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Connect economic theory to markets and policy in this 2-week program for high school students on Georgetown University’s campus.
Rated 4.3 out of 5 for classroom experience by students who took this course in 2026.
Course Description
A price jump, an unexpected headline, or a change in policy can set off effects far beyond one market. Economics gives you ways to trace the connections.
In this course you will use supply, demand, and incentives to investigate choices in the U.S. economy. Explore how consumers and businesses respond when resources and information are limited. Inflation, recessions, stock-market fluctuations, and different economic systems show how individual decisions connect with growth and opportunity.
Policy adds choices of its own. Compare how governments and central institutions respond to changing conditions, including the intended effects and possible tradeoffs. Trade and international finance connect those decisions across borders, affecting jobs and resources. Through discussion and activities, apply the concepts to current and historical examples of market changes and external shocks. Practice and feedback help you check an explanation against the incentives, institutions, and relationships involved. It’s a way to look past a headline and ask what is driving the change.
This two-week course for high school students takes place at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The program is developed by Georgetown University and offered in partnership with Summer Discovery. Residential and commuter options are available.
What You Will Do
• Model how supply and demand shape prices
• Compare economic systems and their incentives
• Examine inflation, recession, and consumer responses
• Weigh policy choices and their possible tradeoffs
• Trace connections through trade and international finance
• Analyze an external shock or market change
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Explain core economic concepts through real-world examples
• Analyze how policy, institutions, and consumer behavior influence markets
• Evaluate economic changes through incentives, tradeoffs, and global connections
You’ll leave with your applied economic analyses and a certificate of completion.
Why Economics Skills Matter
Economic explanations depend on assumptions about what people want, what they know, and what choices they have. Tracing supply, demand, and incentives helps you examine those assumptions rather than taking a claim at face value.
Policy questions make the consequences concrete: who benefits, who bears the cost, and what else might change? Considering those questions together builds a more careful way to interpret public debates and financial news, especially when several explanations compete.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
If a story about prices, jobs, business, or global events makes you ask “why did that happen?”, economics offers tools to investigate. You’ll work with basic economic relationships and compare explanations through discussion and current or historical examples. It’s a way to connect interests in finance, politics, data, or international relations without needing to settle on one path.
Recommended by More Than 4 out of 5 Students
Based on students surveyed in 2026 about Summer Discovery High School programs at Georgetown University campus.
Your Summer at Georgetown University
Studying on Georgetown University’s campus gives high-school students the opportunity to explore an academic interest while experiencing campus life in Washington, D.C. Its historic campus and surrounding neighborhood sit near embassies, institutions, and organizations that shape national and international conversations, giving the summer a distinctive sense of place.
Students learn alongside peers with similar interests, navigate a new environment, and gain independence through everyday choices and responsibilities. Time outside class helps students experience the broader rhythm of university life while considering what subjects, communities, and possible directions feel right for them. For families, the program offers a combination of substantive academic exploration, personal growth, and clearer insight into what a student may want to study or pursue next.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive
Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University