If you’re a high school student interested in business, you might already be thinking about how ideas turn into companies, how markets work, or what it takes to lead a team. But business isn’t just learned through textbooks: it’s shaped by problem-solving, decision-making, and real-world context. One of the most flexible ways to explore these skills early is through online business programs designed for high school students.

Imagine analyzing case studies from global companies, developing a startup idea with students from different countries, or learning how marketing, finance, and strategy intersect, all from your own home. These programs combine structured academic learning with the convenience of a digital classroom.

Even if you already have an interest in entrepreneurship or economics, online programs can help you see business from a broader, more global perspective. You’ll learn how businesses operate across industries and borders, while gaining exposure to university-level expectations and teaching styles.

How do you choose the right online business programs for high school students?

It’s true, some online programs offer little more than recorded lectures or surface-level content. That’s why it’s important to look for programs that emphasize interaction, applied learning, and mentorship. Not all online business experiences provide the same depth or value.

High-quality online business programs introduce students to topics like entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, management, and leadership through live sessions, collaborative projects, and real-world examples. Whether you’re just beginning to explore business or already building skills, these programs offer a meaningful way to grow academically and professionally.

To make your search easier, we’ve compiled a list of 15 Online Business Programs for High School Students. They’ve been selected for their academic structure, practical focus, and ability to prepare students for future study in business and entrepreneurship.

15 Online Business Programs for High School Students

1. Immerse Education’s Business Management Online Programme

Location: Fully remote
Cost: Varies; summer school scholarship available through their bursary programme
Program Dates: Flexible; multiple cohorts in a year
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions; multiple dates throughout the year
Eligibility: Students worldwide aged 13-18 (accredited options require age 14+)

The Immerse Education Business Management Online Research Programme gives high school students around the world the chance to explore business and management through a structured online academic experience. As one of the most academically rigorous online business programs for high school students, it pairs one-to-one tutorials with expert tutors to develop core concepts like strategy, leadership, marketing, and entrepreneurship, while strengthening critical thinking, analytical, and communication skills.

The programme centres on an independent research project that you choose and complete with personalised guidance, helping you deepen your understanding of how businesses operate and think like a business leader. By the end of the programme, you’ll finish a university-style research paper, receive written feedback and a certificate of achievement, and high-achieving participants may also earn a Letter of Recommendation to strengthen future applications.

Why it stands out: You’ll get access to 1:1 Oxbridge- or Ivy-style research supervision culminating in a publishable academic paper.

2. Wharton Global Youth: Future of the Business World

Location: Online
Cost: $4,099
Program Dates: June 15th – June 26th; July 6th – July 17th
Application Deadline: Rolling (Priority: January 28th)
Eligibility: Students from around the world in grades 9-12

This intensive online course from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania introduces you to the core themes of comprehensive business education. In live sessions every day, you will discuss with Wharton faculty and instructors topics that range from organizational strategy to customer analytics.

You’ll need to collaborate on a final project in which you design and present a new product or service. You will take part in a realistic preview of an intensive academic experience at an elite business school.

Why it stands out: It gives direct access to the curriculum of one of the world’s most prestigious business schools, with an emphasis on real-time collaboration and pitch presentations.

3. Babson Summer Study for High School Students

Location: Online
Cost: $6,295
Program Dates: July 8th – July 28th
Application Deadline: March 13th
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors all over the world (ages 16+)

Renowned for its focus on entrepreneurship, Babson College offers an online immersive experience that challenges you to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. You will take a course titled “Entrepreneurial Development Experience,” where you identify opportunities and develop a venture concept with guidance from faculty.

The program encourages you to view social and economic problems as opportunities for innovation. By the end of the course, you will understand the practical steps required to launch a business, directly mirroring the undergraduate methodology at Babson.

Why it stands out: It throws you into Babson’s unique “Entrepreneurial Thought & Action” methodology-a gold standard for the prospective student founder.

4. Georgetown University Pre-College Online

Location: Online (US-based)
Cost: Approx. $1,895–$3,995
Program Dates: Multiple sessions year-round (1, 2, or 4 weeks)
Application Deadline: Rolling (typically 1 week before start)
Eligibility: Students from any time zone aged 13 and up

Georgetown supplies an online format that offers flexibility in learning business through a lens of international relations and ethics. Select from courses ranging from “Business & Entrepreneurship” to “Investing,” comprising video lessons from university professors and industry experts.

You will work on a capstone project in which you apply business theories to real-world applications, such as creating a stock portfolio or a pitch deck for a startup. This is a great option to gauge interest in business studies while accommodating a busy high school schedule.

Why it stands out: It combines Georgetown’s signature focus on global perspective and ethics with a flexible, asynchronous learning model suitable for students anywhere.

5. Cornell University Pre-College Studies

Location: Online (US-based)
Cost: Varies with course and credit
Program Dates: Sessions in June – July during Summer, Winter
Application Deadline: Varies with course, but typically between April and June
Eligibility: Rising/Current high school juniors & seniors from anywhere in the world, ages 15 to 19

Cornell’s online pre-college program offers you the opportunity to earn real undergraduate credits by completing coursework in classrooms alongside current university students. You can choose from specialized business courses in subjects like hospitality management, marketing, and macroeconomics.

You will get the full course load of an Ivy League course: exams, papers, and group discussions. This gives you a verified academic transcript that proves to yourself and others you can succeed with university-level rigor.

Why it stands out: One of the most comprehensive ranges of credit-bearing business courses from an Ivy League institution includes a range of specialized fields, such as hospitality and real estate.

6. Columbia University Pre-College Online

Location: Online (US-based)
Cost: Approx. $2,800–$4,000 per course
Program Dates: Multiple sessions between June and July
Application Deadline: April 2nd
Eligibility: Domestic and international students in grades 11-12 

Columbia University offers a challenging academic environment in which you can contextualize business within the context of global finance and economics. You will attend two different seminars daily, diving deep into subjects like corporate finance, globalization, or strategic marketing.

The nature of the program is seminar learning, thus allowing you to debate ideas and analyze cases just as you would in a college classroom. This exposure helps you develop the critical thinking skills necessary for success in a metropolitan business degree program.

Why it stands out: It uses a seminar-style approach; it is an intense intellectual debate and critical analysis mimicking, in fact, the real Columbia undergraduate experience.

7. Brown University Pre-College Online

Location: Online (US-based)
Cost: Approx. $3,500–$7,000 (depending on course length)
Program Dates: June 15-24 (Multiple 2-, 3-, 4- and 6-week mostly asynchronous or blended sessions)
Application Deadline: Mid-May
Eligibility: Students worldwide completing grades 9-12 (ages 14-18)

The online version of Brown’s program embodies the “Open Curriculum” approach, offering you the chance to discover “intersections” between the world of business and other areas of study. You can pick challenging courses such as “Entrepreneurship: The Art of Creative Problem Solving” or “Leadership and Social Change.”

You will study asynchronously with tight deadlines every week, requiring strong time management skills in conjunction with participation in online discussion forums. The program emphasizes writing and critical analysis, giving you a strong idea of what it’s like to do independent work in a university setting.

Why it stands out: The asynchronous format teaches essential time-management skills while allowing you to explore interdisciplinary business topics without a rigid daily schedule.

8. Wake Forest University Online Immersion Program

Location: Online
Cost: $1595 per course
Program Dates: Multiple sessions year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students from any time zone aged 13+

This program takes you in-depth into specific business tracks, including Finance, Marketing, and Business Management. You will learn through a series of video lectures by Wake Forest professors and complete assignments that are simulations of professional business tasks.

A great aspect of the program is the Final Capstone Project, where you might conduct a strategic analysis or build a financial model. This way, you will have a practical understanding of what the day-to-day realities could be like for different careers and majors.

Why it stands out: It provides very specialized tracks to “test drive” certain majors, such as Finance or Marketing, that you might want to pursue in college.

9. Harvard Secondary School Program (Online)

Location: Online (US-based)
Cost: $4,180 (4-credits) or $8,160 (8-credits) + $75 application fee
Program Dates: June 20th – August 8th
Application Deadline: February 19th
Eligibility: Students across the world aged 16-18

Harvard’s Secondary School Program offers the chance to take real Harvard classes with college students and other pre-college students, earning college credit. The online program features an enormous course catalog of business and related subjects taught by Harvard University professors, and you will earn transferable college credit.

This course demands a serious time commitment that requires you to manage time well to handle a full college course load, in addition to participating in discussions with classmates via video conferencing.

Why it stands out: Students earn actual Harvard college credit and study alongside matriculated university students, offering the most authentic simulation of college academics.

10. More SPARK

Location: Virtual
Cost: None
Program Dates: December (tentatively)
Application Deadline: Registration typically opens in early Fall
Eligibility: Middle and high school students interested in entrepreneurship; international students are welcome to apply

More SPARK is a recurring online entrepreneurship series that helps students refine early-stage ideas into structured projects over time. Each session covers a single skill, such as business modeling, marketing strategy, or project planning, and there is ample opportunity to receive educator and community mentor feedback.

You can join the sessions individually or over several months to incrementally build up your idea. The program also offers optional pitch practice linked to seed-funding opportunities through OtterCares.

Why it stands out: Its flexible, month-by-month structure lets students develop entrepreneurial ideas over time without the fixed summer-only commitment.

11. Kelley Women’s Leadership Institute (KWLI)

Location: Virtual
Cost: None
Program Dates: April 22nd and 29th in spring, sessions in winter and summer
Application Deadline: March 20th for spring
Eligibility: Current sophomores, juniors, and seniors worldwide with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5

The Kelley Women’s Leadership Institute introduces high-school students to leadership and business decision-making from an equity-focused academic lens. You participate in faculty-led sessions, case discussions, and collaborative activities, analyzing leadership style, organizational dynamics, and representation in business.

You are taught the concepts of leadership from an academic point of view and how they can be applied in real-life situations in business. Through group discussions with peers, you will explore various academic and professional paths where leadership intersects.

Why it stands out: It merges business fundamentals with leadership development in a university-led program designed to close the gaps in representation and inclusion.

12. Business Research for Innovation, Design, Growth, and Entrepreneurship (BRIDGE)

Location: Virtual
Cost: $3,115
Program Dates: July 6-23
Application Deadline: June 26th
Eligibility: 9th to 12th-grade students around the globe with a minimum 3.3 GPA

BRIDGE focuses on how businesses go from early ideas to scalable ventures through structured academic instruction. You will learn about innovation strategy, financing models, and organizational growth by analyzing real case studies in startups.

Simulation is included in the curriculum, where you will be experimenting with capital raising and strategic decision-making. By the end of the program, you will have an investor-ready, research-based business plan, using design thinking.

Why it stands out: It focuses on business research and venture strategy instead of mere pitch-only entrepreneurship, similar to how students at the university level study innovation. 

13. University of British Columbia: Future Global Leaders

Location: Online (Canada)
Cost: Approx. CAD $925 per course
Program Dates: July – August
Application Deadline: Mid-June
Eligibility: Students around the world aged 15-18 who have completed grade 10 with a minimum 3.5 GPA

The UBC Future Global Leaders program enables you to take university-level courses online, including specific tracks in business and economics. You will interact with UBC professors and instructors in virtual live classes about subjects such as “Introduction to Marketing” or “Sustainable Business Strategies.”

The program will give you a head start on your academic career and introduce you to a wide international cohort. It serves as a very good introduction to the academic culture of one of Canada’s top universities.

Why it stands out: It provides an affordable entry point into university-level academics within Canada, placing a strong focus on sustainability and global business trends.

14. Rice University Pre-College Online

Location: Online
Cost: $1,795 per course
Program Dates: Year-round sessions available
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students all over the world aged 13+

Rice University has an engaging online course titled “Entrepreneurship: One Day You Will Change the World” to develop your innovative potential. You will watch high-quality lectures in video format and undertake home assignments that will lead you through the process of problem identification and development of a business solution that can work in the real world.

The course involves mentorship with Rice faculty. At the end of the class, students will develop a business model canvas. 

Why it stands out: It leverages a project-based learning model that walks you through creating a business model canvas, which is a standard tool for real-life startups.

15. Northwestern Pre-College Online: Business Course

Location: Virtual (Northwestern University)
Cost: Approximately $1,895 per course
Program Dates: 2-week and 4-week options
Application Deadline: Rolling/varies
Eligibility: High school students from all over the world (ages 13+)

The online Northwestern business course covers core concepts of strategy, marketing, operations, and sales, setting student learning in the context of actual business examples. You will analyze renowned companies and work on a final project that proposes a new product or service idea.

Teaching stresses multidisciplinary business functions in real applications. At the end of the course, you’ll have a great beginning towards further business studies at the university level.

Why it stands out: Flexible, short-format business learning underpinned by practical analysis and strategy; great for students looking at the basics of business.

From Business Basics to Career Direction

Early exposure to business thinking helps you understand how ideas become strategies, decisions become outcomes, and leadership develops through practice rather than theory alone, early on.

Online learning environments allow you to test these concepts through cases, collaboration, and analysis, building confidence while developing skills universities and employers increasingly expect.

Through these online business programs for high school students, you gain insight into finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship while experiencing academic expectations similar to undergraduate study.

To explore how these experiences connect to future roles, visit our Career Exploration blogs for guidance, pathways, and practical advice on shaping your direction with confidence.