10 Bioethics Essay Competitions for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
With rapid advances in research and technology, ethical considerations are coming to the forefront of these developments. If you are curious about bioethics, you can participate in essay competitions related to the topic. Essay contests are a good way to not only enhance your knowledge of bioethics but also sharpen your writing skills.
Most of these competitions require participants to conduct research, present convincing arguments, and challenge conventional thinking. Winners can expect to win prizes and have their essays published. So, here are some essay competitions you can participate in.
10 Bioethics Essay Competitions for Middle School Students
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 6 winners
Location: Virtual
Prize: Scholarships up to $3,000 for winners
Application Deadline: April 26
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8
Students interested in research and writing can opt for the Lumiere Junior Scholars Essay Contest. The contest offers a range of prompts for you to choose from and respond to. These prompts are also related to the topic of bioethics and are designed to challenge your thinking and assumptions. Through this competition, you develop your argumentation, critical thinking, and writing skills, particularly regarding bioethics. An Academic Advisory Committee, which comprises distinguished professors and researchers, reviews all entries for intellectual independence and persuasive arguments. Winners receive a range of scholarship awards.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Location: Virtual
Prize: Winning entries published on The Learning Network
Application Deadline: April 8
Eligibility: Students aged 13–19
The New York Times invites students to send in open letters as part of this contest. Your submission must be an open letter to people or groups. It must talk about an issue that you care about, such as bioethics. Ensure that your letter is relevant to the NYT audience and does not exceed 500 words. Because the letter deals with a social issue, it must be addressed to a specific audience and include a call to action. It must also be backed up by at least two sources, one of which must be NYT. The best letter will be published on The Learning Network.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 3 winners from each category
Location: Virtual; award ceremony held in London
Prize: Varies by placement
Application Deadline: May 31
Eligibility: Students under 19 years old
Students looking to improve their knowledge and argumentation skills can participate in the John Locke Institute’s essay contest. The competition offers a range of subjects and questions you can respond to in your essay, including ideas of ethics. You must demonstrate independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis, and persuasive style. You can also choose to submit more than one entry but no more than one question per subject. Your writing must also be backed by appropriate sources. Academics from leading educational institutions evaluate all entries. Winners can attend the award ceremony and an invite-only conference in London.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 5 winners
Location: Virtual
Cost: $65 per student
Dates: Submit by March 20
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8
If you are interested in social issues and political science, the Harvard Political Review Essay Competition may meet your requirements. This competition enables you to delve into global political dynamics, the influence of international institutions, local community challenges, the power of youth activism, and the role of technology in shaping politics through your entry. Your submission must interpret and respond to the competition prompts, which also deal with questions of ethics. Your essay must be an opinion piece backed by facts and sources, much like the articles published in HPR. Virtual training sessions help sharpen your essay writing skills. Winning entries are published in HPR.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 33 winners across categories
Location: Online; award ceremony held at Cambridge University
Application Deadline: May 10
Eligibility: Students aged 11–18
This is a competitive essay contest that witnesses participation from students worldwide. The competition encourages critical thinking and exploration through thought-provoking and controversial topics to write about. The submission can consider historical, contemporary, and speculative perspectives on a range of subjects, including the ethics of technological developments and space exploration. Your submission is reviewed for intellectual rigor, originality, and clarity. You broaden your horizon and understanding while challenging established beliefs and imagining alternative futures. If you win, you can attend the Award Ceremony and Dinner hosted at King’s College, University of Cambridge.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 3 winners
Location: Online
Application Deadline: February 23 (regional essay) and March 19 (global essay)
Eligibility: Students aged 10–18
This is a virtual competition that allows you to write about university-style prompts. There are three categories that you can choose from, namely, creative, argumentative, or journalistic, to participate in. Each category has a different prompt, and some allow you to engage with discussions on ethics. You can avail the webinars and resources to sharpen your skills and write a winning essay. You can also make the most of networking opportunities to meet other writers.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 3 winners
Location: Virtual
Prize: Cash awards up to $1,000
Application Deadline: June 8
Eligibility: Students aged 11–18
This competition encourages you to think and write about marine life and the ocean. It offers flexibility in terms of your submission format, including creative writing and poetry. As you write about your personal connection with the ocean and how it sustains, protects, and inspires us, you can consider the ethical dimension of marine life. Each component, sustenance, protection, and inspiration, has a specific prompt that you can respond to in your writing. Ultimately, your submissions become part of your portfolio and enhance your knowledge about environmental and marine issues.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 3 winners
Location: Online
Application Deadline: End of March
Eligibility: Students aged 11–14
This competition is for aspiring reporters who want to tackle issues like environmental conservation, policy, and sustainability. After clearing the national rounds, you receive the opportunity for international recognition. Depending on your interests, you can participate in the International Competition, Litter Less Campaign, or International Collaboration, each touching upon ethical issues of sustainability. Your submission can be in the form of an article, photograph, or video. The judging criteria considered by the jury include originality, objectivity, composition, research, style, and so on.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 3 winners in each genre
Location: Online
Application Deadline: January 10
Eligibility: Open to all
This competition adopts a unique take on medicine and healthcare. Here, you submit a piece of writing that considers patients and providers dealing with chronic or life-limiting illnesses. Whether you submit a short story, essay, or poem, you can engage with ideas of ethics in medicine and chronic conditions. Each category of submission is judged independently, and the competition is open to all. Winning entries will be published in Anastomosis, Stanford University School of Medicine’s humanities and literary journal.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 6
Location: Online
Application Deadline: May 15
Eligibility: Students in grades 4–12
The Laws of Life Essay Contest invites entries from elementary, middle, and high school students. The overarching prompt for the contest requires you to write about a core value that you hold close to your heart. Thus, students passionate about bioethics can write about that topic. You must back up your selection of bioethics with an explanation of why that topic matters to you. Your entry must be between 250 and 500 words. The 6 “Most Compelling” essays are published on the competition website.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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