Our Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.
Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of our essay prizes are judged by senior academics from the University of Oxford. The judges will choose their favourite essay from each subject category and an overall 'best essay' across seven subjects: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law.
The Institute awards two separate prizes:
- Standard Prize (for candidates who are 18 or younger)
- For the standard prize a prize is awarded for the best essay in each category.
- Junior Prize (for candidates who are 14 or younger)
- For the Junior Prize there is only one winner.
The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior Prize, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute program and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. The prize-giving ceremony takes place in Oxford, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome, subject to capacity constraints.
The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or gap year courses.
Location(s)
Schedule
- Entries are due no later than June 30
Cost/Compensation
- No fee
Eligibility Requirements
- Students must be 18 or younger
- Entries are open to candidates from every country
Deadline
- June 30
Application or Entry Requirements
- Registration is required, which one can do here.
- Essays should address only one of the questions in a chosen subject category but students may submit more than one essay so long as they are in different categories.
- Essays must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, footnotes, bibliography, or authorship declaration).
- Essays should be submitted in pdf format, through the website.
Notifications of Decisions
- Short-listed contestants announced: July
- Junior Prize announced: August
- Economics Prize announced: September
- Politics Prize and Law Prize announced: September
- Philosophy Prize and Theology Prize announced: September
- Psychology Prize announced: October
Financial Aid Details
Other Dates to Keep in Mind
- Essay questions released: February
Have other questions?
The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis, and persuasive style. We work to embolden the best and brightest students to become more academically ambitious and more intellectually adventurous. Through our various programs - residential courses, revision seminars, essay competitions, and special events - we inspire students to aim high and we equip them with the skills they need in order to achieve their goals.
