Course Descriptions

Business, Finance, and Markets Courses

Accounting & Finance: From Business Idea to Business Value

In this two-week experiential course, students learn accounting and finance basics for entrepreneurial leaders by working with a real startup. Week one focuses on designing the business for sustainable long-term value creation and cash flow generation; week two develops a business plan with financial projections and enterprise value assessment. Finally, the students will pitch their proposals to the start-up’s founder(s).

Program Faculty: Brigitte Muehlmann and Jia Hao

Babson Entrepreneurial Investor Lab: Decode Companies, Allocate Capital, Pitch Your Strategy

Learn to evaluate companies, allocate capital, and pitch investment strategies in this high-energy finance lab. Rising juniors and seniors will analyze real companies, develop an Investment Policy Statement, and manage a simulated $100,000 portfolio. Plus: AI-powered finance—learn prompt engineering to speed up research, then verify results using trusted sources. You’ll practice valuation, risk management, and evidence-based decision-making—finishing with a Portfolio Demo Day presentation. Grounded in Babson’s Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® methodology.

Program Faculty: Jia Hao

Inside Wall Street: How Investors Find Winning Stocks

This is a rigorous, one-week program for high school students who want to learn how professional investors evaluate companies, determine what a stock is worth, and make disciplined investment decisions in today’s markets. The course immerses students in the same tools, analytical frameworks, and research processes used by Wall Street professionals. Working in small teams, students will analyze a real public company, develop a data-driven investment thesis, and present their findings in a professional-style stock pitch that mirrors institutional practice.

Program Faculty: Patrick Gregory

Intro to Business Strategy and Consulting

This course introduces consulting and business strategy through real‑world cases and team‑based problem‑solving. Students learn how companies assess markets, analyze competitors, and make strategic decisions. Students practice breaking down complex problems, synthesizing insights, and presenting recommendations within business, consulting, and entrepreneurial contexts.

Program Faculty: Richard Wang

Real Estate Market Moves: Unlocking the Secrets to Investing

Discover how entrepreneurs and investors evaluate the housing market, manage risk, and build long-term wealth through real estate. In this one-week immersive course, students learn to analyze markets, value properties, understand financing, and see how contracts and negotiation shape real estate deals. Through real-world examples, financial analysis, and hands-on simulations, students develop an investor mindset and use practical tools to evaluate potential investments. Although focused on residential real estate, the analytical skills developed also translate to commercial real estate and prepare students for future study in business, finance, law, and entrepreneurship.

Program Faculty: Erin Escobedo

Introduction to Finance

This course will provide a comprehensive introduction to how companies and organizations make financial decisions, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies as well as non-profits. Finance is about how to find resources then how to decide to invest them. To get funding, should a company borrow or issue shares of ownership, or maybe even involve newer cutting-edge techniques? To decide how to then invest those resources, what metrics and processes do companies use? Finally, who are the people and job functions in these organizations making these decisions, and how is AI transforming those jobs? This course will spend time on financial decision-making, which informs every organization’s strategic direction.

Program Faculty: Mark Potter

The Economics Lab: Testing How the World Works

This is a hands-on introduction to economics for rising high school juniors and seniors. Instead of starting with lectures, students run experiments, play strategy games, and participate in simulations that reveal how markets, incentives, and policies really work. From building toy cars and fishing for crackers to deciding new airline routes and negotiating policies for climate change, students learn economics by doing it.

Program Faculty: Jason Wong

Entrepreneurship and Startup Launch Courses

Think. Build. Lead. Entrepreneurship in a Policy-Shaped World

This course explores how policies, social values, and ethics influence entrepreneurship, free enterprise, and economic outcomes. Students engage in activities and exercises that examine how the intersection of government, business, and society informs entrepreneurial thought and action. Topics span multiple academic disciplines and include entrepreneurial identity, market research, prototyping, and business models. The course is designed as an experiential class that reflects Babson’s teaching pedagogy and the interactive nature of Babson classrooms. Lecturing is limited, and active engagement in and outside the classroom is an expected component of the course.

Program Faculty: Lily Crosina and Andrew Corbett

Launchpad AI: Building a Startup from Scratch with the AI-Driven Entrepreneurship Model

In this one‑week intensive course, rising juniors and seniors build a startup concept using an AI‑driven approach to entrepreneurship. Students combine core principles of entrepreneurship with modern AI tools to move through key stages of venture development, including market research, idea validation, prototyping, and storytelling. Guided by the AIDE (AI‑Driven Entrepreneurship) Model, students use AI to support tasks such as research, prototype generation, and narrative development, while grounding decisions in human judgment and validation. The course emphasizes strategy and leadership rather than coding, focusing on how entrepreneurs can integrate AI thoughtfully into the venture‑building process.

Program Faculty: Paul Cheek

Startup Sprint: Two Weeks to Launch!

In this two‑week course, students build, brand, and launch a product through an intensive, hands‑on venture development process. Using AI and digital tools, students test ideas, experiment with marketing approaches, and incorporate feedback from real customers as they develop their product. The course is grounded in Babson’s Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® methodology and emphasizes learning through active experimentation and iteration.

Program Faculty: Ruth Gilleran

AI, Data, and Building with Tech Courses

Collaborating with AI to Develop an Entrepreneurial Venture

This one‑week, experiment‑heavy course examines how entrepreneurs use artificial intelligence to test ideas and accelerate early venture development. Students explore how to prompt, question, and verify AI‑generated insights while shaping a venture concept informed by human judgment and creativity. Through rapid research sprints, hands‑on prototyping, and simple market experiments, students evaluate venture concepts and examine when to rely on technology and when to challenge it.

Program Faculty: Angela Randolph 

From Statistics to AI: Data, Decisions, and Ethics

This one‑week intensive course examines how statistical concepts have contributed to the development of modern technology. The course traces the development of statistics through to contemporary applications in algorithms and artificial intelligence. Through discussions and readings, students examine how data informs decision‑making and consider the role of ethics in the use of statistical models and AI.

Program Faculty: Eric Chan

Health, Food, and The Environment Courses

Exploring Careers in Business and Healthcare

In this immersive, hands‑on, full‑day course from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for rising juniors and seniors, students explore career pathways across the business and healthcare ecosystem. The course examines areas including public health, clinical care, insurance, regulation, and health innovation through interactive activities, real‑world simulations, and problem‑solving exercises. Through case studies and conversations with industry professionals, students examine how different specialties collaborate across the healthcare field.

This course includes excursions as part of the learning experience and may extend beyond three hours per day. Students enrolled in this course may not register for a second course during the same week. Participation in the residential program is required.

Program Faculty: Michele Bernier and Errol Norwitz

Food Systems, Sustainability & Entrepreneurial Solutions

Investigate the future of food—and design entrepreneurial solutions that support a more sustainable and equitable food system. Immersive, hands-on experiences will allow students to investigate today’s most pressing food system challenges while developing an entrepreneurial leadership mindset to propose innovative solutions. Participants will engage in experiential learning, through hands-on labs, fieldtrips, and engaging with guest speakers working in areas across the food system, thereby gaining exposure to practical solutions for a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable food future. Ideal for students interested in food business or sustainability and eager to explore big challenges, test ideas, and learn by doing.

This course includes excursions as part of the learning experience and may extend beyond three hours per day. Students enrolled in this course may not register for a second course during the same week.

Program Faculty: Vikki Rodgers and David Blodgett

Management, Marketing, and Teams Courses

Sports Management

Big games and bigger business—step inside the world of sports beyond the field. In this immersive one-week summer course, students explore how professional sports leagues and college athletics actually operate, from big-money media deals to athlete negotiations and NIL opportunities. Students will dive into the business of sports through group exercises, class discussion, and real-world scenarios drawn from leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB, and WNBA, as well as the NCAA.

Program Faculty: Leslie Garbarino

The Art & Science of Negotiation: Skills for Life, College, and Career

This experiential course introduces negotiation strategies used in academic, professional, and everyday settings. Students participate in hands‑on negotiations from the start of the course, practicing techniques, receiving feedback, and evaluating negotiation approaches. Course scenarios include group project dynamics, personal decision‑making, and early professional interactions, providing opportunities to apply negotiation strategies in a range of contexts.

Program Faculty: Amanda Weirup

The Psychology of Persuasive Marketing: Designing Campaigns That Matter

This hands‑on course examines the psychological principles behind persuasive marketing and how advertising, influential messaging, and social movements shape consumer attitudes and behavior. Students study how brands use emotion, storytelling, and strategy to influence decision‑making. Through analysis of marketing campaigns and social media trends, students apply these concepts by designing an ethically grounded marketing campaign focused on a real‑world issue.

Program Faculty: Krista Hill Cummings

Communication, Culture, and Creative Expression Courses

Pitch Perfect: Master the Communication Behind Million-Dollar Ideas

This course examines why some business pitches are more effective than others by focusing on the psychology and language of persuasion. Students analyze communication strategies used by entrepreneurs to engage investors, customers, and teams. Through hands‑on analysis and practice, students craft and present a business pitch while applying persuasion strategies commonly used in entrepreneurial contexts.

Program Faculty: Olga Birioukova

The History of Capitalism

This course examines the historical development of capitalism by exploring how economic ideas, technologies, and institutions have shaped markets over time. Students investigate how moral, social, and economic perspectives on exchange and entrepreneurship have evolved across different historical periods. Using historical examples - including technological innovation, financial systems, and institutional change - the course considers how past economic transformations can inform understanding of contemporary developments such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.

Program Faculty: Jim Hoopes

Becoming UNSTOPPABLE: The AI Productivity Lab and Personal Brand Launchpad

This immersive laboratory course focuses on improving productivity, professional identity, and personal branding through the strategic use of AI. The course is designed for students interested in working more efficiently and intentionally in academic and professional contexts.

Drawing on faculty experience in executive leadership and global organizations, the course follows a structured, five‑day framework for developing professional identity and presence. Students learn to articulate their professional value and explore how AI can be used as a professional assistant to support academic preparation, interview practice, and personal branding.

Course activities include applying AI‑driven workflows to organize and adapt academic materials into study guides and interview preparation resources, using AI‑supported simulations to practice interviewing, refining professional profiles, and developing a personal pitch focused on professional communication and self‑presentation.

Program Faculty: Scott Magnacca

The Business of Fashion and Influencer Brands

From TikTok creators to celebrity founders, many of today’s fastest-growing fashion brands are built online and powered by community. In this course, students explore how influencers and entrepreneurs turn followers into customers and ideas into brands. By the end of the week, teams will create their own creator-inspired fashion brand and pitch their launch strategy.

Program Faculty: Kim Jackson

Course Descriptions and Program Faculty are subject to change. In the event a course does not meet enrollment requirements, students will be offered alternative course options or a refund.