Junior Innovators Challenge
Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
The premier middle school science research competition, entered by nomination from an affiliated science fair.
Run by Society for Science
Key facts
- Eligible grades
-
Grades 6 to 8
A nominee must be enrolled in grades 6 to 8 and have participated at a Society-affiliated fair within the United States or a US territory.Source, checked 2026-09-02
- Eligible ages
-
Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.Society for Science sets eligibility by grade, not age.
- Individual or team
- Individual · Individual and team projects are eligible. Teams may have a maximum of three students, and each team member must complete their own application and work independently on all application questions. Advancement is decided individually.
- Where it runs
- Online and in person · United States
- Entry cost
- FreeNo application fee is described, and finalists' travel is paid.
- Registration deadline
- Set locally, not published as a single national date The 2027 application window has not been published. For the 2026 competition, nominees had to submit the application and parental permission form by 10 June 2026; the 2026 application is now closed.
- Competition dates
- For the 2026 cycle: Top 300 announced 2 September 2026, 30 finalists announced 16 September 2026, finals week in Washington, D.C. in the autumn. 2027 dates not published.
- Difficulty
- CompetitiveSerious preparation over a season. Advancing past the first round separates prepared students from unprepared ones.
- Prizes
- Finalists compete for a top award of $25,000. All 30 finalists and one parent or guardian win an all-expense-paid trip to finals week in Washington, D.C. All nominees who submit an application receive a T-shirt and other prizes and join the Society alumni network.Top finalists receive substantial cash awards, with additional prizes across categories. Amounts change with sponsors; confirm the current year on the official site.
What Junior Innovators Challenge is
The Junior Innovators Challenge, previously known as Broadcom MASTERS, is the leading middle school science and engineering research competition in the United States. You cannot apply directly: top finishers in the middle school divisions of Society-affiliated science fairs are nominated and then complete an application. Finalists attend a week of hands-on team challenges in Washington, D.C., judged as much on collaboration and problem solving as on the original project.
How the competition works
The online application asks about your science or engineering fair project and about your understanding of science and engineering in everyday life, with required uploads. Use of AI tools such as ChatGPT to construct application responses is not permitted. Former finalists may reapply unless they won one of the top awards.
Eligibility notes
Nomination through a Society-affiliated science fair is required. There is no direct application route.
Is Junior Innovators Challenge right for you?
- Experience needed
- A completed science fair project. That is the entry ticket, and there is no other route in.
- Time commitment
- A term or more for the project, then a few evenings on the application.
- What you actually do
- Beyond your own project, finalists spend a week solving team engineering challenges with students they have just met. Judges are watching how you collaborate as much as what you know.
A good fit if
- You are in middle school and already doing a science fair
- You enjoy hands-on building as well as research
- You want the same pathway that leads to ISEF later
Probably not for you if
- High school students, who should aim at ISEF and the Science Talent Search instead
Common mistakes
- Treating the application as a formality. Nomination gets you in the door; the application decides semifinalist status.
- Writing only about results. The application asks how you think and how you work with others, and answers that ignore that score poorly.
- Missing the affiliated fair entirely, which is the only entry route.
How to register
- Enter a Society-affiliated science fair in grade 6, 7 or 8. Find yours in the Society's affiliated fair directory.
- Place highly enough to receive a nomination. Fairs nominate their top middle school finishers.
- Complete the online application, which asks about your project and about how you work with others.
- Semifinalists and finalists are announced over the summer and early autumn.
What skills you need
- Experimental design
- Data analysis
- Written communication about your own project
- Collaborative engineering under time pressure
- Presenting to judges
Recommended resources
-
Junior Innovators Challenge official page
Eligibility, nomination process, application details and past finalists.
-
Society affiliated fair directory
Find the fair that nominates into this competition.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply directly?
No. You must be nominated by a Society-affiliated science fair after placing highly in its middle school division. Find your local affiliated fair first; that deadline is the one that actually binds you.
Is this the same as Broadcom MASTERS?
It is the successor programme. Society for Science ran the competition as Broadcom MASTERS for years before the sponsorship changed. The structure of nomination through affiliated fairs has remained.
Reviews, tips and resources from other students
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