Economics for Leaders Summer Program explores vital economic concepts and helps develop leadership competencies. This program provides a distinctive combination of engaging lectures, team activities, and real-world applications. 

Organized by the Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE), the EFL program explores a unique intersection of economics and public policy that excites Economics lovers. 

This selective EFL Summer Program aims to equip promising students with leadership skills to apply economic analysis to public policy decisions. 

Who Can Apply to EFL?

High school students currently enrolled as sophomores and juniors are eligible for the Summer EFL Program 2024. Since the admissions are competitive, students exhibiting leadership potential, maturity, and a keen vision of the future make it to the program. 

Carefully selected, the EFL participants are an intelligent bunch who can benefit from this distinctive educational experience. Since the spots are limited, students are encouraged to apply early to increase their chances of being accepted to their preferred site. 

Depending on the on-campus restrictions, 25-40 students are accepted at each site. As part of your application, you will be required to submit:

• Basic Personal Information
• Letter of Recommendation — must be from a teacher, advisor, or coach
• Transcript — includes all in-progress and completed coursework
• Personal Statement — respond to 3 personal insight questions
• Application Fee — $35, nonrefundable

International students can also apply with additional requirements to support their application.

Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE) Summer Program

The EFL Economics for Leaders course outlines economic concepts, reasoning, and leadership theory. The EFL program aims to prepare the next generation of leaders to face a world full of complex public policy challenges.

Economics for Leaders (EFL) offers an unmatched learning opportunity, evidenced by a whooping ninety percent recommendation rate among 2023 participants. 

Without a doubt, the program is competitive. The Economics for Leaders’s acceptance rate is low as there are roughly two applicants for each open spot. Students who have attended pre-college programs like EFL catch the eye of admission officers as competitive applicants. 

The program is led by highly skilled economics professors and leaders who have proven worthy with their teaching effectiveness and expertise. 

These experts smoothly wire the participants' brains to the “economic way of thinking” and develop leadership skills in a fun-filled manner.

Program Goals

• Equip students with the knowledge required to understand the economic concepts that shape the global economy.
• Stimulate the commitment of students to learn about economics and leadership. 
• Facilitate students enrolled in FTE economics for leaders by exploring their potential as they develop and implement practical leadership skills.
• Networking with fun-filled and like-minded people in a conducive environment.
• Provide a fun-filled, active environment rich with new friendships that can last a lifetime.

Programs at FTE

There is a virtual and an on-site version of the program. The main EFL programs are:

Economics for Leaders Program 

Referred to as in-person or residential programs, the Economics for Leaders program is a one-week program hosted between June and July on different campus sites nationwide. The slots for this highly demanded program fill quickly. 

The FTE residential student program costs $2,800, which covers tuition, room, and board for the full program week. Scholarships are available ranging from $100 to $2,000. Students are responsible for their own transportation costs to and from the program location.

Scholarship amounts typically range from $100 to $2,000 for residential programs and from $100 to $600 for virtual programs. Awards are based on a combination of financial need, leadership activities, and academic achievement — not merit alone. Funding is currently available only to US citizens or residents. Students are eligible to receive scholarship assistance for one FTE program during their high school career. To apply, complete the scholarship section within your student application; admission and award decisions arrive together, roughly three weeks after submitting a complete application.

Economics for Leaders Virtual

The four-day virtual program runs in several sessions in June and July; the applications follow four defined deadlines each year: Early Deadline (mid-February), Priority Deadline (mid-March), International Student Deadline (mid-March), and Final Deadline (mid-April). The 2026 cycle is now closed. Applications for Summer 2027 will open in December 2026 at fte.org/students. The virtual program runs Monday through Friday across several sessions in June and July. The EFL Virtual Program costs $900. Scholarships are available ranging from $100 to $600.

Taught live over Zoom, sessions run five hours per day with structured breaks. Students participate in class discussions, group activities, and complete assignments alongside peers from across the country — the same academic content as the residential program, delivered in a synchronous online format.

FTE also offers four additional student programs:

• Entrepreneurship in the Global Economy — a week-long residential program exploring how entrepreneurs drive economic growth and innovation
• Environment and the Economy — examines the relationship between environmental policy and economic decision-making
• Advanced Economics for Leaders — a follow-on program for EFL alumni looking to go deeper; more rigorous and analytically demanding than the standard EFL
• Civics & Economics in Action — a newer program combining civic engagement with economic reasoning, for students interested in policy and public service

While you are looking at economics programs, you could also enrich your knowledge by doing academic research. Have a look at the economic courses offered by Indigo’s IRIS program.

ProTip: Check out this guide by EFL to seek assistance regarding payments. 

Program Topics 

The program teaches ten topics and uses the context of ‘5 Economic Reasoning Propositions (ERPs)’ to elaborate on the application of these topics: 

• Money & Inflation
• Economic Growth and Scarcity
• Government
• Opportunity Cost
• Markets in Action
• Labor Markets
• Incentives, Innovation, and the Role of Institutions
• Property Rights
• International Markets
• Open Markets

Additionally, the Leadership Pyramid Matrix is used to teach leadership topics.