Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Build and test financial models in this 2-week corporate finance program for high school students on UCLA’s campus.
Rated 4.3 out of 5 for classroom experience by students who took this course in 2026.
Course Description
A company may be growing and still face a poor financial decision. Students learn to look behind the headline by reading financial statements, comparing ratios, and asking how a choice affects cash, risk, and long-term value.
The course introduces accounting fundamentals, budgeting, forecasting, time value of money, capital budgeting, capital structure, stock markets, and risk and return. Applied problem sets and financial cases give students practice using concepts rather than memorizing terms. They analyze company performance, build models in spreadsheets, compare investment opportunities, and participate in stock-market simulations and group decision exercises.
The capstone examines artificial intelligence in finance. Students research how AI is used in financial modeling, forecasting, investment analysis, or decision support, then evaluate a real application and present the benefits and limits clearly. The project connects established finance principles to the tools changing how analysts work. Peer questions require them to support claims with finance concepts and distinguish a useful tool from an unsupported promise.
This two-week course takes place at UCLA. The course is available to residential and commuter students. Beyond class, students connect focused academic work with campus life, growing independence, and clearer direction about what students may want to study or pursue next. The program is developed by UCLA and offered in partnership with Summer Discovery.
What Will You Do?
• Read core financial statements and calculate performance ratios
• Build budgets, forecasts, and time-value-of-money calculations
• Evaluate capital investments and corporate financing choices
• Use spreadsheets to create and test financial models
• Participate in financial cases and stock-market simulations
• Research and present a real application of AI in finance
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Analyze financial statements and ratios to evaluate company performance
• Build budgets and models for investment and financing decisions
• Explain and assess an AI application in financial analysis
Students will leave with applied financial models and an AI-in-finance presentation, stronger quantitative business skills, and greater clarity about continued study or careers in finance, accounting, or analytics.
Why Corporate Finance Skills Matter
Corporate finance skills help students understand how businesses translate strategy into measurable choices. Financial statements show where resources came from and how they were used. Ratios make comparison possible. Time-value and capital-budgeting calculations reveal why the timing and risk of cash flows matter.
Modeling develops precision because assumptions must be visible and calculations must remain consistent. Case work adds judgment: the best numerical result may still depend on financing constraints, market conditions, or a company’s goals. Presenting an AI application requires students to explain where technology supports analysis and where human review remains necessary. Together, these skills strengthen quantitative reasoning, business judgment, and clear communication.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and want to understand how companies make financial decisions. It fits interests in business, accounting, investing, economics, data, technology, or entrepreneurship.
Students should be comfortable working with arithmetic, percentages, formulas, and spreadsheets. Participants will need to complete applied problem sets, interpret company information, discuss case decisions, and present research. The course is a strong fit for students who enjoy using numbers to explain what is happening inside a business and want to compare several possible directions across finance and analytics.
Recommended by More Than 4 out of 5 Students
Based on students surveyed in Summer Discovery’s 2026 UCLA high school program.
Why UCLA?
UCLA gives high-school students the opportunity to explore an academic interest while experiencing university life in Los Angeles, a city where entertainment, technology, business, science, and culture constantly intersect. The campus has its own community and rhythm while connecting students to a wider environment built around creativity and new ideas.
Students learn alongside peers, navigate a large campus, and gain independence through everyday choices and responsibilities. Time outside class expands the experience through friendships, campus life, and opportunities to notice which subjects and settings hold their attention. For families, UCLA offers a valuable combination of substantive academics, personal growth, and clearer direction about what a student may want to study, experience more deeply, or pursue next.
Corporate Finance in Action
Finance teams use accounting data to plan budgets, evaluate investments, raise capital, and monitor performance. Analysts build forecasts and models. Corporate leaders weigh growth against cost and risk. Investors compare businesses and markets, while technology teams develop tools that process financial information.
Students sample these decisions through statements, ratios, problem sets, simulations, and cases. They also examine AI as one tool within a larger decision process rather than as an automatic answer. The course can help them distinguish interests in accounting, corporate finance, investing, data science, economics, or business strategy and see how those roles use related information for different purposes.
What Will You Do?
• Read core financial statements and calculate performance ratios
• Build budgets, forecasts, and time-value-of-money calculations
• Evaluate capital investments and corporate financing choices
• Use spreadsheets to create and test financial models
• Participate in financial cases and stock-market simulations
• Research and present a real application of AI in finance
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Analyze financial statements and ratios to evaluate company performance
• Build budgets and models for investment and financing decisions
• Explain and assess an AI application in financial analysis
Students will leave with applied financial models and an AI-in-finance presentation, stronger quantitative business skills, and greater clarity about continued study or careers in finance, accounting, or analytics.
Why Corporate Finance Skills Matter
Corporate finance skills help students understand how businesses translate strategy into measurable choices. Financial statements show where resources came from and how they were used. Ratios make comparison possible. Time-value and capital-budgeting calculations reveal why the timing and risk of cash flows matter.
Modeling develops precision because assumptions must be visible and calculations must remain consistent. Case work adds judgment: the best numerical result may still depend on financing constraints, market conditions, or a company’s goals. Presenting an AI application requires students to explain where technology supports analysis and where human review remains necessary. Together, these skills strengthen quantitative reasoning, business judgment, and clear communication.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and want to understand how companies make financial decisions. It fits interests in business, accounting, investing, economics, data, technology, or entrepreneurship.
Students should be comfortable working with arithmetic, percentages, formulas, and spreadsheets. Participants will need to complete applied problem sets, interpret company information, discuss case decisions, and present research. The course is a strong fit for students who enjoy using numbers to explain what is happening inside a business and want to compare several possible directions across finance and analytics.
Recommended by More Than 4 out of 5 Students
Based on students surveyed in Summer Discovery’s 2026 UCLA high school program.
Why UCLA?
UCLA gives high-school students the opportunity to explore an academic interest while experiencing university life in Los Angeles, a city where entertainment, technology, business, science, and culture constantly intersect. The campus has its own community and rhythm while connecting students to a wider environment built around creativity and new ideas.
Students learn alongside peers, navigate a large campus, and gain independence through everyday choices and responsibilities. Time outside class expands the experience through friendships, campus life, and opportunities to notice which subjects and settings hold their attention. For families, UCLA offers a valuable combination of substantive academics, personal growth, and clearer direction about what a student may want to study, experience more deeply, or pursue next.
Corporate Finance in Action
Finance teams use accounting data to plan budgets, evaluate investments, raise capital, and monitor performance. Analysts build forecasts and models. Corporate leaders weigh growth against cost and risk. Investors compare businesses and markets, while technology teams develop tools that process financial information.
Students sample these decisions through statements, ratios, problem sets, simulations, and cases. They also examine AI as one tool within a larger decision process rather than as an automatic answer. The course can help them distinguish interests in accounting, corporate finance, investing, data science, economics, or business strategy and see how those roles use related information for different purposes.
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive