Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition

The U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) was founded in 1997 by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to complement the Stockholm Water Prize. The SJWP is the world's most prestigious award presented to a high school student for a water-research project.

The competition is open to all high school students in grades 9-12 who have reached the age of 15 by August 1 of the competition year, and have conducted a water-science research project.

The 2026 SJWP State Competition submission portal is now OPEN! Submit your project by April 15th, 2026!

Please be sure to review the Eligibility & Entry Requirements before submitting your project.

2026 Competition Dates and Deadlines

• Regional winners and self-nominated students must enter the State Competition by April 15, 2026.
• State winners will receive further information entering the national competition.
  • Only State Competition winners are eligible.
• U.S. National SJWP competition will be a two-phase competition to take place in May/June 2026.
• International SJWP competition held at World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 2026.

The 2026 State Competition submission portal is now OPEN! Please submit your projects HERE.

For more information, contact Alison Hayden.

Overall Eligibility and Requirements

The competition is open to any high school student in grades 9 through 12, who has conducted a water-related science project and reached the age of 15 by August 1 of the competition year.

• Teams of up to two students may enter.
• Projects should be aimed at enhancing the quality of life through improvement of water quality, water resources management, or water and wastewater treatment. Projects can explore water issues on local, regional, national, or global issues.
• It is essential that all projects use a research-oriented approach, which means they must use scientifically accepted methodologies for experimentation, monitoring, and reporting, including statistical analysis.

Entries are judged based on six different criteria:

• relevance,
• creativity,
• methodology,
• subject knowledge,
• practical skills, and
• report and presentation.

Unlike other science competitions, this competition weighs the quality of the scientific research paper much more heavily than the poster presentation.

The following criteria and paper guidelines are designed to provide direction for students who are entering projects into this competition.

• Judging Criteria (PDF)
• Research Paper Guidelines (PDF)

Students are also encouraged to use the ISEF Rules Wizard to ensure they are following safe handling processes. It is not necessary to return the forms generated from this tool.

State SJWP Requirements

To be eligible for the State Competitions, students must complete the online entry form (download the information needed on the SJWP State Competition entry form) and electronically submit their research paper.

• At state competitions, there are no specific paper guidelines. The file cannot be larger than 2MB.
• Teams of one or two students may enter.
• Only one person from a team should submit the project online but must complete the information for both team members if applicable.

Based on the papers, and in some cases, personal interviews at science fairs, a panel of water professionals will identify the best water-related science project from each state.

State winners will be announced online at www.sjwp.org in May of the competition year.

State winners must be available to participate in the U.S. National Competition. All State winners will compete in a virtual judging round during the first two weeks of May 2026. The top 20 finalists will move on to an in-person finals competition to take place on June 8-10th in Chicago, IL.

National U.S. SJWP Requirements

To be eligible for the National Competition, State Competition winners must adhere to the following.

• Complete the online entry form and electronically submit their research paper by the deadline in May. (See specific deadline at top of page)
  • Papers must meet the National Paper Guidelines to be eligible.
• Submit a video that is approximately 2:20 video describing their project.
• Students must be able to attend the first round virtual U.S. National Competition held during the first two weeks of May.
• Should a student make the top 20, student(s) must be able to attend the second round in-person U.S. National Competition held June 8-10th in Chicago, IL.

Judges will select the national winner based on the six overall criteria. They will place weight on both the quality of the research paper and the project ownership and knowledge shown in the video presentation.

The National SJWP winner (at least one member, if a team) must be available to participate in the SJWP International Competition, hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute, during Water Week. If the winner cannot attend, the prize will be awarded to the first runner-up.