ISEF Categories and Subcategories

Finalists are fully responsible for selection of the category in which they will compete at Regeneron ISEF. We urge students to carefully consider their category choice.

Many projects could easily fit into more than one ISEF category. Selection of category should be solely based on what best fits your project. We highly recommend that you review the entire listing of the categories and sub-categories before choosing the category that most accurately describes your project. Click here for a listing of sample project titles from Regeneron ISEF 2021.

At ISEF, you don’t need to compete in the same category as in your national, regional, state, or local competition. Furthermore, most regional and state competitions do not use subcategories. You should carefully consider which subcategory best describes your project because your judges will be assigned based on their expertise in your chosen subcategory. If the project could be in multiple subcategories (or categories), it is best to select the primary subcategory of your project rather than “Other.”

Ask yourself the following questions to help in the selection of a category:

Who will be the most qualified to judge my project? What area of expertise is the most important for the judge to have? Will a doctor, an engineer, or a computer scientist best understand my project?
What is the emphasis of my project? What did I study, make, or do during my project?

Please note: Each Society-affiliated fair determines the categories for their competition. Local, regional, state and country fairs may or may not choose to use these categories, dependent on the needs of their area. Please check with your affiliated fair(s) for the appropriate category listings at that level of competition.