Science Olympiads

International Brain Bee (Brain Bee)

Neuroscience competition with local, national, and international rounds for high schoolers.

About this competition

The International Brain Bee is a neuroscience competition for high school students. Students study from a defined curriculum (the official IBB material plus standard neuroscience textbooks) and compete at local chapter, national, and international levels through written exams, neuroanatomy practicals, and patient-diagnosis stations.

Brain Bee is a perfect long-tail competition: relatively low awareness means strong placement stands out, and it's an unusually clean signal of medical/neuroscience interest for pre-med and bioscience college applications.

Season & deadlines

Local chapter competitions vary; national finals typically in spring.

Season window: January through August.

Cost

Free — Most local chapters are free; some require modest travel for regional events.

Prizes & outcomes

International final invitation, scholarships, lab internships

Prep resources