Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fairwith the Orange County Science & Engineering Fair qualifying path

ISEF does not take individual entries; students must first win at a Society for Science affiliated fair. That fair is OCSEF, the Orange County Science & Engineering Fair, open to public and private school students countywide. The 2027 in-person fair runs March 12-14 at Santa Ana College, and advancing further requires an invitation to the ISEF selection interviews representing Orange County.

Regeneron ISEF 2027 runs May 8-14 in Los Angeles, a drive rather than a flight for Orange County families, which cuts travel cost and makes it easier for parents to attend. The fair brings together more than 1,600 finalists from over 60 countries, competing across 22 categories.

Continuous experimentation and data collection may not exceed 12 months, and that period must fall within the 18 months before the fair. Last year's project can continue, but it must be declared as a continuation project, with Form 7 explaining how this year's question, method or scope differs from before — simply collecting more data under a new title does not qualify.

No. ISEF works on approval-before-experimentation: Form 1 must be reviewed and signed by the Adult Sponsor before any work begins, and projects involving human participants, vertebrate animals or hazardous biological agents also need SRC or IRB approval in advance. Every signature date must precede the start of experimentation, and out-of-order dates are one of the most common reasons projects are disqualified.

OCSEF is open to grades 6-12 in Orange County, so Irvine middle schoolers can compete for category awards and may advance to the California state fair or the Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge. ISEF itself only admits grades 9-12, under age 20 by May 1 of the competition year, so middle school is best used to build research method and presentation skills through OCSEF.

Three at most. Each student may submit only one project per year, and the team is judged as a single entry, so every member must be able to explain their own contribution — judges often question members separately. OCSEF adds its own rule: one application per project, with all members from the same school and grade division.

Yes. Many of ISEF's 22 categories do not depend on expensive equipment — behavioral and social sciences, computational biology, mathematics and software, environmental engineering, materials testing. Judges reward a well-defined question, proper controls and sound analysis over an equipment list; when a school has no matching research club, a student can still start with an independent project or outside resources. Any project involving human participants, including a survey, needs IRB approval before data collection begins.

The total prize pool approaches $9 million, with each of the 22 categories awarding $6,000, $2,400, $1,200 and $600 for first through fourth place. Reaching ISEF through OCSEF is already treated as strong evidence of research ability in University of California applications, and a category award adds further weight.