If you are thinking about business, finance, policy, analytics, or even law later on, economics is one of the most useful subjects you can explore in high school. It shows up in more places than people expect. An economics program gives you a way to study it in a focused way, without waiting for college.
In an economics program, you work through topics like markets, pricing, incentives, basic finance, and policy choices. Some programs also introduce data work, so you are not only learning concepts but also learning how to support your ideas with numbers.
Why choose Washington State for an economics program?
Washington is a strong place to do this because the state has a serious mix of business and public institutions. You have major tech companies, strong university systems, trade and shipping through ports, and a policy environment that gives students plenty of real examples to work with.
Economics programs here are hosted by universities or education groups in the state, which makes participation easier. You do not always need travel or housing, which can be a big deal for families. And when you apply to college later, having a program like this on your profile helps because it shows you explored economics early and did more than just say you are interested.
To help you get started, here are 15 economics programs for high school students in Washington State! You can also check out our blog on free business programs here!
15 Economics Programs for High School Students in Washington State
1. University of Washington — Foster School of Business Pre-College Program: Business and Leadership
Location: University of Washington campus, Seattle, WA
Cost: Commuter: $4,498, Residential students pay an additional $3,000
Dates: July 5-17
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: High school students (typically rising 10th through 12th graders) interested in business and leadership
University of Washington Foster School of Business Pre-College Program Business and Leadership exposes you to economic thinking through strategy and market analysis. You work through business problems where you have to interpret demand, competition, pricing, and consumer behavior. You practice using evidence to justify decisions instead of relying on opinions. The group work forces you to negotiate tradeoffs, which is basically economics in human form. You also learn how leadership decisions affect incentives inside teams and organizations. The program is good for students who want economics tied to management and decision-making.
2. Ballard High School — Academy of Finance
Location: Ballard High School, Seattle, WA
Cost: Part of regular school programming; no additional tuition
Dates: Academic year-long sequence, typically spanning multiple grades
Application Deadline: School enrollment timeline applies; check with Ballard High School
Eligibility: Ballard High School students interested in business, finance, or economics
Ballard High School Academy of Finance teaches you economics through the money decisions people and companies actually make. You learn how credit works, how markets respond to incentives, and how financial systems move risk around. The coursework connects economic ideas to budgeting, investing, and business operations. You also practice professional skills that matter in finance-related work, like presenting information clearly and reading financial documents. It is a structured way to build basic economics and finance literacy while still in school.
3. Seattle University — Summer Business Institute (Pre-College Program)
Location: Seattle University campus, Seattle, WA (residential)
Cost: $50 registration deposit; cost of attendance: $1500
Dates: July 19–25
Application Deadline: Varies by year; check program details for current cycle
Eligibility: 9th through 11th-grade students interested in business
Seattle University Summer Business Institute gives you a structured way to study economics inside a business context. You learn how pricing works, why firms compete the way they do, and how markets shape decisions. The focus is applied, so you spend time connecting concepts to real business cases and team projects. You practice thinking in terms of tradeoffs, constraints, and incentives instead of just definitions. You also get used to the pace of college-style learning, where you are expected to keep up and contribute.
4. TiE Seattle — TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE)
Location: Seattle, WA (hybrid with in-person and online sessions)
Cost: $499 for the full year. Fee waivers are available
Dates: October-June
Application Deadline: September 21
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12 interested in entrepreneurship and business
TiE Seattle Young Entrepreneurs teaches economics through building a startup idea from scratch. You learn what a market actually is by trying to define one for your own product. You do customer discovery, which is basically demand testing in the real world. You think about pricing, unit economics, competition, and what makes a business model survive. You also learn how investors and judges evaluate whether something is viable. The process forces you to be specific and measurable, not just creative. You end up learning economics through failure, revision, and iteration.
5. Washington Business Week — Summer Programs
Location: Varies by session; multiple host campuses across Washington State
Cost: Between $600 – $1,350
Dates: Multiple summer sessions, typically running in June, July, and August
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions until each session fills
Eligibility: Rising high school students through recent graduates interested in business and leadership
Washington Business Week Summer Programs teach economics by putting you inside a simulation where decisions have consequences. You work in teams, manage limited resources, and make choices that affect performance. You deal with tradeoffs like spending versus saving, growth versus stability, and pricing versus demand. You learn what happens when competitors react, which makes market theory feel real. You also practice presenting decisions using numbers, not just confidence.
6. Archbishop Murphy High School — Business Pathway Program
Location: Archbishop Murphy High School, Everett, WA
Cost: $150 plus DECA membership and competition fees
Dates: Multi-year elective pathway lasting 2–4 years
Application Deadline: September 15
Eligibility: Students entering grades 9–11
Archbishop Murphy High School Business Pathway Program gives you a course sequence that connects economics to business, marketing, and finance. You learn how markets shape consumer behavior and how companies respond through pricing, branding, and operations. You also work through applied business problems that require basic economic reasoning. DECA participation adds competition-style scenarios where you solve business cases under constraints. That is good practice for thinking quickly with limited information. The pathway is useful if you want economics as a practical skill rather than an academic subject.
7. University of Washington — Young Women’s Leadership Summit (Lead Forward)
Location: Seattle, WA
Cost: Free
Dates: August 3-8
Application Deadline: April 30
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors in Washington State; first-generation and economically disadvantaged students are strongly encouraged to apply
University of Washington Young Women’s Leadership Summit Lead Forward gives you exposure to economics through leadership, opportunity, and real-world systems. You work on practical topics like career pathways, decision-making, and how institutions shape outcomes. You start seeing how economic mobility is affected by education access, networks, and workplace structures. The sessions push you to think about your own goals using realistic planning, not vague motivation. You also learn how leadership works in organizations that make policy and resource decisions. It is less about graphs and more about how economic systems affect people’s lives.
8. Port of Seattle — High School Internship Program
Location: Port of Seattle facilities, including Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Pier 69, Seattle, WA
Cost: Paid internship; no participation cost
Dates: 8–9 weeks, typically from late June to late August
Application Deadline: Applications typically open in May
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are at least 16 years old
The Port of Seattle High School Internship Program lets you work inside an agency that sits at the center of trade, airports, and shipping. You get exposure to how ports measure economic impact, track cargo activity, and justify public spending. Depending on your placement, you may work with budgeting, reporting, operational metrics, or community impact projects. You start noticing how supply chains actually function as a system of costs, delays, and tradeoffs. You also see how public agencies balance growth with regulation and local accountability.
9. Washington Business Week — Eastern Washington University
Location: Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA (Spokane area)
Cost: $1150; scholarships available
Dates: July 12-17
Application Deadline: Rolling, first-come, first-served
Eligibility: Rising high school freshmen through recent graduates
Washington Business Week at Eastern Washington University is built around a full business simulation where you run a mock company. You make decisions that force you to think like an economist, even if you do not call it that. You deal with demand, pricing, competition, costs, and limited resources. You also see how different departments compete for budget inside a company, which mirrors real organizations. The team structure teaches you how incentives shape behavior, even among smart people. You finish with a presentation where you have to justify your strategy with numbers.
10. Washington Business Week — Renton Technical College
Location: Renton Technical College, Renton, WA (Seattle area)
Cost: $825; scholarships available
Dates: July 27-31
Application Deadline: Rolling until capacity is reached
Eligibility: Rising high school freshmen through recent graduates
Washington Business Week at Renton Technical College gives you the same simulation-style learning in a commuter format. You still work in teams, make decisions under constraints, and see how choices affect results. Economics learning comes from the constant need to balance costs, demand, and tradeoffs. You also practice basic financial decision-making and business reasoning through structured challenges. The format is faster and more condensed, so you stay engaged the whole time. You get used to speaking with data instead of just opinions.
11. Wharton Global Youth Program — Future of the Business World
Location: Online
Cost: $4,099 plus a $100 application fee
Dates: Session 1: June 15–26 | Session 2: July 6–17
Application Deadline: Jan 28
Eligibility: Students currently enrolled in grades 9–12
Wharton Global Youth Program Future of the Business World teaches economics through how markets change over time. You explore how technology, regulation, and global shocks reshape business models and consumer behavior, and work on structured problems where you have to predict outcomes and defend your reasoning. The program pushes you to think in systems, not isolated facts. You learn how incentives change when conditions change, which is a core economics skill. Team projects make you argue and negotiate tradeoffs, like real policy and business decisions.
12. Wharton Global Youth Program — Financial Decision Making
Location: Online
Cost: $4,099 plus a $100 application fee
Dates: June 15–26 | July 6–17
Application Deadline: Jan 28
Eligibility: Students currently enrolled in grades 9–12
Wharton Global Youth Program Financial Decision Making teaches you how people and institutions make choices under uncertainty. You work through topics like saving, investing, borrowing, and risk, and learn how to compare options using tradeoffs instead of emotion. The program is useful if you want to understand how financial markets affect real-life decisions. You also get exposure to how institutions think about risk and return at scale. Group work makes you defend your choices clearly and logically.
13. New York Institute of Finance — Student Programs
Location: Online
Cost: $1,990
Dates: July 20-31
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Students ages 15–18
New York Institute of Finance Student Programs teach you economics through markets, institutions, and how finance actually operates. You learn how capital moves, how markets respond to news, and how economic indicators shape decisions. The instruction is built around real-world finance concepts, so you are not stuck in abstract theory. You practice reading market behavior and understanding why prices move. You also learn the basics of corporate finance and how firms raise and use money. It is especially useful if you want economics that leans toward Wall Street and market systems.
14. Babson College — Summer Study for High School Students
Location: Online
Cost: $6,295 plus a $95 application fee; limited need-based full and partial scholarships available
Dates: July 8-28
Application Deadline: March
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
Babson College Summer Study for High School Students teaches economics through entrepreneurship and problem-solving. You learn how to evaluate whether an idea is viable by looking at demand, costs, and feasibility, and work in teams and build a project where you have to justify choices using logic and evidence. The focus is on how value is created, which is one of the most important economic questions. You also learn how social and global issues connect to markets and incentives. The program makes you think like someone building something inside a real economy. You end up understanding how economic constraints shape innovation.
15. Understanding Your Money by The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Cost: $399
Location: Online via the Wharton Online platform
Program Dates: Enrollment is open year-round; the course is self-paced
Application Deadline: None; open enrollment.
Eligibility: Open to high school students
The Understanding Your Money program, offered by the Wharton Global Youth Program, is a self-paced online course designed to help you build a foundation in personal finance, investing, and money management. The program introduces essential economic concepts and practical financial decision-making skills. Through video lessons from Wharton faculty, along with readings, activities, and quizzes, you’ll learn about earning, budgeting, and investing. The course highlights how financial literacy affects overall well-being. You’ll complete four modules covering topics like the nature of money, financial strategies, and investment planning, with 13–15 hours of content.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like data science, machine learning, economics, and finance, 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 – Babson College