John Locke Institute
Global Essay Prize
Overview of Global Essay Prize
The John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize encourages young people to develop strong writing and critical thinking skills by exploring challenging questions across various subjects. Students can build knowledge, refine arguments, and have their work assessed by academics from leading universities. The competition awards prizes for the best essays in categories like Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law, as well as a Junior category and a Grand Prize.
📍Location
Online
📅 Application deadlines
- No upcoming deadlines
💸 Costs & Aid
- Free
- Entry is free. Late entries incur a fee of 25.00 GBP for a seven-day extension or 75.00 GBP for a twenty-one day extension.
- Prizes are awarded as scholarships towards John Locke Institute programmes. Subject category winners and Junior category winner receive a US $5000 scholarship. Second place receives US $2000, and third place receives US $1000. The Grand Prize winner receives a US $10,000 scholarship.
Eligibility Requirements
📋 General Requirements
Open to students from any country. Essays must address one question from the provided list and not exceed 2000 words (excluding diagrams, tables, endnotes, bibliography, authorship declaration). Essays are judged on knowledge, understanding, use of evidence, argumentation, originality, structure, writing style, and persuasive force. No AI generated content is allowed. Essays must be the original work of a single individual. An academic referee email is required.