Orange County Science and Engineering Fair

71st Annual Orange County Science and Engineering Fair


2026 Application NOW OPEN!

Click on the OCSEF 2026 Program below to start your application.

For more information, please visit the OCSEF website.


Important Reminders:

1. Pre-Approval Projects

  • Required For:  projects that include human subjects, vertebrate animals, or potential hazards (biological agents, materials, chemicals, equipment, organisms, tissues, devices, activities, etc.)
  • Students must receive SRC Approval BEFORE starting their project.
  • Check the Pre-Approval Flowchart (HERE) to see if your project requires pre-approval.

2. SRC Approval

  • The Scientific Review Committee (SRC) reviews all projects at registration to determine if the project can be done safely and if all required documentation has been provided.
  • All projects need SRC Approval in order to move to the Project Submission step. Only Pre-Approval projects require SRC Approval before students start their project.

3. OCSEF Steps & Deadlines

** Students will complete Registration and SRC Approval (either steps 1 & 2 or steps 3 & 4), depending on whether their project requires Pre-Approval.

  • Step 1 Pre-Approval Project Registration

    • November 3, 2025 (11:59pm) -- Early Pre-Approval Registration Deadline
    • If your project doesn't need pre-approval, then skip to step 3.

  • Step 2 Pre-Approval SRC Review

    • November 17, 2025 -- SRC Early Approval Deadline (for pre-approval projects)
    • After approval, you can start your project and skip to step 5.

  • Step 3 Regular Project Registration

    • February 4, 2026 (11:59pm) -- Regular Registration Deadline
    • Only for projects with no pre-approval required

  • Step 4 Regular SRC Review

    • February 13, 2026 -- SRC Regular Approval Deadline

  • Step 5 Project Submission

    • February 23, 2026 (11:59pm) -- Project Submission Deadline 
    • Students submit final project materials (abstract, slide deck, video, lab notebook)

  • Step 6 Project Review 

    • March 2, 2026 -- Final Project Approval Deadline

  • Step 7 Virtual Judging

    • March 11, 2026 -- Interview with Judges (via Zoom)

  • Step 8 Awards Ceremony

    • March 22, 2026 -- Awards Ceremony at Chapman University (in-person)

4. OCSEF Rules & Forms

** View the complete OCSEF Rules (HERE) document for:

  • NEW project category list
  • Updated certification forms
  • NEW Pre-Approval flowchart
  • Updated slide deck templates

Programs