Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Build and track a portfolio in this 3-week investing program for middle school students on UCLA’s campus.
Rated 4.1 out of 5 for assignments and class activities by students who took this course in 2026.
Course Description
Choosing a stock is only the beginning. Students ask what makes a company worth investigating, how an investor’s goals shape strategy, and why return cannot be considered without risk, fees, and time.
The course makes financial ideas visible through articles, videos, group analysis, and portfolio work. Students compare stock-picking criteria, use free screeners, examine company profiles and financial ratios, and build a hypothetical portfolio. As prices change, they calculate return on investment, review allocation choices, and consider how taxes, commissions, interest rates, and different risk profiles affect an outcome.
The capstone brings those decisions into one investment presentation. Students document the companies and industries selected, explain their allocation, create a portfolio graphic, track performance, and defend the reasoning behind changes. Students compare results with classmates and revise their reasoning. The goal is not to predict the market. It is to practice making informed choices and explaining the evidence behind them.
This three-week course is part of Summer Discovery’s Institute for the Gifted program on UCLA’s campus. The course is available to residential and commuter students. Beyond class, students connect focused academic exploration with campus life, growing confidence and independence, and clearer direction about interests students may want to explore next.
What Will You Do?
• Compare stock-picking criteria and connect them to investment goals
• Use free stock screeners to research companies and industries
• Analyze company profiles, financial ratios, and potential risks
• Build a hypothetical portfolio and choose allocations
• Track prices and calculate portfolio return on investment
• Create and present a capstone investment strategy
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Compare investments using goals, company information, risk, and financial ratios
• Calculate portfolio value and return while accounting for common costs
• Present and defend a researched portfolio strategy
Students will leave with a tracked hypothetical portfolio and presentation, useful exposure to investing and finance, and a clearer sense of which money topics they want to explore next.
Why Finance Skills Matter
Financial skills help students connect everyday choices to longer-term consequences. Comparing investments requires them to define a goal, investigate a company, weigh risk, and notice how fees or interest can change the result. Those steps make percentages and ratios more meaningful than they are in an isolated worksheet.
Portfolio work also strengthens research and decision-making. Students must explain why a source is useful, revise a choice when new information appears, and distinguish a short-term price change from a sound strategy. These habits can support future math, economics, business, and personal-finance learning while giving students a practical framework for asking better questions about money.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for middle school students who have completed 6th, 7th, or 8th grade and ask how the stock market works, why some investments rise or fall, or how people make choices about saving and risk. It fits students interested in money, math, business, current events, or the stories behind well-known companies.
Participants should be ready to use basic arithmetic and percentages, research companies, compare ideas with classmates, and explain their decisions. Curiosity and a willingness to revise a strategy matter more than arriving with a favorite stock already chosen.
Why UCLA?
UCLA gives middle-school students an energetic place to learn, have fun, and experience campus life in Los Angeles. The setting brings together science, technology, creativity, entertainment, and culture, helping new subjects feel connected to a wider world of ideas.
The program combines hands-on academics with friendships, campus activities, clear routines, and support as students become comfortable in a large university environment. Students can try new challenges, share interests with peers, and build confidence through participation without needing to decide where those interests will lead. For families, UCLA offers a structured middle-school experience that balances substantive learning with fun, community, and age-appropriate independence. Students leave with new memories and a clearer sense of what they may want to explore next.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification of completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive