Develop practical skills and the ability to think critically while gaining valuable exposure to important business topics and methods of analysis. Students will be exposed to the essential aspects of business needed to launch and run a company, to include: finance, human resources, management, marketing, and operations. In addition to working alongside experienced faculty and collaborating in teams, this institute ends with a product presentation, in which students pitch ideas to potential investors showcasing the knowledge they gained throughout the week.
Dates: June 28-July 3, 2020 or July 26- 31, 2020
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors in high school and incoming college freshmen
Program Length: 1-week sessions
Program Tuition: $2,350
Location: Winston-Salem, NC – Wake Forest University Reynolda Campus
Day or Overnight Program: Overnight
*Courses carry no secondary school or college credit. Upon completion of the program, an official Wake Forest University certificate of achievement will be awarded to all Business Institute participants.
*Hands-on experiences are subject to change.
Reynolda Campus (Residential Program) | $2,350
*This “A Day in the Life” sample schedule is based upon the 2018 curriculum and is subject to change.
Academic Leader, Business Institute
J. Bren Varner is a Professor of Practice in the School of Business and the Director of the Business and Enterprise Management Degree Program. He previously served as the Program Director for the University Center for Entrepreneurship where he managed the co-curricular initiatives for the Wake Forest entrepreneurship program. Prior to Wake Forest, he worked with numerous entrepreneurial ventures, focused primarily on technology, software, and the Internet and has provided merger and acquisition advisory services for the software and IT industries.
At Wake Forest, he has taught various undergraduate and graduate classes within the strategy and entrepreneurship disciplines. He is a three-time recipient of the WFU School of Business Senior Class Teaching Award and the recipient of the 2008 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Award from the Acton Foundation, an award that recognizes the top 30 entrepreneurship educators in the country.
He received his bachelor’s degree in business from Wake Forest University and his master’s degree in business administration from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
The Wake Forest Summer Immersion Program is a hands-on learning experience. Students dive deep into a field of study with access to world-class faculty, researchers, and industry professionals.