Explore student competitions.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Expert, A US research competition in which final-year secondary students submit substantial original individual work and a holistic scientific application. Eligible students apply directly online and must meet strict residence or citizenship, school-status, independence and research-ethics rules. The main challenge is sustaining rigorous research, documentation and scientific judgement, then explaining the work convincingly if selected for national finals.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow asks public-school teams to frame a real community problem and move a STEM solution from an initial concept toward a persuasive, testable proposal. The United States programme is school-led for grades 6-12, with one team entered by an eligible adult employee. Competitive teams need credible community research, practical STEM reasoning, iterative design, teamwork, and increasingly polished communication across each round.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, Design an original parade-float concept for a fictional theme-park or city-parade setting. US legal residents in high-school grades 11 or 12 submit individually through the organiser’s online route. The main challenge is making an imaginative story work as a practical, visually coherent design, rather than producing an attractive picture alone.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, A U.S. team engineering competition built around designing, testing and flying an original model rocket to exact annual mission targets. Teams of three to ten students in grades 6-12 enter through an eligible school or host organization with an approved adult advisor. Success requires months of iterative engineering, safe launch practice, reliable data and precise performance across observed qualification flights.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, A NASA team engineering challenge to design a cargo aircraft using liquefied natural gas. Eligible high-school students need an adult coach and submit an accessible engineering notebook using OpenVSP. The central challenge is connecting a feasible aircraft concept to mission requirements, explaining fuel-related design choices and defending trade-offs clearly rather than producing an attractive model alone.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, A US mathematics competition for deaf and hard-of-hearing middle-school students, combining timed individual work with team problem solving. Grade 6–8 students aged 15 or younger need a school or district coach and an eligible team. Success depends on mathematical reasoning, accuracy under time pressure and coordinated teamwork; regional results determine national places.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, This national middle-school mathematics series combines individual problem solving, teamwork and a fast head-to-head finale across four competition levels. It serves eligible U.S. students in grades 6–8, normally through their school, with a restricted non-school route. Success requires accurate non-calculator reasoning under tight time limits and sustained preparation across a multi-stage season.

QUICK SUMMARY

An international mathematics competition where students solve 25 multiple-choice problems in middle-school mathematics and problem-solving. Open to students in Grade 8 or below who are under 15.5 years old, through an approved competition centre. Rated Intermediate Level, with difficulty mainly coming from non-routine questions, broad topic coverage and time pressure.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, This long-running creative programme accepts original art and writing across many categories, beginning with regional review and continuing to national consideration. Students in grades 7–12 who are at least 13 enter online through their assigned region in the United States or eligible Canadian locations. Strong entries combine accomplished craft with originality and a distinctive personal voice, often after substantial development and revision.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, TEAMS 2027 is a school-based engineering competition in which students work together across design, mathematics, science and technical writing. Middle-school and high-school students enter in school-affiliated teams of four to six through a coach; TSA membership is not required. The challenge comes from combining timed technical reasoning with a hands-on build, mathematical modelling and a researched team essay.

QUICK SUMMARY

Rated Advanced, An individual video-pitch competition asking high-school students to explain an original AI-enabled business idea. School-stage eligibility and an entry charge apply, but coding experience and a working prototype are not required. The challenge is fitting a credible problem, useful AI role, intended customers and business value into a clear short presentation, supported by research rather than technical buzzwords.

QUICK SUMMARY

A global entrepreneurship competition where student teams develop and pitch original business or social venture ideas. Open to teams of two to four high-school students aged 14–18 worldwide, supported by an adult advisor. Rated Advanced Level, with difficulty mainly coming from venture development, market research, persuasive pitching and selective multi-round judging.