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Competition

Timeline & Deadlines

NJSRS competition timeline and registration deadlines

Competition Rules

Download the complete competition rules, guidelines, and policies document

View Competition Rules

Event Day Schedule

Check-in and Set-up

8:00 - 8:30 AM

Participants and judges check in and set up their presentations

Category Judging

8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Students present their research in assigned categories in classrooms

Lunch

12:00 - 1:00 PM

Lunch break for students and judges (Lunch provided for judges)

Finals for Category Winners

1:00 - 3:30 PM

Category winners present a 10 minute presentation in the auditorium for Grand Prize consideration

Poster Session

3:45 - 5:00 PM

All participants present their research in poster format for sponsored special award judging

Awards Ceremony and Closing Remarks

5:30 - 6:30 PM

Announcement and celebration of winners and closing remarks

Qualifying Projects

Qualifying projects include experimental research projects started after April of 2025.

How to Register

Registration for NJSRS requires a Science Research Advisor (SRA) to be registered for each school before students can register.

Science Research Advisor (SRA) Registration

A faculty member at the student's school must register their school as a Science Research Advisor. Each school must have an SRA for students to enter.

  • Students must have an SRA to enter
  • The SRA must attend/chaperone student(s) from their school
  • The SRA does not have to be a science teacher
  • Any school personnel can serve as SRA:
    • Teacher
    • Administrator
    • Other school staff member

The SRA registers first for each school. Once an SRA registers, students can register as students and when they choose their school and select the SRA from their school, the SRA will receive an email confirmation to validate their account and admit the student into their cohort.

The SRA should be able to see the status of all the students' projects through their dashboard.

Student Registration

After an SRA has registered for your school, students can register by:

  1. Selecting their school from the list
  2. Choosing the SRA from their school
  3. Completing the registration form

Once registered, the SRA will receive an email notification. Students can access their dashboard after verifying their email to upload materials and complete required forms.

Payment

The entry fee is $30 per student.

Payment Process:

  • The entry fee for all of the students from a school will be collected by a teacher at that school.
  • The teacher’s school will write a single purchase order (check) for all of the entry fees for the students participating from that school
  • Mail the payment to: 462 Millburn Ave., Millburn, NJ

Competition Format & Rules

In NJSRS, every project is presented through a long-form oral presentation with slides and is judged in front of a panel of STEM professionals and an audience. The competition uses a two-stage format: morning category judging in classrooms and afternoon final round presentations for category winners. In addition, there will be an afternoon poster session for all entrants, offering them the opportunity to win special awards.

Judged Oral Presentations (Category Round and Final Round)

Students present in assigned categories (e.g., Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics & Computer Science), with each category in its own classroom. Every student gives a 10-minute presentation using slides, followed by a judge Q&A session and a brief audience Q&A session. Evaluation is based on clarity of explanation, quality of experimental design and analysis, understanding of the science, and ability to respond to questions. First place category winners deliver a second 10-minute slide presentation in the Millburn High School auditorium. These finalists will be eligible to win the Grand Prizes of NJSRS.

Poster Session (Special Awards)

All participants present their research in poster format for sponsored special award judging. These are cash awards that are distributed by our sponsors to provide special recognition to research projects that are relevant to their cause.

Final Round Presentations

First place category winners deliver a second 10-minute slide presentation in the Millburn High School auditorium. In the final round, there is no audience Q&A. These finalists will be eligible to win the Grand Prizes of NJSRS.

Rules, Safety & Ethics

All projects must follow ISEF safety rules and NJSRS's own rules on research integrity, attribution, and safe use of materials and equipment. For projects involving human participants, vertebrate animals, or potentially hazardous biological agents (PHBAs), please refer to the Core Rules of the Competition for more details. Students must accurately represent their own work, maintain proper citations, and may not fabricate or misreport data; serious violations lead to disqualification.

Venue

The New Jersey Science Research Symposium is hosted at Millburn High School in Millburn, New Jersey.

Address: 462 Millburn Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041