Marketing programs allow high school students to explore how businesses, brands, and creators connect with their audiences. You’ll learn marketing basics, like branding, digital marketing, market research, social media strategy, and consumer behavior. You’ll get to explore early career paths in business, media, communications, or entrepreneurship. Marketing programs can also help you develop practical skills such as clear writing, creative thinking, trend analysis, and teamwork.
These programs are usually hands-on, so you’ll work on projects, case studies, and real marketing tasks instead of just observing. This will make it easier for you to understand how marketing works and how different strategies are used in real situations. You’ll also get regular guidance, feedback, and a structured learning path to help you stay focused as you learn.
Why should you choose a structured marketing program?
Marketing programs follow a clear curriculum specifically focused on marketing skills and concepts. Learning is often project-based, using real or realistic business situations. You’ll receive guidance from instructors or industry mentors with marketing experiences, as well as develop your skills in research, strategy, and digital tools. These programs offer a more organized way to explore marketing as a potential career path.
Here are 18 marketing programs for high school students worth exploring. You can also check out marketing Internships for high school students here. If you’re more interested in business research programs, you can explore them here.
18 Marketing Programs for High School Students
1. Georgetown University’s Marketing & Personal Branding Academy
Location: Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Cost: $6,465 (Residential Tuition) | $5,075 (Commuter Tuition) + $50 non-refundable application fee
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Moderately selective
Dates: June 21 – July 3
Application Deadline: January 31 (early bird deadline) | April 15 (final deadline)
Eligibility: Current 8th–12th grade students with at least a 2.0 GPA
In Georgetown’s Marketing and Personal Branding Academy, you will learn core marketing skills through an intercultural lens, covering both business marketing and personal branding. You’ll explore social media, traditional marketing, and influencing, learn from industry experts, and discover how real marketing firms work using professional tools. You will also create and pitch a marketing campaign and practice pitching your own skills and goals. Your days will include lectures, guest speakers, hands-on activities, group discussions, field trips, and site visits. You will study topics such as digital marketing, personal branding, data analytics, customer research, communication, creative problem-solving, content strategy, and ethical marketing. You will also work in small teams on case studies and a real DC-based client project, and develop a brand strategy useful for college, interviews, and networking.
2. UC San Diego Extended Studies Marketing for High-Schoolers
Location: Online
Cost: $250–$390
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: 3–9 months; flexible schedule
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students
UC San Diego Extended Studies Marketing for High Schoolers introduces students to the basics of marketing through online coursework, hands-on projects, and real-world case studies. You’ll develop skills in digital marketing, marketing strategy, content creation, branding, and market research. You’ll also improve your communication, leadership, problem-solving, and presentation skills. You’ll learn concepts such as the Four Ps, segmentation, targeting, positioning, market research, analytics, strategic planning, consumer decision-making, business marketing, and digital marketing strategies. You’ll also explore social media strategy, content marketing, analytics, and the content marketing ecosystem. You’ll take three courses together as a cohort in a set order, covering principles of marketing, digital marketing, and content marketing. Course access lasts about 3 weeks in the summer and about 10 weeks in the fall, winter, and spring.
3. Columbia University’s NYC Residential Summer Program — Communicating with Consumers: The Basics of Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: $12,764 per session + $80 application fee + at least $50 for course materials + course-specific fees
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Dates: June 29 – July 17 | July 21 – August 7
Application Deadline: February 2 (early deadline) | March 2 (general deadline)
Eligibility: Rising 9th–12th-grade students, including current seniors, who are 15 or older
Columbia University’s NYC Residential Summer Program allows students to choose from more than 70 courses across a dozen subject areas, with about four hours of class each weekday. You’ll have access to campus resources and participate in daily activities like community events, faculty talks, college-prep workshops, and health and wellness programs. If you’re interested in marketing, the Communicating with Consumers course will introduce you to the basics of advertising, marketing, and public relations by examining how companies communicate with consumers and influence buying decisions. You will explore topics like commercials, brand choices, and the role of advertising in everyday life. Through readings from marketing texts, current news, and case studies, you’ll build a general understanding of advertising, marketing, and public relations. The course also includes asynchronous work that you will complete between class sessions.
4. USC Pre-College Summer Program — Know Your Customer, Spot the Trend, Tell the Story
Location: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Cost: $11,570 (Residential) | $8,130 (Commuter) + $85 non-refundable application fee
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Dates: June 22 – July 17
Application Deadline: May 8 (Domestic Students)
Eligibility: Students who have completed ninth grade before the program begins and are enrolled in a rigorous high school curriculum
USC’s Know Your Customer, Spot the Trend, Tell the Story course will allow you to work with a product and learn how demographics shape marketing and sales. They will help you identify your customers and how to reach them. You’ll explore how age, location, and behavior explain why people buy and how companies plan their strategies. You develop practical business skills like analyzing data, segmenting audiences, turning insights into clear stories, and creating value through sales. Topics include demography, marketing, sales, business analytics, audience segmentation, and storytelling. You’ll read and interpret population data, create simple customer segments, develop a basic marketing message and sales pitch, and work in teams on a market plan. You also participate in a real-world Know Your Zip scavenger hunt, build detailed customer personas, and practice turning data into meaningful stories.
5. NSLC’s Marketing & Public Relations Program
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: $4,495 (Residential); scholarships are available | Unpaid
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Moderately selective
Dates: July 8 – 16 | July 20 – 28
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Students aged 14–18 who have finished at least one year of high school, including recent graduates
NSLC’s Marketing and Public Relations Program introduces students to how strategy, ideas, and storytelling shape the way brands reach their audiences. Through hands-on simulations, you’ll develop skills for future work in marketing and PR as well as learn to think like a communications strategist. You’ll work with a team to create and run your own marketing and PR agency, taking a product campaign from early concept through launch. This includes building a reputation, finding a niche, and planning ways to attract clients as a PR consultant. You’ll practice managing media relations, creating clear messages, and responding to high-pressure situations or crises. The program also covers how storytelling and visual design help build online influence. You’ll practice presenting marketing ideas through strategic pitches that clearly communicate value and appeal to clients or investors.
6. Georgetown University’s Pre-College Online Marketing Program
Location: Online
Cost: $3,995
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: Multi-length courses are available throughout the year
Application Deadline: Each session has a deadline one week before it begins
Eligibility: Students aged 13 or older
Georgetown University’s Pre-College Online Marketing Program helps students analyze consumer behavior, build effective marketing strategies, and measure campaign performance. You’ll gain a broad understanding of modern marketing, from social media and brand management to the ideas shaping today’s marketing landscape. You’ll also conduct your own research to see how marketers collect and use data. The program will introduce you to a wide range of marketing careers, such as copywriting, communications, digital analysis, and content creation. You’ll learn to set goals, objectives, and KPIs using the GOST framework, and to analyze brand equity and consumer behavior using the Aaker Model and the STAR Framework. You will also study a case on Hyundai’s expansion into Latin America to understand multicultural marketing. You will complete a capstone project and earn college credit from Georgetown University.
7. CITYarts — PR and Marketing Internship
Location: CITYarts Inc., New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: Free | Interns who are 18 or older earn a stipend of $15 for every 8 hours worked; high school students can only participate in unpaid roles
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Dates: 15–20 hours per week during the summer; flexible schedule
Application Deadline: Applications open in April
Eligibility: High school students who have strong verbal and written communication skills, experience with social media outreach, and familiarity with Illustrator and Photoshop
CITYarts offers internships that offer students access to arts training, school credit, hands-on project experience with artists, and stipends if you qualify. In the PR and Marketing internship, you will work closely with the project coordinator and help plan and create promotional materials for CITYarts. You may research similar organizations for potential collaborations, help create promotional videos, and support community outreach. Your work may also include creating both digital and print promotions, managing and updating social media and the website, designing flyers, brochures, books, and handouts. You’ll set your schedule with CITYarts staff and usually work 15 to 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday, from 10 am to 6 pm.
8. Columbia University’s Pre-College Online Summer Program — Exploring the Marketing Mix
Location: Online
Cost: $2,865–$4,015 per session + $80 application fee + around $50 for textbooks and supplies + course-specific fees
Cohort Size: Small class sizes
Dates: June 22 – 26 | July 6 – 17 | July 20 – 31
Application Deadline: February 2 (early deadline) | April 2 (general deadline)
Eligibility: Rising 9th–12th-grade domestic and international students, including current seniors
Columbia University’s Pre-College Online Summer Program allows students to choose from more than 40 courses on Columbia’s interactive online platform. You’ll take part in class discussions, simulations, debates, individual and group projects, and Student Life workshops. You can enroll in a one-week program, a two-week program, or both. If you’re interested in marketing, the Exploring the Marketing Mix course will introduce you to the four pillars of the marketing mix: product, placement, price, and promotion. You will study both the theory and the practical application of the four Ps through reading case studies, marketing texts, and current news. By the end of the course, you will learn to identify the key parts of the marketing mix, use basic market research methods, and create an introductory marketing plan based on the four Ps.
9. NYU SPS High School Academy: Weekend Workshops — Interactive Marketing Campaigns: The Power of Public Relations and Social Media
Location: NYU School of Professional Studies, New York, NY
Cost: $850 per course + $50 non-refundable application fee
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Dates: Saturdays Only; October 25 – November 22 (Fall) | February 28 – March 21 (Spring)
Application Deadline: October 10 (Fall) | February 13 (Spring); rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12 who are in good academic standing
The NYU School of Professional Studies High School Academy Weekend Workshops allow students to explore subjects like marketing, fintech, management, leadership, architecture, journalism, and law while experiencing college life and developing academic skills. If you’re interested in marketing, the Interactive Marketing Campaigns course will introduce you to the basics of launching and managing interactive campaigns. You’ll learn to understand your audience, draft clear messages, and use tools such as web development, social media, and YouTube as part of a larger communication plan. Through lectures, discussions, and both individual and team projects, you will explore how marketing works on its own and within integrated campaigns. You will also learn how campaigns create experiences, connect with emotions, and attract customers to boost a brand’s identity and value in a competitive market.
10. New York Institute of Technology’s High School Business Bootcamp
Location: Virtual or in person at New York Institute of Technology – New York City and Long Island Campus, NY
Cost/Stipend: Free | Unpaid
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: Multiple sessions run between January 14 and December 16
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students
The New York Tech School of Management offers a free business boot camp to help high school students prepare for college and future careers. It offers year-round workshops on topics such as personal marketing on social media, strategic planning, conflict resolution in diverse workplaces, and financial literacy. You can attend the workshops individually or participate in all six sessions. The program will help you develop skills in data analysis, market research, client advising, and strategic problem solving through real projects. If you’re interested in marketing, the Personal Marketing Plan Using Social Media and Digital Tools workshop will teach you how to promote yourself online. It will also help you learn to use social media and digital tools professionally and build a strong personal presence in today’s digital marketplace.
11. Athena Summer Innovation Institute
Location: Barnard College, New York, NY
Cost: $10,771 (Residential) | $8,160 (Commuter) + $75 application fee; limited need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Moderately selective
Dates: June 29 – July 17
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, including gap year students, who are at least 14 years old
The Athena Summer Innovation Institute is a three-week intensive boot camp where you’ll develop practical skills to turn ideas into real ventures. You’ll work in teams to create startups, nonprofits, or advocacy campaigns designed to challenge traditional approaches and create meaningful change. You’ll take classes in product ideation and development, marketing, branding, customer research, and startup finances. You’ll also attend workshops on topics like negotiation, financing, and branding. Throughout the program, you’ll develop one main team venture that leads to a final pitch presentation. You’ll also meet regularly with your mentor in residence for focused feedback and help refining your elevator pitch, practice public speaking with support from Barnard’s Speaking Fellows, and join site visits to see how startups operate and how companies stay innovative.
12. Cornell SCE Precollege Studies Winter Online Program — Marketing
Location: Online
Cost: $1,940 per credit + non-refundable fees for supplies or course materials
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: January 2 – 17
Application Deadline: October 15 – December 1
Eligibility: Rising or current high school juniors and seniors aged 15–19
Cornell University’s School of Continuing Education offers online winter pre-college courses for high school juniors and seniors who want an early start on college-level work. You can earn between 3 and 12 college credits that may transfer to Cornell or other schools. If you are interested in marketing, the Marketing course will give you a broad introduction to the field. You’ll study how organizations build strategic marketing programs, including pricing, promotion, targeting, positioning, and distribution of goods and services. Through case discussions and field projects from different companies, you’ll analyze real marketing applications. You will also learn the concepts and terminology of modern marketing management and data analytics, identify real-world challenges faced by marketing managers, and use qualitative and quantitative research tools to address them.
13. Summer@Brown Pre-College Program — Consuming Culture: Food and Media Literacy
Location: Online or in person at Brown University, Providence, RI
Cost: $3,096–$10,858; some courses may have extra fees; scholarships are available
Cohort Size: Small class sizes
Dates: Courses run between June 15 and July 25 and last 1–3 weeks on campus or 5 weeks in a hybrid format
Application Deadline: January 14 – May 8
Eligibility: Students finishing grades 9–12 who are 14 to 18 years old by June 14
Summer@Brown Pre-College Program allows students to choose from more than 230 non-credit courses and explore college-level academics without the pressure of grades or credit. You’ll also participate in activities, workshops, and events alongside your classes. If you’re interested in marketing, the Consuming Culture: Food and Media Literacy course looks at food and media through a media literacy lens. You’ll learn core ideas from food and media studies, analyze food content you see every day, and examine how identity shapes interpretation. You’ll study examples such as YouTube videos, cooking shows, and journalism, break down techniques such as music, language, visuals, and representation, and learn how media reinforces or challenges social norms. The course will end with a project where you’ll research a topic and create your own food media, explaining and justifying the choices you make to communicate your message.
14. Cornell SCE Fall & Spring Study — Digital Marketing
Location: Virtual or in person at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Cost: Tuition is $1,940 per credit hour + non-refundable fees for supplies or course materials
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: August 25 – December 20 (Fall Session) | January 20 – May 16 (Spring Session)
Application Deadline: August 20 (Fall session) | January 20 (Spring Session)
Eligibility: High school students aged 18 or older can apply; you can find the additional prerequisites here
Cornell SCE Fall & Spring Study allows students to choose from a range of regular Cornell courses taught by university faculty. You will earn Cornell credit, study alongside undergraduate and graduate students, and use campus resources like libraries without enrolling in a degree program. If you’re interested in marketing, the Digital Marketing course will introduce you to important concepts in digital marketing and prepare you for roles in entrepreneurship, marketing, or product management. You will learn about major players in the advertising and digital industries and use tools standard in startups and tech companies. Through lectures, case studies, and guest speakers, you will develop practical skills and a clear plan you can use when interviewing or starting your own tech venture.
15. UC San Diego Extended Studies — Futures: Elements of Marketing for High Schoolers
Location: Online
Cost: $390
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: January 5 – March 15
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students
UC San Diego Extended Studies’ Futures: Elements of Marketing for High Schoolers course focuses on integrated marketing communications and breaks down the core pieces of effective marketing programs and campaigns. Throughout the course, you will learn how to apply useful marketing tools to your own career goals and to organizational strategies by studying best practices through real case studies. You will also explore different career paths in marketing. The course will give you exposure to a range of industry sectors and help you develop the basic structure of a marketing plan for a company of your choice.
16. NYU Pre-College Program — Principles of Marketing
Location: Virtual or in person at New York University, New York, NY
Cost: Tuition ranges from $700 to $16,016, depending on the number of credits + $50 application fee; you can check the other costs here
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Dates: September 2 – December 19 (Fall) | January 20 – May 13 (Spring) | June 30 – August 12 (Summer); other important dates can be found here
Application Deadline: June 17 – August 15 (Fall) | November 1 – January 5 (Spring) | February 1 – June 15 (Summer)
Eligibility: Current 11th and 12th graders can apply for the fall and spring terms, while rising 11th and 12th graders can apply for the summer session, with a recommended cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
NYU’s Pre-College Program allows high school juniors and seniors to take undergraduate courses taught by NYU faculty, explore college life, and earn college credits. You can try out possible majors, explore new subjects, and connect with students from around the world. The program also includes College 101 workshops and info sessions to help you prepare for college and build useful academic skills. If you are interested in marketing, the Principles of Marketing course introduces marketing as a system for meeting customer needs from both theoretical and practical angles. You’ll study markets, products, and customer motivation, with a focus on basic marketing research and management. You’ll also analyze different marketing functions and apply marketing theories and techniques to real cases in today’s market environment.
17. Columbia University’s NYC Residential Summer Program — The Business of Sports: Marketing the Game
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: $12,764 per session + $80 application fee + at least $50 for course materials + course-specific fees
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Dates: June 29 – July 17 | July 21 – August 7
Application Deadline: February 2 (early deadline) | March 2 (general deadline)
Eligibility: Rising 9th–12th-grade students, including current seniors, who are 15 or older
Columbia University’s NYC Residential Summer Program allows students to choose from more than 70 courses across a dozen subject areas, with about four hours of class each weekday. You’ll have access to campus resources and participate in daily activities like community events, faculty talks, college-prep workshops, and health and wellness programs. If you’re interested in marketing, the Business of Sports: Marketing the Game course explores how sports organizations use marketing to engage fans, increase ticket sales, and build strong brands. You’ll learn about advertising, digital media, and sponsorships, study real campaigns from teams and athletes, and explore concepts such as fan engagement, branding, and event promotion. You will then apply these skills by creating a marketing plan for a sports team or event, gaining insight into digital marketing, sports management careers, and event planning.
18. The Met Internship Program for High School Students
Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: Free | Interns earn a $1,100 stipend that follows New York State minimum wage requirements
Cohort Size: Around 30–36 students
Dates: June 21 – August 8 (tentative)
Application Deadline: February 3 – March 7 (tentative)
Eligibility: Students in grades 10 and 11 or those working toward a High School Equivalency degree who live in or attend school in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut
The Met High School Internship Program gives local high school students hands-on experience working in a museum setting alongside art and creative professionals. You’ll be placed in a department based on your interests and spend 10 to 20 hours a week observing, assisting, and learning from staff in areas such as marketing, communication, photography, research, engineering, education, conservation, curatorial work, and design. You’ll also attend workshops, participate in career labs, and have opportunities to connect with professionals from the museum and creative fields. If you’re interested in marketing, you can apply to the Communications and Marketing department. You may help prepare for press conferences, exhibition press previews, museum-wide announcements, and other media events. You may also support marketing or advertising campaigns and assist with the museum’s social media channels.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like marketing, consumer behavior, branding, digital marketing, and market research, 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 – Georgetown University