Intel Science Talent Search

Over eight decades, more than 149,000 students from U.S. high schools in all 50 states and territories have completed independent science research projects and submitted entries.

Over 2,900 finalists have received more than $13 million in awards to support their college educations, and thousands of semifinalists have received millions more. Entrants receive digital badges in recognition of their successful completion of the application and can earn Student Initiative and Research Report Badges to signify particular skill or effort demonstrated in their applications. 

How to Apply:
You should begin by reading the Intel STS Rules and Entry Instructions to be certain that you and your research are eligible. If your project involves the use of humans or animals, these projects require special approval prior to experimentation. You should read the Rules and Entry Instructions thoroughly and contact SSP if you have any doubts or questions.

Next, we highly recommend that you open an application as soon as possible so you can view requirements. Teachers, parents, and others are welcome to open accounts to view the application; please use "Test" as your last name to enable an accurate count of active student accounts. We highly recommend requesting recommendations and sending school transcripts immediately, even before entering your basic information.

There are four components of the application:

Basic Information and Essay Questions - Applicants enter responses directly into the text boxes on the web pages of the application.

Document Uploads - Documents such as the research report, IRB summary, and IACUC approvals, where applicable, will be uploaded to the application as Word documents or pdfs.

Recommendations - Each student must request and receive at least one Project Recommendation, one High School Report, and one Educator Recommendation. These are three different recommendations with different questions on each. Students are allowed two additional recommendations of any of the three types, so that the total number of recommendations submitted will be between 3 and 5 for each applicant.

Transcripts - Applicants may mail their transcripts to SSP in hard copy form or ask their High School Report provider to upload a scanned copy to their High School Report. In either case, the timely receipt of the transcript is the responsibility of the student.