The Neuroethics Essay Contest is an annual international writing competition that invites students and early-career researchers to critically explore issues at the intersection of ethics, neuroscience, and society. Co-hosted by the International Neuroethics Society (INS) and the International Youth Neuroscience Association (IYNA), the contest has four entry categories to accommodate participants from high school through postdoctoral level.
Published 2026 competition categories:
| Category | Eligible participants | Word/length limit | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| High School | High school / secondary school students | ≤ 1,000 words | Up to $500 |
| General Audience | Post-secondary students / early-career trainees | ≤ 1,000 words | Up to $500 |
| Academic | Post-secondary students / early-career trainees | ≤ 2,000 words | Up to $500 |
| Video | Any eligible applicant | 5–7 minutes | Up to $500 |
Up to eight honorable mentions across categories also receive smaller cash prizes. All winners and honorable mentions receive a one-year INS membership.
What to write about: Essays must critically explore a current issue in neuroethics — the relationship between ethics, neuroscience, and society. Topics could include brain-computer interfaces, cognitive enhancement, mental health policy, neuroimaging and privacy, neurodiversity, or the ethics of emerging brain research.
2026 key dates:
- Submission deadline: August 31, 2026 (11:30 PM PDT), extended from August 21
- Winners notified: by November 2026
Historical 2026 submission rules:
- Original, unpublished work only
- Written essays in English; videos could use English, Spanish, French, German, Telugu, Afrikaans, KiSwahili, isiXhosa or Yoruba, with English subtitles
- Eligible post-secondary entrants could submit one Academic and one General Audience essay, plus a separate video; High School entrants could submit their written essay plus video
- Written essays submitted as doc/docx/pdf through the form, with identifying details only on a cover page; videos as mp4 or public links
The official 2026 call explicitly says entries are closed and no further essays accepted. Its extended August 31 cutoff is historical, not an annual future deadline. No next-cycle opening, deadline or eligibility update is announced. The winners page currently begins with 2025; the call’s November 2026 notification expectation does not establish that 2026 results are published.
The 2026 rules allowed some temporary breaks and prospective students, with categories tied to January–July 2026 educational status; they did not universally require enrollment on submission day. Generative AI assistance required disclosure and could not generate essay content, figures or tables. Prior category winners could submit again but could not win the same category again. No explicit entry-fee or free-entry statement was found in the checked call. Checked November 4, 2026.