Fundamentals of Microeconomics
- Grades 7-11
- Advanced CTY-Level
-
Residential
- Mathematics
How much are you willing to pay for ice cream on a hot summer day? Who is responsible for the cost of pollution? Is there such a thing as a perfectly competitive market? Microeconomics provides insights into these questions as it examines how individual buyers and sellers make decisions about allocating limited resources. This course analyzes microeconomic theory and considers it in the context of today’s economic climate. You’ll begin by studying the fundamental concepts of supply and demand curves, price elasticities, market structure, public goods, and externalities. Then you and your classmates will build on this foundation to explore topics like competition, consumer choice, monopoly, oligopoly, and the role of government in promoting greater efficiency and equity. By applying mathematical concepts and critical analysis to economic theory, you’ll uncover how economists analyze and predict behavior of consumers and producers, and leave the course with a foundation of central topics in microeconomics and practical economic issues that affect us all.
Typical Class Size: 16
This course is
ungraded.
Summer Dates & Locations
After May 2, 2025, registration is available upon request pending eligibility and seat availability. To request placement, email [email protected] after submitting a program application.
Session One
Session Two
Testing and Prerequisites
| Math | Verbal | |
|---|---|---|
| Required Level | Advanced CTY-Level | or Advanced CTY-Level |
Students must achieve qualifying scores on an advanced assessment to be eligible for CTY programs. If you don’t have qualifying scores, you have several different testing options. We’ll help you find the right option for your situation.
Sign up for Testing Learn MoreCourse Prerequisites
Fundamentals of Microeconomics requires:1 prerequisite
Algebra 1
Cost and Financial Aid
Tuition
- Varies
Application fee
- Nonrefundable Application Fee - $55 (Waived for financial aid applicants)
- Nonrefundable International Fee - $250 (outside US only)
We have concluded our financial aid application review process for 2025 On-Campus Programs. We encourage those who may need assistance in the future to apply for aid as early as possible. We are committed to serving all talented youth regardless of financial circumstances. Financial assistance is available based on need.
Course Materials
Students should bring basic school supplies like pens, notebooks, and folders to their summer program. You will be notified of any additional items needed before the course begins. All other materials will be provided by CTY.
Sample Reading
These titles have been featured in past sessions of the course, and may be included this summer. CTY provides students with all texts; no purchase is required.
- Principles of Microeconomics, N. Gregory Mankiw
About Mathematics at CTY
Explore the study of shapes
Many of our courses allow students to describe the world around them in basic and profound ways. Younger students build foundational skills by exploring shape, scale, and proportion in Geometry and Spatial Sense. Middle School students delve into real-world applications of lines and analyze data with curves that follow uniform, symmetric, bell-shaped, or skewed patterns in Data and Chance. Advanced students unveil the deep interplay between numbers and shapes, investigating how triangular, square, and polygonal numbers create patterns that bridge geometry and algebra in Number Theory. By examining these elegant number patterns and symmetries, students discover how mathematics captures the intricate beauty and underlying structure of the natural world.
Dive deep into logic and reasoning
Our courses in formal logic give you the tools to question the world around you. Inductive and Deductive Reasoning introduces younger students to different types of reasoning, as well as the strengths and weaknesses inherent in various forms of critical analysis. Older students explore how logical reasoning can explain (or fail to explain) counter-intuitive results in Paradoxes and Infinities, or take a more rigorous approach to formal logic in Mathematical Logic.
Meet our instructors and staff
There is nothing better than seeing that 'eureka' moment and the extension of that moment as students exuberantly share their thoughts.
Dan Sievers
Math Instructor
I love being able to connect with such talented students; each and every one has changed my life for the better.
Meg Gantzer
Program Assistant
CTY is one of the highlights of my year. Even though it’s the summer, the immersive learning in a subject where these students truly excel and shine is invigorating for me as a teacher.
Lauren LaPorta
Writing Instructor