About Judging -

2020 Fair Date

State High School Fair:
Held virtually in April & May due to COVID-19

Invest just a few hours of your time to provide encouragement to these bright young students in their quest for excellence in science and technology. It's an experience that lasts a lifetime! You can make a difference

We greatly appreciate your interest in judging, and we hope you will be a member of the MSEF Judging Corps. While this registration site is dedicated to the Massachusetts Science & Engineering Fair – High School Division, you will also have the opportunity to obtain information about judging at the Middle School Division in Worcester.

Judge Qualifications

High School Division

• Four-year college degree in field(s) of science, technology, engineering, or math;
• Professional and/or academic experience in one or more of those fields;
• Most Judges hold Master’s and/or Phd degrees, however this is not a requirement;
• High School teachers are not eligible to judge.

High School Fair

MSEF opens High School Judge Registration in early February

Returning Judges: You will receive an email in February with a link to update your existing Judge Account and alerting you that registration has opened.

New Judges: To receive our "Invitation to Judge" please contact us at: judginginfo@scifair.com to be added to our Judge alerts email list.

For new judges, this program will require a few minutes of your time for entering personal data, we hope you find this program simple and easy to use. After completing the registration form, you will receive an immediate automated confirmation.

High School Judge Score Card/Judging Criteria

2020 Fair Date

State Middle School Fair:
Cancelled due to COVID-19

Fair Schedule

Judges come back year after year for the uplifting experience of evaluating and guiding middle school students’ science and engineering projects. For many, the judging process rekindles their passion for science & engineering innovation that sparked the beginning of their own careers. It renews their belief that the next generation will be ready to address the coming challenges of the world.

For middle school students, often it is the first time they have spoken and discussed their work with a STEM professional. It could easily be their first mentoring experience. This is an extremely important aspect of the science fair experience!

Judge Qualifications

Middle School Division

• Four-year degree in science and/or technology;
• Prefer professional/academic experience, however this is not a requirement.

Middle School Fair

If you are interested in judging at the Massachusetts Middle School Science & Engineering Fair, please contact the judging committee at middleschool@scifair.com.

For judges, MSEF provides an orientation & overview of the judging process before the judging begins. See the schedule for times of the overview and judging.

The rubric for judging provides guidance for judges and is explained at an orientation session on the morning of the science fair event. Reviewing it before the Science Fair day is recommended!