Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) is a Department of Defense sponsored STEM program (U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense and the U.S. Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force). Promotes original research and experimentation in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at the high school level through competition at regional and national levels in eight core STEM areas:

WHY SHOULD I PARTICIPATE? 

• Develop and conduct original STEM research.Meet like-minded peers from other schools/regions.
• Receive free mentorship from professionals and experts in your chosen STEM field.
• Participate in a regional symposium and present to your peers and STEM personnel from the Department of Defense, federal research laboratories, and academia.
• Regional top five winners are sponsored to attend and compete at the National JSHS competition.
• Win scholarships for college and get publicly recognized for your work!
• Connections for future research opportunities y other Army, Navy, and Air Force STEM programs, y universities, and y other STEM professionals.
• Access to Department of Defense, university, and STEM industry laboratory tours, speakers, and other activities to provide insight into STEM careers and professional development.

All JSHS student applicants must submit a 250-word maximum abstract in electronic format. The abstract should accurately convey the essential nature of the research conducted and the most significant conclusions reached. The abstract must include the hypothesis and any conclusions reached as a result of the research. A further purpose of the abstract is to attract the interest and curiosity of the non-specialist reader and thus encourage exchange, discussion, and elaboration between various authors and between authors and readers. 

The format for the 250-word abstract includes 1-inch margins, single spaced, typed in 12-point font (Times New Roman). Abstracts must be adequate in length but not exceed these specifications. The header preceding the abstract body must include: 

1. Title of the research;
2. Author name;
3. High school, high school city, high school state;
4. Name of teacher/mentor/sponsor and his or her organization. Precede the individual's name with a subheading (i.e. teacher, mentor, sponsor);
5. Include one line of space between the heading and the abstract body.   

Symposium proceedings will include abstracts. Please carefully proofread your submission since abstracts will not be retyped or edited. Abstracts must be submitted as Microsoft Word documents unless otherwise specified during the registration process.

Any student who starts a research project and intends to submit their research at the regional JSHS competition is able to sign up for virtual mentoring through the Chronus platform. The mentor resource is available year-round to support you throughout the JSHS competition season and the non-competition time of completing research or improving continued projects. Join Chronus as a mentee here.