TOPSS Competition for High School Psychology Students

The TOPSS Competition for High School Psychology Students is an annual competition organized by the American Psychological Association's Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS). The competition invites high school students who are currently enrolled or have been previously enrolled in a psychology course to demonstrate their understanding of psychological science. The competition format and topic change each year. For the 2025 cycle, students submitted essays of up to 3,000 words on resilience in relation to stress or trauma. For the 2026 cycle, students are invited to create a video of no more than 3 minutes demonstrating how psychological science helps us to understand and counter the spread of misinformation. Submissions must include an accurate definition of misinformation, a description of one or more key psychological constructs from the National Standards, a summary and analysis of at least one published research study, a real-world example of how applying psychological science could benefit society, and a closing slide with at least one APA-style reference. Up to three winners are selected annually, each receiving a $300 scholarship award. Winners are typically announced in the fall following the submission deadline.