Lehigh University Iacocca Institute Iacocca Global Leadership Intensive

Classes are taught by Lehigh University faculty and staff, and what you study depends on the concentration you choose. Course options change from year to year, and Lehigh's examples include AI and Business, Global Marketing, Let's Get Physical (with data) and Art & Community Health.

Outside class, a group of young professionals mentors you while you live on campus, and you'll hear keynote speakers and connect with Lehigh alumni through networking.

• Business & Entrepreneurship

  Courses such as design thinking, blockchain, global marketing and data-driven decision making, a team "intrapreneurship" consulting project for a local company, a pitch competition for your own social entrepreneurship idea, and visits to local businesses, Philadelphia and New York City.

• Health & Innovation

  The newer of the two tracks, with classes in population, community and global health, health data science and biostatistics, a team consulting project for a hospital or community-based health organization, career panels and networking events, and site visits with health experts in the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and New York City.

You need to be a high school student, in the US or abroad, who graduates in 2028 or 2029, and the age rule is strict: Lehigh won't take anyone younger than 15 or older than 17 at any point between 11 and 31 July 2027. So a student who turns 18 during the program doesn't qualify, even with the right graduation year.

Lehigh also expects applicants to be ready for an intense residential program with high standards for personal, professional and academic behavior. It doesn't say how many places there are. The application asks for four things.

• Three recommenders

  An English teacher, a school counselor, and a Business or Social Studies teacher for Business & Entrepreneurship or a Science teacher for Health & Innovation, each of whom has agreed to write for you.

• A resume

  A PDF listing your extracurricular activities.

• A one-page essay

  It's titled "Who Am I", and Lehigh warns against simply rewriting your resume in paragraph form.

• A video

  Three minutes in which you present yourself as a member of the 2027 cohort.

The fee is $7,400, and it covers tuition, your room and meals, course materials, field trips, activities and transportation during the program. Lehigh's list doesn't mention travel to and from campus, so plan for that separately.

Need-based financial aid exists, but there isn't much of it. Only priority applicants who finish by 15 February 2027 can get it, and you ask for it by answering yes on the application and providing the financial information Lehigh requests. Lehigh makes admission decisions independently of aid requests, and it says that in virtually all cases any aid covers only part of the fee.

You live in standard Lehigh dorms supervised by residential staff. Rooms are doubles in co-ed buildings, with single-sex shared hall bathrooms and self-serve laundry. Meals come from campus dining, Lehigh catering and local restaurants, and medical and religious dietary needs are accommodated, so tell staff about them clearly.

The rules on staying put are firm. You remain with the program through evenings and weekends and can leave only for a medical or family emergency, while family and friends can visit only on designated visiting days unless there's an illness or family emergency, which goes through the program director.

The campus sits on a hill with lots of stairs and 5- to 15-minute walks between buildings, and Lehigh says it will make accommodations for students with limited mobility.

Everything starts with a short eligibility survey on Lehigh's application form.

1. 1

   Complete the eligibility survey and give your recommenders' names and contact details.

2. 2

   Once Lehigh verifies you're eligible, it emails you an invitation to the full admissions application.

3. 3

   Submit that application, with all recommendation letters in, by 15 February 2027 to get priority review.

4. 4

   Priority applicants hear back the week of 9 March 2027 and have until 23 March 2027 to accept a place.

5. 5

   After 15 February, Lehigh admits on a rolling basis until places run out and then waitlists qualified applicants, and anyone admitted this way has two weeks from notification to confirm.