The Global Student Prize is a $100,000 award presented by the Varkey Foundation and Chegg.org to recognize an exceptional student's contribution to peers and society. The foundation reports nearly 11,000 nominations and applications from 148 countries for the 2025 prize.
Eligibility and selection: The student eligibility page permits students aged at least 16 enrolled in an academic institution or a training and skills program, including part-time and online students worldwide, subject to the stated terms. Criteria include academic achievement, impact on peers, community contributions, resilience, creativity and innovation.
Cycle status, checked November 4, 2026: The linked student prize site says applications and nominations are currently closed. The foundation page still says the 2026 prize will open “next year”; that wording does not establish a future opening date. No next-cycle deadline was verified.
The student terms retain the historical 2025 window: February 19 to April 28, 2025, closing at 08:00 AM (GMT+1). These dates do not apply to a new cycle. An explicit entry-fee statement was not found in the checked student pages.
Past winners:
- 2025: Adarsh Kumar (India)
- 2024: Ángela Elena Olazarán Laureano (Mexico)
- 2023: Nhial Deng (South Sudan)
- 2022: Igor Klymenko (Ukraine)
- 2021: Jeremiah Thoronka (Sierra Leone)