JSHS: How the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium Works and What Colleges Think
By Rona Aydin
What Is JSHS?
The Junior Science and Humanities Symposium is a competition in which high school students carry out original research, present it to judges, and compete for scholarships. The program’s website describes it as the STEM competition that challenges high school students from everywhere to achieve.
The website says the program is backed by the Department of War and administered by the National Science Teaching Association. Its awards page names the Office of the Secretary of War and the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force as the bodies that invite regional finalists to the national event.
Despite the name, the competition is in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The national categories do not include a humanities field.
Who Can Enter JSHS?
High school students who have done original research can enter. A student competes through the regional symposium that covers the student’s home area. The regions cover all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Department of War schools in Europe and the Pacific.
Entry is free. The program says that its partner universities and organizations provide their activities at no cost to students. That separates it from paid conferences for students interested in medicine or science, such as the Congress of Future Medical Leaders, which is an event and not a competition.
One rule limits who can take part. The program states that students must be United States citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States or a U.S. territory to participate.
How Do the Regional Symposia Work?
Each region is hosted by a university or a partner organization, and each sets its own deadline. The program publishes core rules that cover the abstract, the research paper, and a statement of outside assistance. Regional events are judged with the national scoring sheets for oral and poster presentations.
The top five finalists from each regional symposium are invited to the National JSHS, with expenses paid. The program says the 2027 national event will bring together 245 students, which corresponds to 49 regions by Oriel Admissions calculation.
Because each region sends five students, the difficulty of qualifying depends on the region. A student should find the region early on the program’s website and read that host’s rules and dates.
What Are the JSHS Categories?
At the national level, presentations are organized into eight disciplines: Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering and Technology, Environmental Science, Life and Behavioral Sciences, Math and Computer Science, Medicine and Health, and Physical Sciences.
A student names the discipline in the abstract. The program notes that the disciplines are subject to change.
What Scholarships Can a Student Win?
Awards are given at both levels. The scholarships are for undergraduate tuition and are paid to the student’s college.
| Level | Place | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Regional | First | $2,000 scholarship |
| Regional | Second | $1,500 scholarship |
| Regional | Third | $1,000 scholarship |
| National, oral presentation | First in each category | $12,000 scholarship |
| National, oral presentation | Second in each category | $8,000 scholarship |
| National, oral presentation | Third in each category | $4,000 scholarship |
| National, poster presentation | First, second, and third in each category | $550, $450, and $350 in cash |
Each region gives $4,500 in scholarships, and the national oral presentation awards total $192,000. One student can receive at most $30,000. The funds are held for up to four years, and a recipient must enroll full-time at an accredited institution.
When and Where Is the 2027 National JSHS?
The 64th National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium will take place in Chantilly, Virginia, from April 20 to April 25, 2027. The program says it will bring together 245 high school students and approximately 130 teachers, mentors, university faculty, military personnel, and others.
Regional symposia are held in the months before that, so most regional deadlines fall in the winter of the same school year. The research itself has to be finished earlier.
Do Colleges Care About JSHS?
Yes, when a student places. Admissions readers at selective colleges look for research that someone qualified has judged, and a regional finalist place or a national award supplies that judgment. Oriel Admissions rates a place at the National JSHS as a state or regional distinction, and a national award in a category as a national one.
Taking part without placing still has value, because the student has a finished paper and has presented it. It should be listed as an activity and not as an honor.
The competition suits students in 10th and 11th grade well. A senior can enter, but a regional result arrives late in the admission cycle and a national result in April arrives after most decisions. Our guides to the Regeneron Science Talent Search, which is for seniors, and to academic competitions compare the main research contests.
How Should a Sophomore or Junior Prepare?
The schedule runs backward from the regional deadline. Oriel Admissions advises a student to do the research in the summer and fall, write the paper by December, and enter the regional symposium in the winter. A sophomore who starts with a mentor in the spring of 10th grade can compete as a junior, when the result counts most.
Our guides to doing research in high school and research opportunities for high school students cover how to find a mentor and a question. A result belongs in the honors section, and our guide to the Common App honors section shows how to word it. For Ivy League admission, research adds to the academic record and does not replace it: a student still needs nearly all As in the hardest classes the school offers.
Frequently Asked Questions About JSHS
It is the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, a research competition in which high school students present original work in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.
High school students who have done original research can enter through the regional symposium that covers their area. They must be United States citizens or legal permanent residents.
No. Regional activities are offered at no cost to students.
The top five finalists from each regional symposium are invited, with expenses paid. The 2027 national event will bring together 245 students.
Regional winners receive $2,000, $1,500, and $1,000. National oral presentation winners receive $12,000, $8,000, and $4,000 in each category.
No. The eight national categories are all in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and include chemistry, engineering, and medicine and health.
No. The program states that students must be United States citizens or legal permanent residents to participate.
Oriel Admissions advises that a regional finalist place or a national award is strong evidence of research ability, because judges selected the work.
Sources: Junior Science and Humanities Symposium: home page, Junior Science and Humanities Symposium: awards, Junior Science and Humanities Symposium: national symposium, Junior Science and Humanities Symposium: rules and categories, Junior Science and Humanities Symposium: find your region
About Oriel Admissions
Oriel Admissions is a Princeton-based college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy. Our team brings deep expertise across every dimension of the application, and our distinctive 360 approach develops strategy, positioning, activities, essays, and interviews as one coherent whole. To discuss your family’s admissions strategy, schedule a consultation.
