Eligibility, Divisions & Categories

Eligibility, Divisions & Categories

Eligibility

Students in grades 3-12
Students attending any public, parochial, private, or home school anywhere in the greater Mid-Michigan area (e.g., Bay, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Ingham, Lapeer, Midland, Saginaw, Shiawassee, St. Clair, and Tuscola counties), or in any other Michigan county not served by an ISEF affiliated fair.

Divisions

Elementary: Grades 3-5
Junior: Grades 6–8
Senior: Grades 9–12
Group Projects: All Grades
Group Projects (made by more than one student) are judged against the individual student projects within the appropriate grade level. Group members must be within the same division.

Categories - Elementary + Middle School


Life Sciences

Behavioral & Social Science - Psychology, Human Behavior, Social Relationships
Microbiology - Study of Bacteria and Viruses
Plants Sciences - Study of Plant Life
Medicine & Health Sciences - Study of Humans and Their Biology, Diseases and Health
Cellular & Molecular Biology - Biology of Microorganisms
Animal Sciences - Study of Animals


Earth & Environment

Biochemistry - Chemistry of Life Processes
Chemistry - Study of the Nature and Composition of Matter and Laws Governing It
Earth & Planetary Science - Geology, Meteorology, Mineralogy, Oceanography, Climatology & Space Science
Environmental Science - Study of Air, Water and Land Pollution
Environmental Management - Recycling and Ecosystem Management


Physical Sciences

Computer Science - Study and Development of Computer Software, Hardware and Associated Logical Devices
Engineering - Materials & Bioengineering - Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Chemical
Mathematics - Numerical and Algebraic Computations, Statistics
Physics & Astronomy - Theories, Principals and Laws Governing the Physical Universe

Categories - High School

  • Biochemistry + Microbiology + Cellular & Molecular Biology
  • Biomedical & Health Sciences + Behavioral & Social Sciences + Animal Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering + Engineering Mechanics + Physics & Astronomy
  • Chemistry + Materials Science + Environmental Engineering + Energy
  • Computational Biology & Informatics + Translational Medical Science
  • Earth & Environmental Sciences + Plant Sciences
  • Embedded Systems + Robotics & Intelligent Machines + Systems Software + Mathematics

High school division prizes are awarded across the entire division.
For further information on the categories visit ISEF Categories.