Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF): 2025 IP Math & Physics Guide

Q: What does Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF): 2025 IP Math & Physics Guide cover?
A: What ISEF is, how its 1 700-plus finalists qualify, where the US$9 million prize-pool goes.

TL;DR
Regeneron ISEF is the world's largest pre-university research competition: ~1 700 finalists aged 14-19 from more than 65 countries present original work in 22 categories, competing for over US$9 million in awards. Singapore sends qualifiers through the SSEF and A*STAR Talent Search schemes, and the winning skill-set overlaps heavily with IP Maths (data analysis, calculus fluency) and IP Physics (experimental design, uncertainty). This guide shows parents and students how the fair works, what prizes look like, and how focused tuition can turn an IP WA project into an ISEF-class investigation.

Registration quick answer (global): ISEF is for finalists from Society for Science–affiliated fairs; students don’t sign up directly. See eligibility and affiliated fairs at: https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/

Build Your Research Pipeline

If you are pushing towards SSEF or ISEF, pair this guide with our NUS–MOE Science Research Programme playbook so lab logs, mentor outreach, and presentation artefacts scale directly into competition entries.

1 What exactly is ISEF?

ISEF began in 1950 under Society for Science and has been sponsored by Regeneron since 2020. It functions like an “Olympics of research” for secondary-schoolers: finalists bring posters and prototypes to a week-long fair that rotates host cities (Los Angeles 2024, Columbus 2025). Judges drawn from academia and industry interview each student in two rounds. Winners are announced on the final evening at a ceremony livestreamed worldwide.

2 Who gets to compete?

1. Affiliated fairs - Students must first win top places at one of ~425 local, regional or national fairs recognised by Society for Science.
2. Finalist quota - Each affiliated fair is allotted a certain number of finalist “slots”.
3. Grade & age - Competitors must be in grades 9-12 (or international equivalent) and younger than 20 on 1 May of the fair year.

For Singapore, the main feeder events are:

• Singapore Science & Engineering Fair (SSEF)
• ASTAR Talent Search* (ATS)

3 Scale and prize pool