Rules & Categories
Core Rules of Competition
Please refer to the complete Rules of Competition for requirements and guidelines for the Regional and National JSHS competitions. This document outlines:
- Schedules and deadlines
- Rules and guidelines for JSHS submissions
- Abstract preparation
- Research paper preparation
- Statement of Outside Assistance
- Eligibility rules
- Research involving vertebrate animals and human subjects
- Suggestions to prepare for the presentations
- Requirements for the oral presentations
- Requirements for the poster presentations
- Judging process & JSHS National Judging Score Sheets for Poster and Oral Competitions*
- National JSHS judging team and process
- JSHS categories of competition
*The JSHS National Judging Score Sheets for Poster and Oral Competitions are used at the National Symposium and Regional JSHS events.
Competition Categories
At National JSHS, student research presentations will be organized in concurrent sessions by discipline.
The organization of the sessions at the National JSHS is based upon a review of all abstracts and the area of research suggested by the student. Student presenters must state in the abstract the major discipline of their research. Please note, major discipline and sub-discipline are subject to change.
The major disciplines presented at the National JSHS are*:
Environmental Science
Environmental Science/Engineering: Bioremediation, Ecosystems Management, Environmental Engineering, Land Resource Management, Pollution, Toxicity; Impact upon ecosystem
Biomedical Sciences
Biomedical Medicine, Microbiology, Molecular/cellular, Genetics, Immunology, Pharmacology, Virology
Life and Behavioral Sciences
Developmental Biology, Plant Physiology, Population Genetics, General Biochemistry, Microbiology, Behavioral Sciences
Medicine and Health
Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Disease Diagnosis and Treatment, Epidemiology, Immunology, Neuroscience, Physiology, Pathology
Engineering and Technology
Aerospace, Aerodynamics, Electrical Engineering, Energy - Solar, Vehicle Development, Devices, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics
Math and Computer Science
Probability and Statistics, Math, Computer Science - Algorithms, Databases, Networking, Computer Engineering
Physical Sciences
Astronomy, Physics - Theoretical, Physics - Solid State, Acoustics, Optics, Thermodynamics, Particle Physics, Quantum Physics, Nuclear; Internet of things - network of physical objects or "things" embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity
Chemistry
Physical Chemistry, Materials, Alternative Fuels, Organic Chemistry (possibly in life science), Chemical Engineering, Earth Science - Geochemistry, Energy - Alternative Fuels, Material Science
*Please note, major discipline and sub-discipline are subject to change.