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University of Florida

The 2027 Florida Regional
Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
February 21 - 23, 2027

 

Applications Open (for all) - TBA October - December

Competitive Application Deadline (all materials submitted) – TBA November - January

Noncompetitive/Guest/Teacher/Chaperone Application Deadline – TBA January - February

All students, teachers, and chaperones need to register in the National JSHS Registration System.

Please note - all students will need to create a National JSHS Registration System account to register, and parents will need to sign off for minor age student registration per. COPPA guidelines as directed by the national JSHS office.  

 

What is JSHS?

The Florida Regional JSHS is a A 3-Day Science Conference for 9 – 12th grade high school students, select middle school students, teachers and parents. 

 

JSHS is designed to:

  • Search out talented youth and help them develop their interests and abilities in science.
  • Assist students in career explorations by revealing opportunities in the sciences.
  • Provide recognition and prestige for students who demonstrate an aptitude for scientific studies.
  • Offer teachers the opportunity to motivate students and update knowledge about current research.

 

While participating in the JSHS, students, teachers, and parents will have the opportunity to:

  • Interact with UF faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students to explore university-level research, learn about science and humanities majors, and discover career opportunities.
  • Visit research labs to learn about exciting research and discoveries happening right now!
  • Present research at the STEM Research Competitions or during the non-competitive poster and presentation sessions.

 

JSHS Registration

Register for JSHS on the Registration Platform

To be updated

JSHS Offical

Learn more about JSHS and the National Competition

Here

Registration Information 

 

The Florida Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) is open to all Florida high school students (grades 9-12), select middle school students (grades 6-8), teachers, and parents. Competitive participation is open 9-12 grade students who are a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States or U.S. territory. Chaperonage is not provided by the symposium. 

Register Here (TBA) JSHS Official Payment Link (TBA)

All individual registration will be through the online portal (ideal-logic) which is hosted through our partnership with the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS). Paper registration will not be accepted.

Please Note:  All students will need to create an account through ideal-logic and minor-age students will need to have a parent complete required waivers and sign off on their registration. 

Please reach out to d.perry@ufl.edu to register school groups. You will be provided a Group Summary Form and Group Registration Form (School Permission) to complete. Return the completed forms and rooming lists via E-Mail (please include school name in the subject line) or fax to 352-392-2344. Please note - One adult fee waiver is provided for chaperoning every 10 students.

PROGRAM FEES FOR 2027 TBA

Students  
(Quad Occupancy)  

Students selected for the STEM Research Competition will receive a fee waiver.
Teachers
(Double Occupancy)  

Teachers sponsoring students selected for the STEM Research Competition receive a fee waiver.

 *All cancellations and substitutions must be made in writing by the registration deadline. Late registration will be accepted as space allows.

PAYMENTS

Payments may be made by group/organizational check or personal check or credit cards. Payment by credit card is available through Eventbrite for a small service charge. 

Check/Money Order Payment  

Please address the check to the University of Florida and include registrants name(s) on the memo line) mailed to the UF CPET office at:

Florida JSHS c/o UF CPET
PO Box 112010
334 Yon Hall
Gainesville, FL, 32611
Payment Link

Link will be added at a later time

Competitive Competitions

The STEM Research Speaker and Poster Competitions are opportunities for 9th - 12th high school students to present original scientific research to peers and expert judges. Students apply for both the Speaker Competition and the Poster Competition but may only compete in one. Students who applied previously may submit an application the following year provided the student completed a new research project or added significantly to the previous year’s project. 

The first through fourth place Research Speaker Competition Winners and the Poster Competition Winner will receive a sponsored trip to the National JSHS. The first through third place Research Speaker Winners will receive tuition-based scholarship in the amount of $2000, $1500, $1000 respectively. The first and second place Research Speaker Competition Winners will represent Florida at the national speaker competition to compete for an additional up to $12,000 in scholarship prize money.  The third and fourth place Research Speaker Winners, along with the Competitive Poster Winner, will represent Florida at the national poster competition for cash and prize awards. 

Please note: Students must be a citizen or permanent resident of the US or US territory to be eligible for these government-sponsored awards, travel, and national symposium.

Students who are interested in applying to the STEM Research Competition must complete their Florida Regional JSHS registration and submit an abstract, their Statement of Outside Assistance, and their Research Paper. 

Learn more about Each Part Below:

Speaker Competiton

 

The STEM Research Speaker Competition recognizes outstanding scientific research by 9th - 12th grade students.  Up to 24 students will be invited to compete in the Speaker Competition at the Florida Regional Junior Science, and Humanities Symposium.  Students who have conducted a research project, written a research paper and abstract, and demonstrated outstanding presentation skills are encouraged to apply. 

Competition Details

  • 24 Students Accepted
  • 12-Minute Science Talk with up to 6 Minutes of Questions from Expert Judges

Opportunities for Winners

  • First, second and third place winners of the Florida JSEHS will be awarded a scholarship ($2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 respectively) to the University of his or her choice.
  • The first through fourth place winners will receive a sponsored trip to the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium 
  • The first and second place winners to represent Florida at this national competition will compete for an additional $12,000 in scholarship prize money.
  • The third and fourth place winners, along with the Competitive Poster Session winner, will represent Florida at the national poster competition for cash and prize awards. 

Please note: Students must be a citizen or permanent resident of the US or US territory to be eligible for these government-sponsored awards, travel, and National Competitions.

All Symposium participants attend the STEM Research Speaker Competition presentations which are given in concurrent sessions. 

All applicants must apply through the National JSHS Ideal-Logic system. 

Learn more about the Guidelines:

 

Poster Competition

 

The STEM Research Poster Competition recognizes outstanding scientific research by 9th - 12th grade students.  Up to 20 students will be invited to compete in the Poster Competition at the Florida Regional Junior Science and Humanities Symposium.  Students who have conducted a research project and demonstrated outstanding presentation skills are encouraged to apply. 

Competition Details 

  • Up to 20 Students Accepted

Opportunities for Winners

  • The Poster Competition winner will receive a sponsored trip to the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. 
  • The Competitive Poster Session winner will represent Florida at the national poster competition for cash and prize awards. 

Please note: Students must be a citizen or permanent resident of the US or US territory to be eligible for these government-sponsored awards, travel, and National Competitions.

All applicants must apply through the National JSHS Ideal Logic system. 

National Guidelines for Poster Competiton

Register & Core Rules

 

Registration & Competitive Application 

Changes to regional registration and competitive application process. 

  1. Anyone under 18 must have a parent or guardian sign release forms (National JSHS and University of Florida) before they can submit their registration. An email goes to the parent /guardian. Everyone should be advised to check spam /junk folders.
  2. Competitive students will submit for consideration for both the Speaker and Poster Competitive Sessions. This means a paper, abstract, and Statement of Outside Assistance are required for all competitive submissions. Students may be invited to either competitive session based on review of their application materials by a University of Florida review panel. 24 students will be invited to present in the speaker competition and up to 20 students will be invited to present in the competitive poster session. If a student would only like to be considered for one session, they can email cpet@cpet.ufl.edu with their session request prior to the application deadline. 
  3. Ideal Logic automatically saves. This is true even if a student participant, or anyone else, goes into the wrong registration type, starts to answer, and then exits and begins the correct registration type. It is possible, in these circumstances, for someone to have more than one registration open. The registrant will see both when they log in and can cancel the wrong one from their dashboard. Since you can only register once, when they submit / finalize one registration, the other will not be accessible anymore either to the registrant.
  4. Once a registrant hits submit, everything is final. Registrants, including student participants, cannot log back into their registration after they have submitted. They cannot go back in and make changes or add documents after hitting submit. This is a big change from CVENT, so please be aware of this. If you plan to submit an updated version of your paper, abstract, etc., you will not be able to. 

Core Rules

Core Rules of the Competition can be found here: JSHS 2027 Core Rules

Please note that all regional competitions will follow these guidelines. 

Non-Competitive Participation

The Florida Regional JSHS offers opportunities for all student participants to present original research, science models, or science-based visual arts to peers, teachers, parents, and representatives from UF in the General Poster Session. The General Poster Session is non-competitive and there is no selection process required, although students must pre-register to participate. Students gain professional communication experience and receive feedback from peers, teachers, parents, and UF faculty and undergraduate/graduate students.

STEM Research Presentations

Students who have conducted library or bench research and demonstrated an aptitude for verbal presentations are invited to participate in the STEM Research Speaker Presentations. The presentation sessions are an opportunity for students to share current research information with peers, to develop professional verbal presentation skills, and to prepare students for future science competition.

Speaker Presenters give a 5-minute talk, with up to 2 minutes of questions from the audience. Student may use PowerPoint or similar computer-based visuals. Students will receive both peer and teacher/educator feedback.

Students wishing to participate in the STEM Research Speaker Presentations should prepare, revise, and practice their presentations before arriving at the Florida Regional JSHS. The STEM Research Speaker Presentations should reflect the high quality of work conducted by the students and the professionalism of a state science symposium.

Non-Competitive General Poster Session Presentations

The Florida Regional JSHS Poster Session includes three presentation styles as follows:

  • Science/Humanities Research Posters
  • Science Models
  • Science-Based Visual Arts such as drawing or photography

Students may submit up to one work in each of the three styles.

All students attending the Florida Regional JSHS are invited and encouraged to participate. There is not a selection process for the Poster Session, however, we request that teachers work with students to develop work that reflects the high standard of the Florida Regional JSHS.

The Florida Regional JSHS is Sponsored by the UF Center for Precollegiate Education and Training (UF CPET), the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) US Department of Defense, US Army Research Office, US Navy Research Office, & US Air Force Office of Scientific Research.