The Business and Finance Academy has 100 12th graders graduating this year. The program was certified in the fall of 1998 by the National Academy Foundation and renamed the Wilson Finance Academy. It currently has 80 11th graders enrolled. Its advisory board is headed by the director of the U.S. Mint, representing the Department of the Treasury. Course work gives students an introduction to the world of business and finance and the program provides placements in internships and summer jobs.
All students have internships in their senior year.
The U.S. Department of Energy has partnered with Wilson to provide opportunities for students and faculty. Designed for students interested in pursuing advanced studies in careers in international affairs, WISP offers intensive training in social science and foreign language, work study internships and foreign travel opportunities. Wilson was the first school in the metropolitan area to adopt and implement a block schedule and now operates on a seven period alternating block school schedule. Since 1990 three Wilson students have been named a Presidential Scholar, which is the highest national academic honor a high school student can receive.