History Day competitions can be a fun and valuable part of the History Day process. Here is some helpful information to guide you through the steps of contest participation.
Levels of competition
There are generally four levels of competition for History Day students.
School History Day Fairs
Students display their projects at their school, and teachers or judges choose the projects that will advance to the regional competition. Depending on school size, the school fair may be very large or take place within one classroom. You may use the following judge criteria forms for the competition if you choose.
Papers and Websites
Papers and websites do not compete alongside exhibits, documentaries and performances at the regional event due to the length of time needed to view and judge a paper or a website. For more information, visit the papers and websites page.
Regional History Day competitions
Students enter their projects into one of 13 regional competitions throughout the state. Regional events take place throughout March.
State History Day competition
Finalists from all 13 regional events enter their projects into the State competition, which takes place at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in late April or early May.
National History Day competition
State finalists from Minnesota are awarded the opportunity to compete at the National competition at the University of Maryland-College Park in mid-June.
Participation in Regional Events
More than 30,000 students participate in History Day throughout the state, but each year, due to limits of event space, volunteer assistance and staff capactiy, about 4,500 students participate in the regional events.
In January, each participating school is required to fill out a participation survey. The lead teacher from each school fills out one survey for the entire school, listing the total number of students completing projects in each of the five categories.
When History Day staff receives all school surveys, each school is assigned a certain number of projects it may bring to its particular regional event. Assignments are made on a proportional allotment basis; schools with higher participation are allowed to enter more students into the regional competitions.
For example, if a school has six or seven students completing junior individual exhibits, that school will be allowed to send about three projects to the regional event. Other schools with substantially more participants would be allowed to send more projects to the regional event, depending on event capacity and other schools' participation numbers. Each school is allotted a minimum of three projects per category.