Attending research conferences while still in high school can give you a genuine look at what it means to work as a scientist, engineer, or researcher through firsthand experience. You’ll get to present original work, receive expert feedback, and engage with professionals who do this for a living. At the right conference, you can build practical skills in scientific communication, data interpretation, and academic writing. Many conferences also connect you with university faculty, working researchers, and industry professionals in ways that simply don’t happen inside a classroom. These relationships can then shape the direction of your academic and career path in ways that are hard to predict in advance.
Why should you attend a research conference?
Leading universities and professional scientific organizations run research conferences designed to give you access to the kind of rigorous intellectual environment typically reserved for graduate students and professionals. That might mean presenting original neuroscience research to practicing neurologists at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting, walking through active biotechnology labs alongside industry judges at the BioGENEius Challenge, or defending a mathematics proof in front of MIT faculty at the PRIMES Conference. If you are already conducting independent research and want a serious venue for your work, there are several competitions with peer-reviewed selection processes. However, if you are earlier in your research journey, you can benefit just as much from events like the Harvard Science Research Conference, which focuses on building research skills and making connections rather than showcasing finished work.
With that, here are 15 research conferences for high school students that are worth considering.
You can also check out these guides on research journals and research competitions for high school students!
Key Takeaways
- Research conferences for high school students range from venues requiring already-completed independent research, like ISEF and AAN, to entry-level experiences like Harvard Science Research Conference designed for students earlier in their research journey
- Many conferences embed high schoolers directly into professional academic settings, with AMIA, AAN, and IYRC publishing student work alongside or within the same processes used for professional researchers
- Several conferences are free or low-cost, including AMIA ($0), AAN ($0), ISEF ($0), and most statewide symposiums in Iowa, Connecticut, Georgia, and Illinois, making high-level presentation experience accessible regardless of cost
- A few conferences extend beyond STEM, including RIT’s Communication Conference and the Connecticut symposium’s humanities track, offering venues for students whose research interests lean toward social sciences or media studies rather than lab-based work
15 Research Conferences for High School Students
1. International Young Researchers’ Conference (IYRC): Summer Conference
Location: University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan + Virtual
Cost: Registration fee required
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 13 (in-person); July 25 (virtual)
Application Deadline: March 29
Eligibility: High school students worldwide
The IYRC is one of the very few standalone research conferences designed entirely for high school students, running in both in-person and virtual formats on the same research cycle. You’ll be expected to submit a 750 – 1,500-word abstract covering your objective, methods, findings, and implications, and if accepted, you will go through a live presentation at the conference itself. Every presenter gives a live oral talk, which means you’re building the kind of real-time Q&A and defense skills that most high schoolers don’t encounter until college. Accepted abstracts are published in the conference proceedings, and if you choose to develop a full paper afterward, it goes through a peer review process for potential publication in the IYRC Journal with a DOI, which is a citable, searchable academic credential. With researchers from 25+ countries participating across past cycles, the conversations you’ll have span disciplines and national contexts in a way few high school venues can offer.
2. Sigma Xi Student Research Showcase
Location: Virtual
Cost: $35 (members); $50 (non-members)
Acceptance Rate: Selective
Dates: April 12 – 26
Application Deadline: March 13
Eligibility: High school, undergraduate, and graduate students globally
This showcase is explicitly built around science communication, not just scientific content. In your submission, you will have to build a website containing three components: a written abstract, a technical slideshow, and a short video presenting your research to a general audience. Over 60 Sigma Xi members, featuring career researchers across every discipline, review your work and engage with you through your presentation site in a digital back-and-forth during the judging window. It’s one of the only student research forums where the feedback loop runs both ways, and where the goal is explicitly to sharpen how you communicate the value and significance of your research to people who don’t already share your expertise. The 13 categories span everything from cell biology to geosciences to behavioral science, providing an entry point across dozens of aspects of STEM.
3. American Junior Academy of Sciences (AJAS) Annual Conference
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, AZ
Cost: $475
Acceptance Rate: Extremely competitive
Dates: February 11 – 14
Application Deadline: Determined by each state’s Academy of Science; National conference registration closes on November 24
Eligibility: U.S. high school students nominated by their state’s Academy of Science
AJAS is the premier honor society in the United States, recognizing high school students for outstanding original scientific research. Its annual conference is more of an introduction to the professional scientific world rather than a competition. While you will present your research in a poster session, the surrounding programming is still a high-value experience. Delegates attend plenary lectures from the AAAS Annual Meeting and sit in on sessions alongside professional researchers and science leaders, and participate in small group meetings with scientists working at the frontier of their fields. The “Breakfast with Scientists” tradition gives you one-on-one time with established researchers to discuss your work, ask genuine career questions, and make connections that often outlast the conference itself. At the end of the conference, you’ll be inducted as a lifetime Fellow of the American Junior Academy of Sciences.
4. AMIA High School Scholars Program
Location: Dallas, TX
Cost: Free; Conference registration fees are waived for accepted students
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: November 7 – 11
Application Deadline: September 1
Eligibility: U.S. high school students conducting research in a recognized biomedical informatics program or lab
When you present at AMIA, your submission will go through the same peer review process as the adult professional submissions, and your work will be listed in the official symposium program alongside researchers from hospitals, universities, and health systems across the country. This is the only dedicated high school research track embedded within a major professional health informatics conference. The program was made to provide a showcase for health informatics work happening in high school research labs and programs at a professional standard. Your research has to be grounded in biomedical informatics, such as clinical data, health information systems, electronic health records, genomics, or public health analytics; you’ll present it directly to the 2,500+ informaticians attending the symposium. Networking events and educational programming tailored to high school students run alongside the main conference, connecting you with professionals and trainees at every career stage.
5. AAN Annual Meeting and Neuroscience Research Prize
Location: McCormick Place, Chicago, IL
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate: Extremely competitive
Dates: April 18 – 22
Application Deadline: August 5 – October 21
Eligibility: U.S. high school students conducting original neuroscience research
If your research touches the brain or nervous system, this is the highest-profile presentation venue available to you as a high school student in the United States. Winners present their work in a formal scientific poster session at the AAN Annual Meeting, a conference that draws over 14,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals from more than 100 countries. You will be explaining your work to practicing neurologists, clinical researchers, and neuroscience faculty. Your project is evaluated by physician and scientist members of the AAN on scientific rigor, creativity in methodology, relevance to neuroscience, and quality of data interpretation, so the bar is a genuine research standard. Projects don’t need to originate in a formal lab setting as long as they address anatomy, physiology, pathology, function, or behavior of the nervous system.
6. International BioGENEius Challenge
Location: CURE Innovation Campus, New York, NY
Cost: Free to enter at all stages
Acceptance Rate: Extremely competitive
Dates: Fall; Generally, the virtual all-finalist round is in mid-September, followed by the in-person finals in late October
Application Deadline: Varies by state
Eligibility: High school students conducting original biotechnology research
The BioGENEius Challenge revolves around three real-world problem tracks, i.e., medical biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, and industrial or environmental biotechnology; as a participant, your project will have to address one of these three. Most of the competition runs regionally or virtually before the finalists gather at the BioFuture Conference, one of the hallmarks of which is the Gene Pool Competition, a spontaneous, onsite challenge in which all finalists participate without any preparation. It’s designed to test scientific thinking under pressure and is one of the reasons finalists describe the experience as more dynamic than a standard research showcase. At the formal poster presentations, your judges will be drawn from both industry and academic biotechnology, so the feedback you receive will be oriented toward real-world application and commercial potential.
7. Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, AZ
Cost: Free; Students qualify through affiliated regional/state fairs at no direct entry cost
Acceptance Rate: Extremely competitive
Dates: May 9 – 15
Application Deadline: Regional fair deadlines vary; Typically, January – April
Eligibility: High school students who earn a qualification at an ISEF-affiliated regional or national fair
ISEF is the endpoint of the science fair pipeline, the international stage where you stand in front of doctoral-level scientists and defend your work as a peer. More than 1,800 finalists from over 80 countries participate each year, and they arrive having already won their regional and state fairs. You’ll present across one of 22 research categories that span behavioral science, environmental engineering, computational biology, robotics, and beyond, and will be evaluated through direct conversations with judges. Beyond the core judging, more than 45 professional organizations, including the National Security Agency, IEEE Foundation, and Association for Computing Machinery, offer their own special awards with separate criteria. This means your project can earn recognition from multiple directions. ISEF also includes a Public Exhibition Day, where you’ll present your work to the broader community.
8. University of Iowa Belin-Blank Center High School Research Symposium (HSRS)
Location: University of Iowa Campus, Iowa City, IA
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate: Selective
Dates: February 23
Application Deadline: January 12
Eligibility: High school students in Iowa and surrounding states
The Belin-Blank HSRS is a high-rigor student research event in which you have to not only deliver a formal research talk to a panel of judges, but also field questions from the audience. That’s closer to what a conference presentation at the graduate level actually looks like, and comes with the kind of pressure that builds skills most science fair formats don’t require. Alongside the presentations, you’ll tour active University of Iowa research labs and hear directly from faculty researchers about their current work, which situates your own project within the context of what real ongoing research looks like. The setting at one of the country’s major research universities adds weight to the experience beyond what a school-based event can offer.
9. Connecticut High School Science and Humanities Symposium
Location: UConn Health, Farmington, CT
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate: Selective
Dates: February 28
Application Deadline: December 22
Eligibility: Connecticut high school students
Connecticut’s statewide symposium includes both oral and poster tracks, so you can choose how you present depending on your project and how comfortable you are defending your work in front of a live audience. There’s also a humanities track running alongside the STEM competitions, making it one of the few options on this list to offer both verticals. Top oral presenters earn recognition at the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering’s annual meeting, putting their work in front of the state’s broader scientific and engineering community beyond just the event itself. The audience isn’t just judges alone; the program is designed in such a way that observers participate actively rather than sitting passively. This means you will also be presenting to attending peers and guests who can also engage with your work.
10. Georgia Junior STEM Symposium
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Highly selective; Only 35-50 students invited to present
Dates: February 26
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Georgia high school students
Organized by the University of Georgia’s Center for Continuing Education, this symposium runs a two-stage format. It’ll start with a virtual judging panel that first reviews your research paper and selects 35-50 students to present. If you get past this stage, you’ll present live to a panel of STEM researchers and industry professionals at the virtual symposium. The judges themselves are working scientists and professionals in the field, ensuring that the feedback you receive reflects what peer review in a real research context actually looks like. The event carries the backing of a major research university as it is hosted by the University of Georgia, which gives your work a formal platform with institutional credibility. Cash awards recognize top presenters, and the top finishers may also qualify for additional honors through Georgia’s broader science and engineering ecosystem.
11. NCSS Student Leadership and Research Conference
Location: Fulton Science Academy, Tech North Atlanta, and Georgia Tech Research Institute, Alpharetta, GA
Cost: $50 per student for NCSS member schools; $100 per student for non-NCSS schools
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: July 16 – 18
Application Deadline: May 31
Eligibility: High school students
This is a multi-venue, three-day conference that covers both the presentation of research as well as understanding where research goes next. On the first day, you will present your original work in structured sessions at Fulton Science Academy, where you will receive feedback from professionals, educators, and subject-matter experts. The second day is a STEM Innovators and Entrepreneurship Forum at Tech North Atlanta, where you’ll hear directly from entrepreneurs and innovation professionals about how scientific ideas move from discovery to application. The third day takes place at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, where you’ll walk through active research labs including the Advanced Manufacturing Facility, Human Augmentation Lab, and Robotherium, which are doing the kind of applied research your own work might one day resemble. The goal is to provide exposure to the full arc from student research to professional innovation, so you’ll leave with a broader picture of where scientific work lives in the real world.
12. NJ Academy of Science 71st Annual Meeting
Location: Kean University, Union, NJ
Cost: $50
Acceptance Rate: Selective
Dates: April 11
Application Deadline: February 11
Eligibility: New Jersey high school students who are NJAS members
The NJ Academy Annual Meeting is a full scientific conference involving keynote talks, multi-disciplinary research sessions, professional networking, and a STEM showcase; the high school junior academy is also an integral part of it. Alongside the poster session for high schoolers, professional scientists, faculty, and industry researchers will be presenting and attending various other events in the conference. Your abstract will be published in the NJAS Bulletin, the Academy’s peer-reviewed journal, meaning your work enters a formal scientific record. The competition is held across 13 disciplines, from environmental science to mathematical sciences to marine and aquatic science. Top finishers earn nominations to represent New Jersey at the national American Junior Academy of Sciences conference the following year.
13. Illinois State University High School Research Symposium
Location: Illinois State University Campus, Normal, IL
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate: Selective
Dates: April 27
Application Deadline: April 17
Eligibility: Illinois high school students with original STEM research conducted under a teacher or professional mentor
ISU’s symposium is a one-day poster event where the audience includes ISU faculty, graduate students, and fellow high schoolers from across Illinois. ISU professors who judge the posters bring active research expertise in the disciplines they’re evaluating, providing valuable, field-specific feedback. The event also includes a research scavenger hunt that runs alongside the poster sessions, designed to get you to engage with research outside your own project and learn what questions ISU faculty are currently investigating. By the end of the program, you’d have presented your work publicly, received professional feedback, and gotten a concrete sense of what undergraduate and graduate research at a major public research university looks like.
14. RIT Student Research in Communication Conference
Location: Student Alumni Union, Rochester, NY
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: April 2
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school, undergraduate, and graduate students with research in communication or a related field
This conference occupies a fairly rare niche. It’s one of the very few student research conferences that explicitly invites high school students who have conducted research in communication disciplines like advertising, public relations, journalism, film studies, media studies, health communication, intercultural communication, and social media. Works in progress are also actively encouraged, making it accessible at an earlier stage of your project. The topics RIT has hosted span everything from rhetorical analysis to digital media effects to AI in communication, so if your research interests sit closer to the humanities and social sciences than to labs and data sets, this is a strong option to consider.
15. Harvard Science Research Conference (HSRC)
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Cost: $20 application fee + $130 in-person or $30 virtual attendance fee
Acceptance Rate: Moderately competitive
Dates: October 18 – 19
Application Deadline: September 28
Eligibility: High school students globally
HSRC is designed for students who are interested in science and research but haven’t necessarily done formal independent research yet. The two days are built around three types of programming: faculty keynote sessions where Harvard researchers present their current work, small-group workshops led by Harvard students and teaching staff on translatable research skills, and one-on-one mentoring sessions with Harvard undergraduates on college preparation, high school research opportunities, and a career in the sciences. The Innovation Challenge runs as a group project component where you’ll collaborate with other attendees on a defined problem, applying research thinking to a real question under a time constraint. The conference is hybrid, so you can attend in person on Harvard’s campus or virtually if travel isn’t feasible.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like investigative journalism, media studies, political reporting, data journalism, and the ethics of news and information, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!
FAQ
What are research conferences for high school students?
Research conferences for high school students are venues where you present original research to expert judges, faculty, or working professionals, often through a poster session, oral presentation, or formal talk with audience questions. Unlike science fairs focused purely on competition, many conferences emphasize networking, mentorship, and exposure to professional research environments alongside or instead of formal judging.
Do I need completed independent research to attend these conferences?
It depends on the conference. ISEF, AAN, AMIA, and BioGENEius require a completed, original research project, often vetted through regional or state qualifying processes. Harvard Science Research Conference is explicitly designed for students who haven’t yet conducted formal independent research, focusing instead on building research skills and making connections. RIT’s Communication Conference actively encourages works in progress, making it accessible at an earlier project stage.
Are there free research conferences for high school students?
Yes. AMIA High School Scholars Program, AAN Annual Meeting, Regeneron ISEF, University of Iowa HSRS, Connecticut High School Science and Humanities Symposium, Georgia Junior STEM Symposium, Illinois State University Symposium, RIT Communication Conference, and BioGENEius are all free to enter. Several others, including Sigma Xi and Harvard Science Research Conference, charge modest registration fees.
Which research conferences let me publish my work formally?
IYRC accepts full papers for peer review and publication in the IYRC Journal with a citable DOI. NJ Academy of Science publishes accepted abstracts in the NJAS Bulletin, a peer-reviewed journal. AMIA lists accepted student work in the official symposium program alongside professional researcher submissions. These formal publication pathways give your research a citable academic record beyond the conference itself.
Are there research conferences for students whose work isn’t lab-based?
Yes. The RIT Student Research in Communication Conference is specifically built for research in advertising, public relations, journalism, media studies, and related communication fields. The Connecticut High School Science and Humanities Symposium runs a dedicated humanities track alongside its STEM competitions. AJAS and NCSS conferences also incorporate broader programming beyond pure lab science.
When should I apply to research conferences for high school students?
Deadlines vary widely throughout the year. University of Iowa HSRS closes January 12, NJ Academy of Science closes February 11, and Connecticut’s symposium closes December 22 for a February event. AMIA closes September 1 for a November conference, and AAN’s window runs August through October. ISEF deadlines depend on your regional qualifying fair, typically between January and April. Reviewing your target conference’s specific cycle well in advance, since several require qualifying through earlier rounds, is essential for planning your research timeline.
Image source: Illinois State University