand how accounting informs financial decision-making and organizational planning. You also meet professionals from firms such as Ernst & Young, giving you a chance to learn how the field operates in practice.
3. Economics for Leaders — Texas Sites (Foundation for Teaching Economics)
Location: Rotating university campuses, including Texas hosts like Rice University in Houston, TX
Cost: Approximately $2,800 tuition; limited need-based scholarships; no stipend listed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: No information available
Application Deadline: Currently closed
Dates: Sessions typically run June – August, 1 week each (tentatively)
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 11–12
In Economics for Leaders, you spend a week learning how economic reasoning applies to personal, business, and policy decisions, with emphasis on both micro and macro ideas. You participate in daily lessons on topics like opportunity cost, incentives, markets, and trade, often anchored in simulations and structured activities rather than lectures alone. Leadership sessions run alongside the economics content, so you also consider how to present arguments, build consensus, and work with peers. You complete written and discussion-based work that asks you to connect theory to current issues such as taxes, regulations, and global trade. Faculty typically includes economics instructors and master teachers who specialize in high school-level economic instruction.
4. TCU High School Investor Challenge — Texas Christian University
Location: TCU Neeley School of Business, Fort Worth, TX
Cost: About $1,600; covers room, board, and program expenses
Acceptance rate/cohort size: No information available
Application Deadline: April 1
Dates: June 1 – 5 and June 15 – 19 (tentatively)
Eligibility: High school students entering senior year
In this program, you study portfolio management and securities analysis, which gives you direct exposure to applied financial economics. During the on-campus week, you attend classes on topics such as stock valuation, risk, diversification, and market behavior, often using real financial data and tools. You manage a virtual portfolio of roughly $100,000 in simulated assets and continue to track and report on its performance through your senior year. Throughout the experience, you prepare written stock reports and receive feedback from faculty or investment professionals. Living in residence halls introduces you to a college schedule, including structured academic blocks and evening activities. The program is selective and expects strong quantitative preparation and interest in finance or economics. If you later enroll at TCU, your portfolio work may be eligible for college credit under specific conditions.
5. Summer Scholars Program – Rice University
Location: Rice University, Houston, TX
Cost: $1,300 per credit hour
Acceptance rate/cohort size: No information available
Application Deadline: Rolling
Dates: Summer sessions with multiple start/end blocks
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors (graduating in the next two years) who meet course prerequisites
Rice’s Summer Scholars initiative allows you to enroll in for‑credit summer courses, some of which may be in economics or related social sciences, alongside regular college students. You choose from the available course schedule, so your economics focus depends on whether introductory or intermediate economics classes are offered in the term you attend. As a visiting student, you follow the same syllabus, grading standards, and workload as Rice undergraduates in that class. Courses may be online or in person, depending on the year’s schedule, so you need to confirm the specific format before applying. Completing a course can earn you official Rice credit and a transcript, which may be transferable under other institutions’ policies.
6. Junior Achievement (Texas Chapters)
Location: Multiple locations across the state, find nearby opportunities here
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not selective
Application deadline: School/partner driven; you can contact JA Greater Washington for partnerships or to join a school cohort
Dates: Varies by placement
Eligibility: High school students
Junior Achievement’s Texas chapters offer programs that let you explore financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and workplace skills through practical activities. In simulations such as JA Finance Park, you work with personal budgets, make spending decisions, and see how choices play out within a structured model of an economy. Volunteers from local businesses often participate as mentors, giving you opportunities to ask questions and see how financial and economic decisions function in real organizations. Many of the programs involve group challenges, product design exercises, and case studies based on actual business situations.
7. Baylor University – Accelerate Programs
Location: Baylor University, Waco, TX
Cost: $775 per credit hour
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive
Application deadline: Not specified
Dates: Not specified
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
Baylor University’s Accelerate Programs allow high school juniors and seniors to take college courses and earn credit before enrolling in a full-time undergraduate program. You can select online or on-campus classes taught by Baylor faculty, including options in microeconomics and macroeconomics. The Early Admission Track also provides a path for conditional freshman admission based on your academic performance in the program. Accelerate is designed to help you adjust to the expectations of college-level study while allowing you to explore subjects that may guide your future academic interests.
8. UT Austin McCombs Future Executive Academy (MFEA)
Location: The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, Austin, TX
Cost: No cost (includes room, board, and all meals)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Application deadline: January 31
Dates: May 31 – June 5
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores and juniors
UT Austin McCombs School of Business’s Future Executive Academy is a six-day residential program that brings you onto campus to experience how business decisions are made at the college level. Your days are built around hands-on work like case competitions, simulations, and leadership exercises that mirror how executives think through real problems. You learn directly from UT faculty and industry speakers across areas like marketing, finance, accounting, and organizational behavior, then apply those ideas in team projects that end with a formal presentation to judges. Living in UT residence halls adds to the experience, giving you a real sense of college life.
9. Texas Tech University Financial Planning Academy
Location: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Cost: $250
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: April 1
Dates: June 7 – 12
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
Texas Tech University’s Financial Planning Academy is a five-day residential program that introduces you to how financial planners work with real clients and real decisions. You spend the week in small teams building a full financial plan, working through budgeting, investing, risk management, and long-term goal setting using practical case studies. You learn directly from financial planning professionals, including Registered Investment Advisors, who explain how the profession operates and what career paths look like. Alongside the case work, you take part in sessions focused on communication, leadership, and teamwork. The program ends with team presentations and awards for top plans.
10. UT Dallas ITS Exploration Summer Camp
Location: University of Texas at Dallas, Jindal School of Management, Dallas, TX
Cost: $395 (covers meals, snacks, materials, and program T-shirt)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: Not specified
Dates: June 23 – 27
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12
University of Texas at Dallas’s ITS Exploration Summer Camp is a one-week program where you learn how technology and data support business decisions. You move through hands-on modules in information systems, cybersecurity, data visualization, and business analytics, working on problems that mirror how companies actually use data. The week includes a visit to a major company such as State Farm or Texas Instruments, where you see IT systems in action. You work in teams, talk with current UT Dallas students, and tour campus spaces to get a feel for college life. The program ends with a showcase where you present what you have built and learned.
11. UT Austin OnRamps Economics
Location: University of Texas at Austin (Online)
Cost: No cost (free through Financial Aid for Swift Transfer [FAST] program)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not selective; enrollment-based
Application deadline: Continuous enrollment through participating high schools
Dates: Fall semester or spring semester (full academic year course)
Eligibility: High school students in Texas whose school participates in OnRamps; Algebra II recommended or concurrent enrollment
OnRamps at UT Austin’s Economics course lets you earn real college credit without leaving your high school. You take the class with a trained high school teacher, while your work is also graded by a University of Texas at Austin faculty member, so the expectations match a college course. The class runs for a full semester and covers core microeconomics like scarcity, opportunity cost, supply and demand, market structures, and consumer behavior. Learning is discussion-driven and collaborative, with a flipped format that pushes you to apply ideas through data, problem-solving, and real-world examples tied to business and personal finance. If you earn credit, it appears on an official UT Austin transcript and transfers to public universities across Texas.
12. Rice University Pre-College Program: The Business of Economics
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1,795; Need-based scholarships available
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Varies by session; Rolling admissions
Dates: Multiple 1- to 4-week session options offered year-round
Eligibility: Students ages 13 and up
In The Business of Economics course, you explore how economic principles connect to business decisions through modules on topics such as inflation, supply and demand, labor markets, energy economics, and the Federal Reserve. Along the way, you work on assignments and simulations that help you practice applying economic concepts to practical business situations. You also receive support from a mentor who offers feedback and helps you prepare your capstone project, which you present at the end of the course to demonstrate your understanding of how economic policies affect business choices. After finishing the program, you earn a Certificate of Completion from Rice University that you can include in your academic records.
13. Wharton Global Youth Program: Financial Decision Making
Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,099
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: Rolling | Priority deadline: January 28
Dates: June 15 – 26 | July 6 – 17
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grades 9–12
The ‘Financial Decision Making’ course from the Wharton Global Youth Program at the University of Pennsylvania is a two-week course that introduces you to essential concepts in economics and finance. You examine personal finance, credit, interest rates, and financial markets while building skills in data interpretation and everyday financial decision-making. The curriculum, developed by Wharton faculty, uses case studies and Excel-based activities to help you work with real financial information. Throughout the course, you explore topics such as budgeting, basic investment approaches, banking systems, and how inflation and monetary policy influence economic conditions.
14. UT High School Economics Course – University of Texas at Austin
Location: Online
Cost: No costs for fall or spring courses. Tuition fees for summer course enrollment of $260–275 per semester course, plus costs for textbooks or specialty course materials.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: No information available
Application Deadline: April 30
Dates: Self‑paced or term‑based high school course
Eligibility: High school students who are Texas residents
UT High School’s Economics course offers a full high school credit class built around Texas state standards, giving you a structured introduction to economic principles. Course topics include fundamental concepts like scarcity, supply and demand, financial institutions, and the role of government in the economy. You work through modules that mix readings, assignments, and assessments on a defined schedule or in a self‑paced format, depending on how your school or family sets up enrollment. The course is delivered online, so you can participate from anywhere in Texas while still following a formal curriculum. If your home high school accepts UT High School credits, this course can satisfy an economics graduation requirement while giving you a more flexible format.
15. Wharton Global Youth Program: Understanding Your Money
Location: Virtual (self-paced online)
Cost: $329
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Not specified
Dates: Self-paced
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12; International participants welcome
In the ‘Understanding Your Money’ course, you complete four modules covering economics, money management, earning and budgeting, and investing. Each module includes video lessons, readings, glossary terms, and quizzes to help you engage with the material. You learn key concepts such as supply and demand, opportunity cost, and compound interest, along with practical strategies for budgeting and investing. The course also explores topics like the role of money, how banks function, and how to manage finances over time while considering factors such as inflation and long-term goals. After finishing the program, you receive a Wharton Global Youth Program Certificate of Completion to document your participation and learning.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, and chemistry, 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 – Texas Tech University