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Regeneron ISEF: The Complete Guide to the World's Largest Science Fair
Eligibility, the fair pipeline, awards, and what winning projects share
Kara Gaiser
Aerospace Engineer & Science Fair Coach
Summary
The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is the world's largest and most prestigious pre-college science competition. To compete, students in grades 9-12 must win their way through a pipeline of ISEF-affiliated local, regional, and state fairs. More than 1,700 finalists competed for over $7 million in awards at ISEF 2026, with a $100,000 top prize. ISEF 2027 runs May 8-14 in Los Angeles.
What is the International Science and Engineering Fair?
The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is an international competition that recognizes student research projects. Think of it as the Olympics of competitive science fairs.
ISEF is the most prestigious high school science fair in the world, and it often takes multiple regional wins to advance to the international level.
Who should consider ISEF?
ISEF is recommended for high school students who are motivated, curious researchers interested in a specific STEM-related project that can make a meaningful change (and can prove it).
The competition is open to all ranges of experience and interests, with 22 competition categories. Students must gain "ISEF Finalist" status through their regional fair pipeline to qualify.
Key dates and timeline
Regeneron ISEF follows the general pipeline below:
School/local fair → county/regional fair → state/country science fair → ISEF
This pipeline may differ between countries or regions, so consult your regional fair guidelines for more information.
Forms come before the fair
Forms are required to compete in all ISEF-associated competitions and fairs. Consult your fair's SRC/IRB board or school sponsor to understand form deadlines before you start your project.
ISEF is generally held in convention centers in the United States. ISEF 2026 was held in Phoenix, Arizona, and ISEF 2027 will be held in Los Angeles from May 8-14, 2027. The week-long event includes judging, networking events, and the awards ceremonies toward the end.
Eligibility requirements
Requirement | Detail |
Grade/age limits | High school, grades 9-12 or equivalent |
Geographic restrictions | None; you can qualify as long as your region has an ISEF-affiliated fair system |
Individual vs. team | Solo researcher, or a two- or three-person team; every team member must be eligible |
Project requirements | Original research, with all assistance and resources properly cited |
Prior work | Not required; if used, it must qualify as a "Continuation Project" (see Form 7 in the forms documentation) |
How the selection process works
The selection process follows the pipeline above. Generally, within each fair, students compete in judging rounds in their respective categories and receive 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place awards. Each of these can be awarded to multiple individuals depending on the size of the category.
The 1st place award winners of each category compete in another round of judging to determine Best of Fair awards and ISEF Finalists. All 1st-4th place awardees are generally eligible to move to the next round (for example, local to state fair), but not all are guaranteed ISEF Finalist status. The judging criteria for each fair generally follow the ISEF judging criteria.
How competitive and prestigious is ISEF?
ISEF is extremely competitive, with an acceptance rate of around 1%. At ISEF 2026, more than 1,700 finalists from over 67 countries, regions, and territories competed in Phoenix, selected through affiliated fairs in nearly every US state and more than 70 other countries. It's also the largest pre-college STEM competition in the world, so competing there is widely respected and recognized.
Recognition at the state or international level can include media coverage, especially for the more competitive awards at ISEF itself. The awards are prestigious in themselves, as they come with recognition and funding.
Researchers at ISEF 2026 were awarded a total of more than $7 million. Here is a breakdown of the most prestigious awards within the competition:
Top award | Amount |
George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award (Best of Fair) | $100,000 |
Regeneron Young Scientist Awards (two awardees) | $75,000 each |
Gordon E. Moore Award for Positive Outcomes for Future Generations | $50,000 |
F. Thomson Leighton and Bonnie Berger Family Prize for STEM Excellence | $50,000 |
In addition to the top awards, each of the 22 categories has Grand Awards for 1st through 4th place:
Grand Award | Cash prize |
1st Award | $6,000 |
2nd Award | $2,400 |
3rd Award | $1,200 |
4th Award | $600 |
Special awards come from category sponsors, including companies, non-profit organizations, and government agencies that may interview researchers for additional awards and recognition alongside the official ISEF awards.
What do winning ISEF projects look like?
Top winners at Regeneron ISEF identify and convey four ideas very clearly in their research and pitch:
Applicability
Clear relevance to the broader world, and a case for how the work applies
Feasibility
Realistic cost and complexity of turning the idea into change
Credibility
Statistical significance, large sample sizes, and proper citations
Originality
A new idea or concept, or a real improvement to an existing one
Most top-winning Regeneron ISEF projects show a thorough understanding of their limitations, confounding variables, data and statistics, and the design challenges they encountered.
There is no single winning project theme, but winning projects are extremely thorough with their data and explain why their work matters in the world. Judges are there to award students and research that can make a meaningful impact, so demonstrating impact with metrics (either calculated yourself or cited) and statistics matters to judges.
For instance, the student who won the top prize at ISEF 2026, Hikaru Kuribayashi, predicted how materials can fold in complex ways. His research could help design devices that need to be packed into small spaces and unfolded later, such as solar sails for satellites, medical devices, or emergency pop-up shelters.
How colleges view the International Science and Engineering Fair
While there is little statistical information on this area, colleges overall think very highly of students who compete in Regeneron ISEF, especially if they take their project further and compete multiple years or publish in an academic journal.
Colleges value ISEF most when students take their project further, competing across multiple years or publishing in an academic journal.
The project is especially helpful if it has significant meaning in your life and application. If you've been working on your project for the majority of high school, writing about it in your Common Application or supplemental essays could be the right move to better explain the importance and prestige of your project beyond your awards section. This approach is especially useful if your intended area of study aligns with your research.
The awards section of your application is also built for exactly this kind of merit.
Pros, limitations, and common misconceptions
Benefits of competing
Benefits from competing in ISEF and its affiliated fairs include:
• Building strong critical thinking skills
• Learning practical, real-world hard skills in a topic of interest (programming languages, cell cultures and assay development, computer-aided design, human participant research)
• Developing soft skills like communication, leadership, and project management
• Strengthening public speaking and question-answering through presentation and pitch practice
• Earning potential merit recognition and cash awards
Limitations to plan for
• The cost of projects is initially likely out of pocket, unless your high school provides some supplemental funding.
• A successful project is a very significant time commitment. Projects often take longer than students expect, as troubleshooting and idea pivoting can happen.
• The competition is very competitive, so success requires significant attention and focus. Students with multiple outside commitments (sports, academic clubs) should evaluate their time wisely. Many students manage other commitments on top of ISEF, but be mindful of burnout.
Common misconceptions
Two common misconceptions are that winning is guaranteed and that merit from this competition guarantees Ivy League admission. Neither is true. Students who are passionate about their project, work hard, and produce meaningful results have a strong chance of winning at local and regional fairs, with a potential ticket to ISEF. ISEF honors carry real weight with colleges, but no competition guarantees admission.
How ISEF compares to similar competitions
There are two competitions hosted by Regeneron that can get mistaken for one another:
| Regeneron ISEF | Regeneron STS |
Primary difference | Science fair | Academic scholarship competition |
Eligibility | All high school grades (9-12 or equivalent) | High school seniors only |
Application requirements | "ISEF Finalist" status, earned through local or state fairs | Online application with research report, short-answer essays, academic transcript, and more |
The Regeneron Science Talent Search is only for seniors who have a completed research project. Both are STEM research competitions, but ISEF is open to younger students and evaluates the student's project, while STS requires an in-depth application because it looks at the student's scientific capabilities as a whole.
Neither Regeneron ISEF nor STS is affiliated with STEM Olympiads, which are exam-based.
Should you choose ISEF?
If you have a passion for a specific topic or problem (so much so that you may want to pursue it in college), availability beyond your other commitments, and readiness to challenge yourself, Regeneron ISEF is for you.
Local and regional fairs are a good starting point to decide if competitive research and the time commitment are right for you. Begin as soon as possible, ideally in freshman year, to build up your research skills and develop your research idea.
How Crimson helps students succeed in research competitions
Crimson Education provides tailored mentorship to students competing in Regeneron ISEF, delivered by coaches who have competed in Regeneron ISEF and succeeded. Mentorship can come at any step of the way, from ideation to completion. The mentor's primary role is to assist with:
• Regeneron ISEF fair deliverables (poster, research paper, pitch presentation or video submission, quad-chart submission, required forms)
• Mock judging sessions, run 1:1 with questions tailored to the student's project
• Developing a research narrative that shows passion, importance, and novelty
• General feedback on the research plan, idea development, and procedures, when the mentor has experience in the topic
• Finding helpful resources for ideation and procedures
• Publishing assistance, when the student is ready
