Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) is a U.S. Department of Defense-sponsored STEM program that encourages high school students to conduct original research in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and publicly recognizes students for outstanding achievement. By connecting talented students, their teachers, and research professionals at affiliated symposia and by rewarding research excellence, JSHS aims to widen the pool of trained talent prepared to conduct research and development vital to our nation.

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JSHS regional and national symposia are held during the academic year and reach more than 8,000 high school students and teachers throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Department of Defense Schools of Europe and the Pacific. Students must first participate in their regional symposium where they compete for selection to present at the national symposium each year. All regional symposia student finalists are invited to present their research at the National JSHS. The top two regional delegates will present their research in the oral session to compete for military-sponsored undergraduate tuition scholarships. All other regional delegates will present their research in the poster session to compete for cash awards. The dress code for student delegates can be found here.

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Sessions will be organized by categories that are selected by the students during the registration process.

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The competition categories are: 

• Environmental Science: Environmental Science/Engineering: Bioremediation, Ecosystems management, Environmental engineering, Land Resource Management, Pollution, toxicity; impact upon ecosystem 
• Biomedical Sciences: Biomedical medicine, Microbiology, Cellular/Molecular Biology, 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 
• Mathematics and Computer Science: Probability and Statistics, Mathematics, 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 

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To get started, find your regional competition. Then, you'll want to read through our Rules of Competition.

• High school students enrolled in grades 9-12
• Students must be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States or U.S. territory
• Student may present a report on work done as part of a class project, or as a science fair project, or summer research project
• Team projects - A team leader should be selected to register and present the results of the group work. The research may not be presented by any other member of the team.

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• Application deadlines vary by region 

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• Students who wish to apply to JSHS must utilize the region’s registration link to apply and submit all required work for regional submission. At the time of registration, students should be prepared to: 
  • Submit a written report (abstract or abstract and paper) of the completed research investigation through Ideal-Logic for review by a regional panel of judges. This is clarified in each region’s registration home page. 
  • Submit the JSHS provided Statement of Outside Assistance form, which states your role in the conduct of the research investigation, describes any outside assistance received, and attests to the proper conduct of research procedures and protocols in any research involving vertebrate animals or human subjects; deliver a concise oral presentation to the symposium. 
  • Complete registration with all application materials through Ideal-Logic by the regional submission deadline. 
  • Comply with regional and national rules and policies that apply to the preparation of written reports and presentations.