Student Competitions

Northern Indiana Regional Science Fair NIRSEF is held in the spring each year on the University of Notre Dame campus. The science fair provides an opportunity for K-12 students to showcase their work. Email sciencefair@nd.edu for more info.

INTEL Science and Engineering Fair The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), the world’s largest international pre-college science competition, annually provides a forum for more than 1,500 high school students from over 50 countries to showcase their independent research. The Intel ISEF is the premiere science competition in the world exclusively for students in grades 9–12. Deadline: generally early February registration. Winners receive up to $75,000 as well as scholarships, tuition grants, internships, and scientific field trips .

Regeneron Science Talent Search Each year the Intel STS finds and encourages the nation’s most talented high school seniors, furthering their pursuit of research and careers in the science, math, engineering, and medicine disciplines. Over six decades, more than 120,000 students from American high schools in all 50 states and U.S. territories have completed independent research projects and submitted STS entries. Each completed entry consists of a written description of the student's independent research, plus a lengthy entry form that elicits evidence of the student excellence and accomplishments. Winners receive up to $250,000, and 3.1 million dollars total to all the various winners.

Indiana Junior Science and Humanities Symposium JSHS invites high school students to report on the results of their original research investigations in STEM and compete for scholarships and recognition at university-held regional symposia. All students in grades 9-12 enrolled in public, private, or home schools are eligible to participate. Sponsored by St. Mary's in the Woods and the Army Education Outreach Program.

The Michigan High School Math & Science Symposium (MHSMSS) is usually held in the spring at Andrews University's Buller Hall, located in Berrien Springs, MI. Traditionally, the symposium gives students who have worked on a science research project under the mentorship of a teacher or scientist the opportunity to give an oral presentation of their research findings to a group of peers in a setting that resembles a meeting of professional scientists.

Indiana Junior Academy of Science Sponsored by the Indiana Academy of Science, IJAS is designed to encourage high school students to pursue an interest in science study and careers. Indiana high school teachers register their school to participate in the program and accompany their students to the competition.

Google Science Fair The Google Science Fair is a worldwide online science competition sponsored by Google, Lego, Virgin Galactic, National Geographic and Scientific American. The competition is open to 13- to 18-year-old students around the globe, who formulate a hypothesis, perform an experiment, and present their results. The final submission must include ten sections, which are the summary, an "About Me" page, the steps of the project, and a works cited page. Entries are judged on eight core criteria, which include the student's presentation, question, hypothesis, research, experiment, data, observations, and conclusion. Prizes are awarded to three finalists. The grand prize includes a National Geographic trip to the Galapagos Islands, and a $50,000 scholarship; finalists will receive a $15,000 scholarship and assorted packages from sponsoring organizations.