medicine essay prize

Medical School Expert

Medicine Essay Prizes (7 Competitions For Year 12 and 13’s)

Every article is fact-checked by a medical professional. However, inaccuracies may still persist.

Having a medical essay prize on your CV looks absolutely fantastic when it comes time for you to apply to medical school.

In such an overcrowded marketplace, anything that sets you apart from the crowd in a positive manner is sure to drastically increase your chances of getting an offer.

Although when I was applying to medical school I hadn’t managed to win an essay competition (despite my best efforts!) hopefully you’ll have more luck than me!

To save you some research time, I’ve compiled a list of 7 medicine essay competitions that you can enter this year.

Competitions that if you win will skyrocket your chances of application success.

INCLUDED IN THIS GUIDE:

The Libra Essay Prize

The Libra essay prize is an annual essay prize for all students in years 12 and 13 looking to prepare for university.

Libra Education themselves describe it as:

“An excellent way for 6th-form students to demonstrate that they have the makings of a scholar, the Libra Essay Prize offers a chance to prepare for the academic rigour required by university assignments and provides a great accomplishment to discuss on a personal statement or at an interview.”

Students are free to choose any subject from a list of categories (one of which being science) and then have to write an essay with a title containing a chosen word.

The small pool of words you can choose from change each year but are all generally quite abstract so you can connect and use them in creative ways.

The essay has to be between 1,500 – 2,000 words, with Harvard style referencing which isn’t included in the word count.

Libra accept entries from all over the world, but the essays must be written in English.

First prize wins £50, second prize £30, and third £20, all paid out in book vouchers. There’s also Commended and Highly Commended entries for each category.

Minds Underground Essay Competition

Minds Underground is an online learning platform, designed to support and enhance the learning and problem-solving of determined young students.

Every year they run a medicine essay competition, primarily aimed at year 12’s (although they do say younger or older students are also welcome to apply).

To enter, you have a choice of three questions, to which you need to write a 1,000 – 1,500 word answer.

“Should all healthcare be free? Discuss.” “What goes wrong for cancers to develop?” “Tell us about a key development/invention that you think has been most influential to medicine.” – Past Minds Underground medicine essay questions

If you’re feeling ambitious, students are permitted to enter an essay for more than one subject- so you could have a crack at the psychology or science one too!

Helpfully, under each question Minds also give you a few pointers to get your creative juices flowing.

Newnham Essay Prizes

Newnham College of the University of Cambridge runs a medicine essay competition with a twist:

Only female students are allowed to enter.

Again, students have a choice of three differing questions.

For example, the questions in the 2021-22 competition were:

• How realistic is it to develop a small molecule therapy for Covid-19? Could such a therapy be rolled out in a timeframe that it could have an impact on the current pandemic?
• Sleep deprivation in clinical health settings. Does it matter?
• Looking to the future. Will stem cell therapies be outpaced by machine-brain interfaces for the treatment of retinal disease?

Newnham do give you a bit more of a range when it comes to the word count, accepting anything from 1,500 to 2,500 words.

There’s a generous £400 prize for first place, £200 for second and £100 for third.

Unfortunately for you as an individual though, prize money is split 50:50 between the essay prize winner and the funding of resources for their school…

John Locke Institute Essay Competition

“The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. “

The John Locke Institute arguably gives away the most generous prize out of any competition on this list.

You get a scholarship worth $2,000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute program, as well as an invitation to their prize-giving ceremony in Oxford.

The essay questions for each subject are published in January, with the deadline for submission generally being in late June.

As well as the opportunity to secure the prize for medicine, the candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship- which comes with a $10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of their courses!

American Society Of Human Genetics Essay Contest

Although this next essay competition comes from America, it’s open to students worldwide.

The American Society Of Human Genetics supports national DNA day through its annual DNA day essay contest: commemorating the completion of the Human Genome Project in April 2003 and the discovery of the double helix of DNA in 1953.

The contest is open to students in grades 9-12 worldwide and asks students to “examine, question, and reflect on important concepts in genetics.”

With a limit of only 750 words, not including reference lists, this is a short but sweet chance to bag yourself a considerable cash prize for your efforts.

In addition to the personal prize money, the ASHG will also provide you with a $1,000 grant towards genetics research or teaching materials.

Although it is a worldwide contest, so undoubtedly will have plenty of entries, there are also 10 honorable mentions up for grabs (in addition to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place) that all come with a $100 prize too.

Immerse Education Essay Competition

Immerse Education run summer programs for over 20 different subjects in Oxford, Cambridge, London and Sydney.

The reason why students get so much value from these courses is because they’re immersed in centers of academic excellence whilst learning from experts in their chosen field.

The good news for you is that their essay competition gives you the chance to attend one of their summer school programs for free.

10 winners receive a 100% scholarship and runners up are awarded partial scholarships of up to 50% to study their chosen subject.

According to Immerse, around 7% of entrants receive scholarship funding to attend a program- which is pretty good odds if you ask me!

“There is no downside to entering the competition. If you win, it is awesome. If you don’t win, you gained an experience. Entering the competition and working as hard as I did for it was one of the most gratifying experiences.” – Pedro L (100% scholarship winner)

You can find the full list of essay questions, in addition to top tips for writing academic essays (as well as the terms and conditions for the competition), simply by signing up via Immerse’s website.

The RCSU Science Challenge

The Royal College of Science Union (RCSU) is a student union at Imperial College London and run an annual science challenge open to both home and international school students.

The focus of the challenge is communicating scientific concepts in a non-technical manner, so that people without a science background could still understand and enjoy the content.

The big twist with this essay competition is that you don’t actually have to enter an essay!

The idea is to produce a ‘short piece of science communication’ which can be an essay or can be a short video in answer to one of the four questions set by the judges.

Written entries must be less than 1,000 words, whilst video entries must be less than 3 minutes and 30 seconds long.

For this competition, it’s really all about short and snappy responses that will captivate the reader whilst answering the question in a precise but easy to understand manner.

We hope to inspire those who take part in the Science Challenge to explore, develop and use their scientific skills along with their passion for their corner of science to help others see what all the excitement is about.

Why You Should Enter Medicine Essay Competitions

I think it’s fair to say that competition to get into medical school in the UK is insanely high- and it’s only getting worse.

With such large numbers of incredibly qualified candidates, medical schools have to find some way of differentiating them.

One way to make it easy for a university to pick you is to stand out from the crowd by having a medical essay prize on your application.

An essay prize demonstrates your dedication to the subject, scientific knowledge and an ability to write expressively and persuasively- all ideal qualities when it comes to being a doctor.

You may surprise yourself.

Often, not as many people as you might think enter these competitions.

Simply by writing the essay, you’re also going to greatly increase your knowledge about that particular topic, which can still come in really handy at interview.

Even if you don’t win, just discussing the fact you entered still looks good in the eyes of an interviewer.

It shows that you’re willing to go above and beyond your school curriculum, to explore subjects you’re interested in and that you’re a highly motivated candidate.

How To Increase Your Chances Of Winning An Essay Prize

Although when I was applying to medical school I didn’t manage to win an essay prize, there are a couple of things I did that would have greatly increased my chances of doing so.

First and foremost, I think you’ve got to cast your net wide.

Don’t limit yourself to just one shot at the target: if you’ve got the time then I’d recommend trying to enter at least a couple of different competitions.

More entries will mean more chances for you to have your essay officially recognised.

Secondly, if you have the choice between entering a local or national competition, I’d always go with the local one.

Although a national prize would look slightly better on your CV, simply due to the number of entries, you’ll have a much higher chance of winning the more local competition.

By local I mean this could be a more regional charity, nearby hospital or university, or even your school.

Even better yet, you could always enter both!

Lastly, I think one of the best ways you can increase your odds of winning a prize is by entering a competition around a topic that you’re genuinely passionate about.

If you’ve no interest in genetics, then I wouldn’t enter the American Society Of Human Genetics’ contest!

Your interest in the subject will come through in your language, depth of knowledge and motivation to go above and beyond for your essay- all of which will put you in a much better position for winning.

Where You Can Find Further Essay Competitions

In addition to the essay prizes described above, there are tonnes of other opportunities available for you to distinguish yourself as a medicine applicant.

Loads of the Royal Colleges run an ever changing variety of prizes and competitions, usually to encourage interest in their specialty.

The opening dates and deadlines for these prizes are always changing so it’s worth keeping an eye out for the perfect essay question or new prize that’s just been announced.

Some of these organisations that run their own competitions include:

• The Royal Society of Medicine
• Royal College of Emergency Medicine
• British Orthopaedic Association
• British Society for Haematology
• Royal College of Pathologists
• Royal College of Psychiatrists
• British Association of Dermatologists

But there are many more out there. If you have a particular interest in one specialty or area of science then I’d definitely recommend doing a bit of digging to see if there’s a society or organisation related to that field that runs their own competitions!

Final Thoughts

There really aren’t many downsides to entering one of these competitions.

You get a shot at winning, gain a talking point at interview and develop your scientific knowledge (not to mention technical writing skills).

Although you might feel that some of the smaller prizes aren’t worth your time and effort to write the essay, the real value comes from the boost one of these prizes would give your medicine application.

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School Competitions And Prizes For Aspiring Medics

Learn about all of the competitions and prizes you can enter at school to boost your Medicine application.

If you’re an aspiring medic at school, you can boost your Medicine application by entering competitions and prizes. Regardless of whether you win or not, you’ll be able to include the experience in your Personal Statement and talk about it at Med School interviews . Here are some Medicine competitions you can enter to be proactive and make your application stand out.

Imperial College London – Science in Medicine School Teams Prize

Imperial College London has three team competitions to choose from:

• The British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Prize – Submissions should focus on a topic with interactions between the cardiovascular system and the nervous system.
• The Lung Prize – Submissions can focus on any aspect of the prevention or treatment of respiratory disease.
• The Scleroderma and Raynaud’s UK Prize – Submissions should focus on promoting the health and wellbeing of individuals with Scleroderma and/or Raynaud’s.

For each competition, the challenge is to design an ePoster. A team can have up to six members (they recommend assembling a team with varied interests) and schools can enter one team per prize.

The top ten shortlisted teams in each contest will be invited to present their ePosters at an online finals event. In each stream, first, second and third prizes of £3,000, £2,000 and £1,000 will be awarded to schools in order to support science-related activities.

Deadline – midnight on 30th June 2023.

University of Cambridge – Robinson College Essay Prize

The Robinson College Essay Prize is open to Year 12 students in the UK, providing an opportunity to develop and showcase independent study and writing skills. It also allows students to experience the type of work that they might be expected to do at Cambridge.

Entrants submit an essay (no more than 2,000 words) answering a question from various options. Last year, one of the possible titles was ‘Can science tell us how we should live?’. Up to three entries can be submitted per school, so you should discuss your application with your school before entering.

Five prizes are awarded, with each winner receiving book tokens to the value of £50. Winners will also be invited to Robinson College for a prize-giving ceremony.

The 2023 prize will open with more info in June.

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Medic Mentor – National Essay Competition

Medic Mentor’s National Essay Competition requires students to write an essay (up to 1,500 words) from the perspective of a medical professional.

There are essay titles available for Medicine, Dentistry , Veterinary Medicine and Allied Health .

For 2023, the essay questions are:

• Medicine – Should the patient be viewed as part of the multidisciplinary team?
• Dentistry – How can the holistic approach minimise periodontal disease in patients?
• Veterinary – What is the importance of a holistic approach when caring for livestock?
• Allied Heath – How can the multidisciplinary team optimise the care of the older person in hospital?

Deadline – midday on 1st May 2023.

Minds Underground Medicine Essay Competition

Minds Underground Medicine Essay Competition is aimed at students in Year 12, but younger students are also welcome to enter, and there are various essay title options to choose from. For the 2023 competition, one of the possible titles was ‘Should all healthcare be free? Discuss.’

The competition is designed to give students an opportunity to engage in research, hone their writing and argumentative skills, and prepare for university interviews. Minds Underground also runs essay competitions for other science subjects like Psychology and STEM.

The submission deadline is typically around March/April. Get more info here.

The Libra Essay Prize

The Libra Essay Prize is for students in Years 12 and 13 who are looking to prepare for university. Inspired by the admissions process at All Souls College, Oxford, entrants write an essay (1,500-2,000 words) responding to a single-word title.

For the 2023 prize, the single-word options were: Control, Collaboration, Exchange, Freedom, Claim.

Entrants are encouraged to use imagination in their essays to build interesting links between their chosen title and their school learning. There are prizes available of £50 for first place, £30 for second place and £20 for third place.

The deadline has varied from year-to-year: it was June in 2022 and April in 2023, so keep an eye on their website for more details.

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Medicine & the Muse Program

Paul kalanithi writing award, paul kalanithi was a physician writer and neurosurgery resident at stanford university. in the final years of his training, he was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer. his memoir,  when breath becomes air , beautifully chronicles his reflections on living with illness and the meaning of legacy. the paul kalanithi writing award was created in his memory. , open for submissions: november 8, 2023.

This short documentary by Stanford videographer Mark Hanlon captures Paul Kalanithi’s shifting perception of time while living with terminal cancer.

Lucy Kalanithi often visits the gravesite of her husband, Paul Kalanithi, with the couple’s daughter, Cady, to picnic and leave flowers. (Photo by Timothy Archibald)

Prize Winners

2023 prize winners.

First place essay:  A Good Death |  Heather Alva, MD

First place short story:  Home Videos | Tatyana Singh

First place poetry:  Bulbs |  Lana Corrales 

First place poetry (tie):  Lunch Break/Brave Face |  Aidan Theepura Kunju

2022 Prize Winners

First place:  Sick Girl Goes on a Date  | Alyson Lee

Second place: To Sit With   | Brian Zhao

Third place:   What That Poem was About   | Fiona Miller

Fourth place: I Wear You Like a Memory | Nicolas Seranio

Honorable Mention

  Junk Journal  | James Hyun Lee

2021 Prize Winners

First place:  Sliding Down  | Michael Rabow, MD

Second place:   Silver   | Hannah Joyner

Third place:   Of Seeds  | Rachael Peckham, PhD Honorable Mention

How to Deal with Charon  | Brian Smith, Medical Student

2020 Prize Winners

1st Place: My Father's Brain is on the Kitchen Counter by Laura Pritchett

2nd Place: The Last Shower by Leilani Graham

3rd Place: Code Yellow by Kushal Kadakia

Honorable Mentions

Spilling Stardust  by Richard Wu

*** : Meditations of a Medical Oncology Scribe  by Brian Smith

2019 Prize Winners

1st Place: RUNNING MCCOY'S  by Heather Cariou

2nd Place: Time Like Water  by Grace Li

3rd Place: Dark Rides  by Amy Haddad

The Ward is the World  by Laurie Kutchins

2018 Prize Winners

1st Place: Pulseless  by David James Bell

2nd Place: How Fishele Died  by Nathan Szajnberg

3rd Place: Broken  by Lucia Gagliese

Hair  by Joanne Howard

2017 Prize Winners

1st Place: Borderline Disability: A Life Diagnose by Eli Cahan

2nd Place: In Photographs by Dorothy Rice

3rd Place: Under the Bridge by Tyson West

Recommendation by Marissa McNamara

Two Notes by Cassie Myers

2016 Prize Winners

1st Place: Perestroika  by Petr Vitkovskiy

2nd Place: Parlor Talk  by Catherine Wong

3rd place:  Mercy  by Erik Norbie

Submissions Open: November 8, 2023 - January 10, 2024

Medicine & the Muse is pleased to announce an open call for unpublished short stories, essays or poetry addressing patients and providers facing chronic or life limiting illness.

New this year!  Entries will be evaluated within their own genre: poetry, fiction and non-fiction. 

Contest Guidelines Short Stories/Essays/Fiction/Non-fiction: Less than 2500 words Poetry: Less than 50 lines

Dual submissions permitted, if they are in different genres. No more than two submissions. Simultaneous submissions permitted, but please withdraw your piece if it gets published elsewhere. Collections of poems are permitted, but please adhere to the line limit. The submission fee is $35 per entry. There is no charge for students, residents and fellows.

SUBMIT HERE

Submit here (students, residents, fellows).

Submission Deadline January 10, 2024 Winners announced March 29, 2024 (updated)

Judges have Included  Drs. Lucy Kalanithi and Daniel Mason, Stanford physician writers, Dr. Jay Baruch, Brown University Alpert School of Medicine physician writer, Dr. Irène Mathieu, Assistant Director, Program in Health Humanities,  University of Virginia, Grace Li, MD candidate and author, and Executive Director of Stanford Medical Humanities & Arts program, Jacqueline Genovese

Award Total of 3 winners, one from each genre will be awarded a cash prize of $300. 

Honorarium made possible by the generosity of a Stanford Palliative Care benefactor.

Winners will be published in Anastomosis , Stanford University School of Medicine’s humanities and literary journal. 

Open to all. Please share widely. 

Royal Medical Benevolent Fund

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Essay competitions, awards and prizes

If you have a flair for essay writing, then look out for competitions run by the Royal Colleges and many other professional medical associations, usually to encourage interest in their specialty. Closing dates for submission fall throughout the year so keep your eyes open!

Some organisations that run competitions include:

British Association of Dermatologists

• British Association of Forensic Medicine
• General Medical Council
• Medical Women’s Federation
• Pain Relief Foundation
• Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
• Royal College of Ophthalmologists
• Royal College of Pathologists
• Royal College of General Practitioners
• Royal College of Radiologists
• Royal Society of Medicine (for members only, costs £25 a year to join)
• Institute of Medical Ethics (for F1 & F2 UK doctors)

Project Funding

Some organisations and Trusts offer funding for research projects, vacation research work experience and intercalated degree year research. We’ve compiled a list of these, again it isn’t exhaustive so we do encourage further research.

Some of these applications may require a supporting statement from a member of academic staff. Check criteria carefully before applying.

The Biochemical Society

Grants are available for stipends of £200 per week for 6 – 8 weeks, and up to £1,600 in total, to support a summer placement in a lab for an undergraduate student. Applications must be made on behalf of and in association with a named student.

Website: www.biochemistry.org Email: [email protected]

The British Association of Dermatologists offer a range of awards between £250 and £3,000 towards fees and living expenses for an intercalated year project related to dermatology and skin biology. It also offers £500 undergraduate project grants.

Website: www.bad.org.uk Email: [email protected]

Association for the Study of Medical Education

The Association for the Study of Medical Education offers awards related to the development of excellent medical education. Applications are welcomed from anyone on the continuum of medical education (UG, PG or qualified and studying professional development) and will be assessed against their criteria. They also have a number of other essay prizes available and awards so it is worth researching their website.

Tel: 0131 225 9111 Website: www.asme.org.uk Email: [email protected]

The Genetics Society

The Genetics Society Summer Studentship scheme offers grants of up to £3,000 for undergraduate students interested in gaining research experience in any area of genetics by carrying out a research project over the long vacation ( more information ). They also have a range of competitions and awards that you can look into on their website.

Website: https://genetics.org.uk/grants/summer-studentships/  Email: [email protected]

The Institute of Medical Ethics

The Institute of Medical Ethics (IME) offers grants, student elective bursaries, and scholarships (covering the next academic year) for students wishing to do an intercalated degree in medical ethics or an allied subject.

Website: https://ime-uk.org/grants-and-competitions/ 

The Physiological Society

Vacation Studentships offer undergraduates the opportunity to undertake a research project on an area of physiology over their summer break. Working under an academic supervisor, they can get to experience day-to-day life in the laboratory first-hand. Funding of £150 a week, to cover living costs, is on offer for up to eight weeks.

Website: www.physoc.org Email: [email protected]

The Pathological Society

Funding for students wanting to intercalate a BSc in Pathology but who do not have LEA or other government support. Also offer awards to fund electives and vacation studies in pathology.

Website: www.pathsoc.org

The Paget’s Association

The Paget’s Association awards Student Research Bursaries of up to £6,000 to promising UK medical or science students (MRes, MSc, BSc or equivalent higher degree) to pursue research into any aspects of Paget’s Disease of Bone.

Tel: 0161 799 4646 Website

Other resources

The list above is not exhaustive so we do encourage further research.

A good place to start is RD Learning , a database of health-related research funding opportunities.

Please contact us if you notice any broken links, of any other funding opportunities or if any options are no longer running.

medmentor ®

Year 12 essay competitions for medicine (updated 2022), essay competitions you can enter to make your medicine application stand out..

Why should I enter an essay competition?

One unique way of making your medicine application stand out is by entering various essay competitions that are relevant to science, technology, or healthcare.

By entering (and winning) essay competitions, medical schools will see that:

• You take an interest in medicine and education beyond what you're taught in your curriculum
• You're very proactive and dedicated
• You have excellent time management skills as you can juggle this with other academic commitments
• You're interested in writing and research

You don't need to win the competition for this to look good in your application. The fact that you've gone through all the effort to apply is fantastic in itself. It's something you can write about in your personal statement and bring up in your interviews. It's also something your teachers can write on your UCAS reference too.

It's important to remember there are many other important skills admission tutors andinterviewers will be looking for during your application. Our Medmentor SuperPack is tailor-made to help track your progress and plug any gaps to ensure you're the holistic candidate that every medical school is looking for.

Essay competitions for Year 12 students applying to medicine

Throughout the year, there are different essay competitions open for sixth form students to enter. We've compiled a list of some of the ones that are most relevant for your medicine application. Some of the deadlines are soon, whilst others are in a few months, so be selective and make sure you're giving yourself enough time to write something that is of a high standard.

American Society of Human Genetics Annual DNA Day Essay Contest

https://www.ashg.org/dna-day/ - Deadline: 2nd March 2022

You're expected to write a 750 word essay answering the following questions:

• How do Mendel’s discoveries help us understand Mendelian disorders?
• How does the study of Mendelian disorders help us understand complex diseases?

Please note essays must be submitted by a teacher or administrator however if you are home schooled parent submission is acceptable.

Newnham College University of Cambridge Medicine Essay Prize

https://newn.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Medicine-Information-and-Questions-2022.pdf - Deadline: 11th March 2022 at 12pm

Open to all female students currently in Year 12 at a UK state school. Choose 1 question from:

• How realistic is it to develop a small molecule therapy for Covid-19? Could such a therapy be rolled out in a timeframe that it could have an impact on the current pandemic?
• Sleep deprivation in clinical health settings. Does it matter?
• Looking to the future. Will stem cell therapies be outpaced by machine-brain interfaces for the treatment of retinal disease?

Minds Underground Medicine Competition

https://www.mindsunderground.com/medicine-competition - Deadline: 31st March 2022

Choose 1 question from:

• If you could invent a new drug, what would it be and why?
• What will the impact of an ageing population on the NHS look like?
• "This idea must die: We can't find new antimicrobials fast enough to make a difference." Do you agree?

Minds Underground Psychology Competition

‍ www.mindsunderground.com/psychology-competition - Deadline: 31st March 2022

• What is more important: nature or nurture?
• Psychology Challenge: Design a research study.
• Does consciousness exist – how can we test for it?

Minds Underground Advanced Sciences Competition

www.mindsunderground.com/sciences-competition - Deadline: 31st March 2022

The questions you can choose from cover the different STEM subjects. Therefore, it may be preferable to select the one most closely related to medicine:

• Some people have argued that the discovery of DNA was the greatest scientific discovery of the 20th Century. Do you agree?

The Libra Education Essay Prize

‍ www.libraeducation.co.uk/essay-prize ‍ - Deadline: 24th June 2022

You have a lot more flexibility and autonomy with this competition, where you can choose any essay title inspired by the following words.

The words that are arguably most relevant to medicine, science, and healthcare include 'sustainability', 'memory', and 'senses', though you can definitely make links with any of the words. For example, somebody could choose to write an essay on "Why is sustainability important in healthcare?" or "How has the pandemic impacted healthcare sustainability ?"

For these types of essays, think boldly and be unique if you want your essay to stand out.

Essay competitions for Year 12 students that will open later this year

Various other competitions will open up throughout the year. Keep tabs on these two pages below as their competitions will open up later this year.

• Robinson College Essay Prize (University of Cambridge) - https://www.robinson.cam.ac.uk/prospective-students/essay-prize
• University of Oxford Sixth-form prize in Medicine - https://www.ndorms.ox.ac.uk/research/research-groups/oxford-trauma/university-of-oxford-sixth-form-prize-in-medicine

How important are essay competitions for Year 12 students? 

We would only recommend going out of your way to participate in essay competitions if you're quite comfortable with your academic grade. To write a good essay, you'll need to do extra reading and research in the topic area, and this can take some time. If your time is better spent revising and securing your grades, then please prioritise this. Essays are just another way to help your medicine application stand out, but they are by no means essential.

If you do have the time for it and you're not compromising your other commitments, then you've got nothing to lose - so give it your best shot!

Can I do anything else besides enter an essay competition? 

If you're not quite ready to commit to an essay, you can also consider submitting articles to particular magazines or news outlets. If you're lucky, your piece may feature on their magazine, and this is sure to impress medical schools.

These don't have to be related to medicine or healthcare, it can be about your life as a student and any challenges you're experiencing. Even though it may not directly relate to medicine, it's certainly impressive and will show the medical school that you're not afraid to put yourself out there. For example:

• Consider writing for the Llama magazine: https://www.llamamag.com/about-the-llama/
• Push yourself further and submit a pitch to the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/sep/23/blogging-students-how-to-pitch-and-blog

Discover more golden opportunities to help you stand out in our Blog , Navigator and/or Superhub.

Recommended articles: How to Become a COVID-19 Vaccinator , Summer School Opportunities for Medical School Applications & Online Courses for Medical School Applicants

Prepare for Success with the SuperPack

• College of Medicine Student Essay Prize 2024

Every year, The College of Medicine Student Essay Prize recognises and celebrates the integration of conventional and complementary approaches to healthcare.

The award is open to UK students studying any healthcare discipline at degree level or above. Entries for 2025 will open in September – keep checking back for more details!

We’re delighted to include the essays of our winners in 2024 below…you can follow our Young Fellows on social media at instagram.com/collegeofmedstudents , and check out the Student Conference 2024 highlights here .

ESSAY QUESTION 2024

According to the “Women’s Health – Let’s Talk About It Survey” approximately 84% feel that they are not listened to by healthcare professionals. What is going wrong? How can this be remedied and what are the health gains of doing so?

WINNER PIHU TEWARI’S ESSAY

WINNER RAINA XING’S ESSAY

WINNER MARTHA HUGHES’ ESSAY

ARCHIVE: NEED SOME INSPIRATION? ESSAYS FROM PAST WINNERS

2019 essay prize

2018 essay prize

2017 essay prize

2016 essay prize

2015 essay prize

2014 essay prize

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Medical Student Essay Prize

Twice a year the BSDS sets and essay title on a topic related to dermatological surgery and offers a prize for the winning essays.

The BSDS Medical Student Essay Prize (previously titled Undergraduate Essay Prize) is open to anyone who has medical student status at the time of application or who graduates that year.

The title for the next Essay Prize is:

“ Use your creativity to show us how you would safely and efficiently train a medical student to perform an ellipse excision”

This could take the form of:

• A PowerPoint lesson plan (maximum 3 slides)
• An instructional video (real life or computer animated – maximum 5 minutes)
• An artistic presentation (drawings/photographs/combination of) (No PDF please)

The prize for the winning essay will be £300.

BSDS Medical Student Essay Prize Application Form – July 2024

Deadline for submissions:  31st July 2024

Previous Essay Prize Winners

Click to view previous essays.

• 2023, July –      “How can we ensure valid consent in dermatologic surgery in the era of teledermatology and one-stop clinics?” –  Zoe Hemsley, Cambridge University.
• 2023, January –  “ What are the most important priorities for skin surgery and skin cancer research and why?”  –  Mohammed J Ali, Hull York Medical School  
• 2022, July – “ You’re on mute! – Potentials and pitfalls with remote teaching in skin surgery” – Jessica McKeever, University of Dundee
• 2022, January –  “What beneficial changes has the pandemic made to dermatological surgery?” Sukhmunni Johal Oxford University
• 2021, July – “Will artificial intelligence and automated technology replace the need for Dermatologists to diagnose skin cancer in the future?” Laura Leeves, Kings College London.
• 2021, January –   “How do we optimise operator safety during dermatological surgery?”   Mahaveer Singh Sangha University of London Medical School
• 2020, July –  “How do we optimise patients experience of dermatological surgical procedures?”   Anastasia Constantinou, University of Cambridge
• 2020, January –   “How can dermatological surgery become more environmentally friendly?”   Chaplin Catriona, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry
• 2019, July –       What will dermatological surgery look like in 2050?  For this submission, the essay format had been changed to a 5-minute long video.  Outcome Details coming soon.
• 2019, January  –  “Which doctors would make the best skin surgeons? Can we predict ability prior to training?”  Pimentel-Velazquez Diana, Barts & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London
• 2018, July  –  “Will artificial intelligence and automated technology replace the need for Dermatologists to diagnosis skin cancer in the future? ” Selvendran Sara, Imperial College London
• 2018, January  –  “Skin cancer and patients’ use of Dermatology apps – a cause for concern or the future of healthcare provision?”  Yi Jia Teo, University College Cork School of Medicine, National University of Ireland
• 2017, July –  “Should NHS patients have access to scar management?”   Kelsey Aimar, University of Nottingham
• 2017, January –  Two prizes awarded: “If Mohs skin surgery is the ‘gold standard for non-melanoma skin cancer treatment’, why doesn’t eveyone have it?”  Ali Ansaripour , Kings College London GKT School of Medical Education and  Antonio Ji Xu , Oxford University Medical School
• 2016, July –  “Discuss the technological advances in dermatological and reconstructive surgery that have had the greatest impact on skin cancer patients”  Joseph Jayasundera, King’s College London
• 2016, January –  “Discuss the impact of targeted molecular skin cancer therapies on dermatological surgery” Anna Ascott, Barts and The London
• 2015, July –  “How should we measure the “best” outcomes for skin cancer surgery?” Mahdi Saleh, Keele University
• 2015, January  –  “There is no need to treat any skin cancer with Mohs surgery – discuss “ Monty Lyman, University of Birmingham
• 2014  –  “How can patient expectations relating to skin cancer surgery be assessed and addressed?” Joseph Colclough, University of Glasgow 2014  –  “How can patient expectations relating to skin cancer surgery be assessed and addressed?”  Katherine Farquhar, University of Glasgow
• 2013  – “ Skin Cancer and Vitamin D “ Verity Williams, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London.
• 2012  – “ Skin cancer surgery: who should do it and why? “ James Womersley, Peninsula College of Medicine & Dentistry, Universities of Exeter & Plymouth.
• 2011  – “ Rising skin cancer incidence: current and future impact on dermatological surgery “ Sarah Gentry, University of Exeter and Plymouth College of Medicine.
• 2010  – “ The role of technology in dermatological surgery “ George Coltart, Oxford University.
• 2009  – “ What is the role of the dermatologist in the management of Skin Cancer? “ Justice Reilly, Glasgow University Medical School.
• 2008  – “ The impact of climate change on skin cancer “ Laura Thomas, Imperial College. 2008  – “ The impact of climate change on skin cancer “ Rory Honney, Oxford University.
• 2007  – “ Discuss aspects of healing in skin surgery “ Faisal Ali, Oxford University.
• 2006  – “ Surgical and emotional scars of skin cancer “ Daniel Todkill, Warwick University

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• Accessibility

Student Prizes for Biomedical Sciences and Medicine 2022-2023

Awards and Appointments General Staff and student stories

1 June 2023

Congratulations to all our Biomedical Sciences students and Medicine students who have been awarded prizes during the 2022-2023 academic year.

John Potter Essay Prize

The prize, to the approximate value of £300, is offered annually and is open to clinical students working in Oxford for the Second Examination for the degree of Bachelor of Medicine.

The prize will be awarded for an essay on a clinical neurosurgical, neurological or neuropathological topic. The primary purpose of the prize will be the promotion of sound use of English and clarity of expression in medical writing. 

Joint winners:

• Gabrielle Cognacq, Graduate Entry, Year 3 (St Peter's College)
• Lena Zhu, Graduate Entry, Year 3 (Green Templeton College)

There were a record 13 entries for the prize in 2022/23.  The prize amount is £300 so the joint winners will get £150 each.

General Clinical Studies Prize

• Lottie Cansdal (St Hilda’s College)

Ledingham Prize in Medicine

Prize awarded for outstanding performance in Medicine in the General Clinical Studies Examination in Medicine and Surgery by the Examiners appointed for the Second BM examination:

• Afrose Dor (Wadham College)

Mortensen Prize in Surgery

Prize awarded for outstanding performance in Surgery in the General Clinical Studies Examination in Medicine and Surgery by the Examiners appointed for the Second BM examination:

• James Alden (Green Templeton College)

George Pickering Prize

Prize awarded for excellent performance in the Second BM examination:

• Scarlett Harris (Magdalen College)

John Freind Prize in Medical History

• Alexandra Knighton (Balliol College)

Sidney Truelove Prize in Gastroenterology

Prize, awarded annually to Clinical Medicine students, for an essay on a topic relating to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract:

• Srishti Rentala Venkata (Keble College)

JL Witts prize in Haematology or Gastroenterology

Prize, awarded annually to Clinical Medicine students, for an essay on a topic relating to diseases either of the blood or of the gastrointestinal tract:

• Beatrice Lander (Worcester College)

Renwick Vickers Prize in Dermatology

• Isabella Busa (Brasenose College)

MEAKINS McCLARAN MEDAL 2023

Prize awarded for the outstanding overall performance of a student admitted to the medicine course leading to the degrees of BM BCh (Oxon):

Sir Roger Bannister Neurology Prize 2022

Prize awarded annually for performance in the Year 5 Medical Student Neurology attachment:

• Desson Au-Yeung, Jesus College

Palliative Medicine Prize 2022-2023

The annual Palliative Medicine Prize is open to all Oxford clinical medical students who are invited to submit an essay on a current topic in Palliative Medicine.  Entrants are expected to demonstrate both a good grasp of the relevant philosophical, ethical and legal frameworks as well as using their experiences in practice as a lens through which to consider the clinical implications for individual patients and families.

• Malaika Ivey, St Anne’s College
• Iris-Mae Morse, Green Templeton College

Andrew Markus Essay Prize in Medical Ethics 2023

An annual student essay prize in Medical Ethics has been established in memory of Andrew Markus. Essays are invited from all medical students that contain an analysis of an ethical issue arising in medical practice, broadly conceived.

• Winner – Antoni Krupa, Corpus Christi College
• Second place – Ariff Castronovo, Pembroke College
• Runners up: Tolu Atilola (Worcester College), Tom Hatfield (Lincoln College), Rebecca Howitt (The Queen’s College), Tara Slade (St Peter’s College) and Morganne Wilbourne (St Peter’s College)

R.B. Duthie Prize 2022/23

This prize fund was established to mark the retirement of Professor R.B. Duthie as Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. A prize of £300 will be awarded annually to the best research, audit or quality improvement project undertaken by any clinical medical student in the field of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology, Trauma or Emergency Medicine.     

• Jesse Kimani, Green Templeton College

Peter Tizard Prize in Paediatrics 2022/23

The prize is awarded annually. The 3 to 5 students with the combined highest scores in the paediatric components of the end of year 5/GE year 3 exam (both MCQ and OSCE) will be invited to give a presentation to two examiners. The most outstanding student will receive the prize.

• Iwan Raza, Worcester College
• Isabella Busa (Brasenose College) and Rebecca Howitt (The Queen’s College) were awarded proxime accesserunt. 

Moher Prize in Primary Care 2022-23

The Moher Prize is the annual year 5 / GE year 3 student prize in Primary Care worth £300. The prize is awarded based upon a submission focusing on a topical Primary Care issue. There were a record 12 entries for the prize in 2022/23.

• Ryan Danvers (Oriel College) - Ryan’s project focused on creating a more equitable pathway for adult ADHD diagnosis in primary care, inspired by prolonged waiting times in the current NHS system.

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Kilsby student essay competition

We are listening to the voice of the next generation of healthcare professionals..

The BHMA runs an annual student essay competition to broadcast the voice of the best and most innovative thinking from those about to embark on a career in healthcare. We want your fresh insight and opinion on how to transform the health service into a more compassionate and caring version of its current self.

Our title for 2024 (BHMA’s 40th Anniversary):

‘Holistic Healthcare in Action: Reflections on the Past, Directions for the Future’ 

Please use 2 or 3 examples to illustrate your answer.

Essay option:

Essay of 1000-1500 words.

Creative Inquiry option:

The assignment should be in the form of a creative text (please submit photographs/DVD/music file as appropriate) alongside a written reflection of up to 1000 words. Marks will be allocated in four categories: Impact, Perception, Aesthetics and Reflection.

Please complete the form below along with your submission

Deadline June 30th

FIRST PRIZE – Essay and Creative Enquiry

• Your essay published in our journal and online
• Ticket to our conference & awards reception
• Free membership to the BHMA or free journal subscription for 1 year
• Your essay published online

For just £17 per annum, your student membership enables you to access our entire online library of the Journal of Holistic Healthcare plus 10-20% discounts on selected events, courses and other membership packages.

Many Ways of Knowing

JHH 20.3 Journeys into Medicine

Journeys Into Medicine

Health Creation and Creative Health

Holism and Medical Education

What’s missing from medical education?

Embodiment and bodywork

Integrative Medicine

Shifting the paradigm

Frontiers of self-care

Flourishing in Medical Education

Beyond COVID

Mind-body self-care

Stories in medicine

The Real Food Issue

Faith, hope and love in healthcare

Nature Connections

Social Prescribing

Healing Journeys

Transformative innovation in healthcare

Men’s Health

Women’s Health

Children’s Health

Saving the NHS

Nutrition and Lifestyle

Become an  Ambassador

How can a holistic perspective benefit practitioners, patients, and the planet? First Prize Essay

How can a holistic perspective benefit practitioners, patients, and the planet first prize creative enquiry, previous winners & runners-up.

Note that we have recently started publishing winners and a few other choice essays as blog posts. These appear in the side bar above.

2023: Sayed Adam Bukhari , King’s College London, How can a holistic perspective benefit practitioners, patients, and the planet?

2023: Felicity Smith , Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Arts and Crafts in Healthcare: What William Morris can Teach us About the Benefits of a Holistic Perspective for Practitioners, Patients and the Planet

2023: Kate Eustace , University College Dublin, How can a holistic perspective benefit practitioners, patients, and the planet?

2023: Alton Ajay Mathew , Medical University of Lodz, How can a holistic perspective benefit practitioners, patients, and the planet?

2022: Jonathan De Oliveira , St. George’s, University of London ‘What is missing in our clinical education’?

2022: Karla Hamlet , Canterbury Christ Church University – Creative Enquiry ‘What is missing in our clinical education?’ – The Student Voice

2022: Hamaad Khan , University College London ‘What is missing in our clinical education?’

2022: Lucy Butterfield , University of Manchester – Creative Enquiry ‘What is missing in our clinical education?’

2022: Andrew Zhou , University of Cambridge – Creative Enquiry ‘What is missing in our clinical education?’

2022: Pervana Kaur , University of Karol Marnkowski ‘What is missing in our clinical education?’

2021: Deeya Kotecha , Cambridge ‘ How can holistic healthcare influence health inequalities ‘

2021: Jabin Chowdhury , Birmingham ‘ If holistic healthcare is the answer what is the question? A take on healthcare inequality ‘

2021: Annie McKirgan , Liverpool ‘ All Animals are Equal … Or are They? ‘

2020: Lauren Wheeler, Imperial College London Faculty of Medicine ‘Holistic lessons from a pandemic…prevention is better than cure’

2020: Isabel Allison, University of Birmingham ‘Holistic lessons from a pandemic’

2020: Megan, University of Southampton: ‘Holistic lessons from a pandemic: Does anyone have a spare pen?’

2020: Simran , University of Southampton ‘Holistic Lessons from a pandemic: ‘All Lives Can’t Truly Matter Until Black Lives Matter’ ‘

2019: Jessica Frost Birmingham Medical School Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food

2019: Aaron Morjaria King’s College, London Is food the foundation for good health?

2019: Josephine Elliot University College, London Is food the foundation for good health?

2018: Thomas Christie Templeton College, Oxford Social Prescribing – are drugs or people the better cure?

2017: Fiona Field Imperial College London Re-imagining healthcare – in partnership with nature

2017: James Bevan University of Southampton Re-imagining healthcare – in partnership with nature

2017: Maddie Leadon University of Cambridge Re-imagining healthcare – in partnership with nature

2016: Robbie Newman Imperial College London Are we medicalising human experience? A radical review

2016: Alice Redfern University of Oxford Are we medicalising human experience? A radical review

2016: Vinay Mandagere University of Bristol Diagnosis: Are we medicalising human experience? A radical review

2015 Julius Kremling Germany, Why connection matters: Understanding patients’ illness by understanding their reality

2015: Tamar Witztum University of Bristol, Resilience in holistic care: Learning from Alice Herz-Sommer

2015: Lucy Brenner Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Cultivating compassion – students to lead the way?

2015: Eleanor Tanner University of Birmingham The Star of Compassion

2014: Olivia Sjökvist University of Hull, Coping with your own vulnerability in caring for a person who has a long-term condition

2014: Laura Clapham King’s College, London Coping with your own vulnerability in caring for a person who has a long-term condition

2014: Chiara Catterwell-Sinkeldam, King’s College London Coping with your own vulnerability in caring for a person who has a long-term condition

2013 Kundan Iqbal The importance of holism in medical care today and ways this can be promoted

2012 Reanne Jones Tears of Joy, tears of sorrow

2011 Thea Collins 2030: What made the NHS sustainable?

2010 Jason Ferdjani Improving global well being, improving personal well being

2009 Krishna Steedhar Student’s health matters

2008 Phoebe Votolato Being a Medical student

2007 Lewis Morgan A good holistic practitioner

Previous winners came from:

Privacy Overview

Learn more about this year's exciting essay prize

Cottrell essay prize for medicine and veterinary medicine.

As a College, we aim to tackle the pressing issues of the twenty-first century, and we have designed this year’s questions to get to the heart of the most important issues affecting Medicine and Veterinary Medicine during this extraordinary time.

Students in Year 12 (S5 - Scotland, Y13 - N.I.) attending a UK state school  are invited to choose one question from either Medicine and Veterinary and submit an essay of between 1,000-1,500 words by the 6th June 2022 .

We will award one £100 first prize and two £50 second place prizes in both Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Both Medicine and Veterinary Medicine will also have an unlimited number of highly commended prizes available.

Select only one question and answer from either a medical perspective or a veterinary perspective, or a perspective that considers both:

• Assess how successfully the government has mitigated the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the profession and the sector.
• There is a strong ecological case for becoming a vegan. Consider the implications if everyone did.
• ‘Diet plays a far greater role in determining health than we like to admit. Practitioners should be far more honest about this, and far less concerned about causing offence.’ Discuss. If discussing from a veterinary perspective, consider within your answer the recent increase in popularity of raw meat-based diets (RMBDs).
• Should people who refuse vaccination for themselves/their pets be denied treatment for any associated illnesses they develop?
• ‘The fact that we can prolong life does not mean that we always should.’  Discuss.
• Microbial resistance to antibiotics is an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality. How should we reduce our dependence upon antibiotics?

How to Enter

Read our guidance document for full details on the Cottrell Essay Prize 2022

All completed entries must be received no later than 9am on Monday 6th June 2022 . Your entry must be verified by your teacher by 9am on Monday 13th June 2022 . 

Once you are ready to submit your entry, you can do so using the link below. Please ensure you have fully read and understood our guidance document before writing and submitting your essay.

Submit your essay

Support Sessions

This year, we are running a programme of support sessions to provide guidance to students entering the Cottrell Essay Prize. These sessions will offer you the opportunity to develop your essay-writing skills and gain an insight into university-level study. The live sessions have now taken place, but recordings and slides for each session can be found in the dropdown boxes below.

Date: Monday 9th May, 4pm-5pm

In this session, the Lucy Cavendish College Librarian provides advice on how to research and explore available materials in preparation for your essay, and offers an introduction to referencing.

Date: Monday 16th May, 5pm-6pm

In this session, our Outreach Officer will discuss how to think analytically about your chosen essay question and the resources you have engaged with. The session will also provide advice on how to evaluate material and make compelling arguments. 

Date: Monday 23rd May, 5pm-6pm

In this session, our Outreach Officer will discuss how to thread together your research and critical thinking into an engaging essay. 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our Outreach & Admissions Team at [email protected].

Exploring your subject

Interested in finding resources to explore Medicine or Veterinary Medicine?

Applying to study in October 2020?

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• Discover pathology

Introducing this year’s essay competitions

6 January 2023

Calling all undergraduates and Foundation doctors – our 2023 essay prizes are now open!

The Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize and the Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize are posthumously named after two brilliant pathologists, who contributed a huge amount to the College and to pathology education.

The essay prizes provide an excellent opportunity for undergraduates and Foundation doctors interested in a pathology career to explore and write about a pathology topic in depth and boost their CV ahead of applying for Foundation/specialty training.

Prize winners will be awarded £250 and will have their essay published on our website and in the College magazine, the Bulletin . The winning entry in each category will also be published on the RCPath website and the writers of the winning essays will be presented with a certificate at an RCPath event.

This year's essay questions centre around the current and future impact of pathology within the healthcare team, in celebration of the NHS's 75th anniversary. Undergraduates are invited to answer the following question: ‘When the NHS was introduced, it was said that it would care for people ‘from the cradle to the grave’. 75 years later, how does this apply to pathology?'. Meanwhile, Foundation doctors have the opportunity to explore how pathologists will shape healthcare over the next 75 years.

College members are encouraged to spread the word about both competitions to undergraduates and Foundation doctors within their networks. More information about the competition, downloadable e-flyers and the winning essays from previous years can be found on our essay competitions page .

Thadcha Retneswaran

• Communications Officer

Essay  COMPETITION

2024 global essay prize, registrations are now open all essayists must register  here  before friday 31 may, 2024.

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. Our Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of our essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.

The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.

Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?

Q2. Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?

Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?

Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?

Q3. When is compliance complicity?

Q1. What is the optimal global population?  

Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?

Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?

Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?

Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?

Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?

Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?

Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?

Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?

Q1. According to a study by researchers at four British universities, for each 15-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by around 35% for a man but decreases by around 58% for a woman. Why?

In the original version of this question we misstated a statistic. This was caused by reproducing an error that appeared in several media summaries of the study. We are grateful to one of our contestants, Xinyi Zhang, who helped us to see (with humility and courtesy) why we should take more care to check our sources. We corrected the text on 4 April. Happily, the correction does not in any way alter the thrust of the question.

Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?

Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?

Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?

Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?

Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

JUNIOR prize

Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?

Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?

Q3. Is there life after death?

Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise? 

Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?

Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies? 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER DETAILS

Please read the following carefully.

Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 is open to students from any country.

Registration  

Only candidates who registered before the registration deadline of Friday, 31 May 2024 may enter this year's competition. To register, click here .  

All entries must be submitted by 11.59 pm BST on  the submission deadline: Sunday, 30 June 2024 .  Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)

Entry is free.

Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration). 

The filename of your pdf must be in this format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf; so, for instance, Alexander Popham would submit his answer to question 2 in the Psychology category with the following file name:

Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf

Essays with filenames which are not in this format will be rejected.

The candidate's name should NOT appear within the document itself. 

Candidates should NOT add footnotes. They may, however, add endnotes and/or a Bibliography that is clearly titled as such.

Each candidate will be required to provide the email address of an academic referee who is familiar with the candidate's written academic work. This should be a school teacher, if possible, or another responsible adult who is not a relation of the candidate. The John Locke Institute will email referees to verify that the essays submitted are indeed the original work of the candidates.

Submissions may be made as soon as registration opens in April. We recommend that you submit your essay well in advance of th e deadline to avoid any last-minute complications.

Acceptance of your essay depends on your granting us permission to use your data for the purposes of receiving and processing your entry as well as communicating with you about the Awards Ceremony Dinner, the academic conference, and other events and programmes of the John Locke Institute and its associated entities.  

Late entries

If for any reason you miss the 30 June deadline you will have an opportunity to make a late entry, under two conditions:

a) A late entry fee of 20.00 USD must be paid by credit card within twenty-four hours of the original deadline; and

b) Your essay must be submitted  before 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.

To pay for late entry, a registrant need only log into his or her account, select the relevant option and provide the requested payment information.

Our grading system is proprietary. Essayists may be asked to discuss their entry with a member of the John Locke Institute’s faculty. We use various means to identify plagiarism, contract cheating, the use of AI and other forms of fraud . Our determinations in all such matters are final.

Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful .

Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.

The writers of the best essays will receive a commendation and be shortlisted for a prize. Writers of shortlisted essays will be notified by 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 31 July. They will also be invited to London for an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner in September, where the prize-winners will be announced. Unlike the competition itself, the academic conference and awards dinner are not free. Please be aware that n obody is required to attend either the academic conference or the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London.

All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate. 

There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome.

The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or visiting scholars programmes. 

The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

R egistration opens: 1 April, 2024.

Registration deadline: 31 May, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)

Submission deadline: 30 June, 2024.

Late entry deadline: 10 July, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by 1 July.)

Notification of short-listed essayists: 31 July, 2024.

Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024.

Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024.

Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected] . Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query. In particular, regrettably, we are unable to respond to questions whose answers can be found on our website.

If you would like to receive helpful tips  from our examiners about what makes for a winning essay or reminders of upcoming key dates for the 2024  essay competition, please provide your email here to be added to our contact list. .

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The John Locke Institute's Global Essay Prize is acknowledged as the world's most prestigious essay competition. 

We welcome tens of thousands of submissions from ambitious students in more than 150 countries, and our examiners - including distinguished philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, psychologists, theologians, and legal scholars - read and carefully assess every entry. 

I encourage you to register for this competition, not only for the hope of winning a prize or commendation, and not only for the chance to join the very best contestants at our academic conference and gala ceremony in London, but equally for the opportunity to engage in the serious scholarly enterprise of researching, reflecting on, writing about, and editing an answer to one of the important and provocative questions in this year's Global Essay Prize. 

We believe that the skills you will acquire in the process will make you a better thinker and a more effective advocate for the ideas that matter most to you.

I hope to see you in September!

Best wishes,

Jamie Whyte, Ph.D. (C ANTAB ) 

Chairman of Examiners

Q. I missed the registration deadline. May I still register or submit an essay?

A. No. Only candidates who registered before 31 May will be able to submit an essay. 

Q. Are footnote s, endnotes, a bibliography or references counted towards the word limit?

A. No. Only the body of the essay is counted. 

Q. Are in-text citations counted towards the word limit? ​

A. If you are using an in-text based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.

Q. Is it necessary to include foo tnotes or endnotes in an essay? ​

A. You  may not  include footnotes, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. You should give your sources of any factual claims you make, and you should ackn owledge any other authors on whom you rely.​

Q. I am interested in a question that seems ambiguous. How should I interpret it?

A. You may interpret a question as you deem appropriate, clarifying your interpretation if necessary. Having done so, you must answer the question as directly as possible.

Q. How strict are  the age eligibility criteria?

A. Only students whose nineteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. In the case of the Junior category, only students whose fifteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. 

Q. May I submit more than one essay?

A. Yes, you may submit as many essays as you please in any or all categories.

Q. If I am eligible to compete in the Junior category, may I also (or instead) compete in another category?

A. Yes, you may.

Q. May I team up with someone else to write an essay?  

A. No. Each submitted essay must be entirely the work of a single individual.

Q. May I use AI, such as ChatGPT or the like, in writing my essay?

A. All essays will be checked for the use of AI. If we find that any content is generated by AI, your essay will be disqualified. We will also ask you, upon submission of your essay, whether you used AI for  any  purpose related to the writing of your essay, and if so, you will be required to provide details. In that case, if, in our judgement, you have not provided full and accurate details of your use of AI, your essay will be disqualified. 

Since any use of AI (that does not result in disqualification) can only negatively affect our assessment of your work relative to that of work that is done without using AI, your safest course of action is simply not to use it at all. If, however, you choose to use it for any purpose, we reserve the right to make relevant judgements on a case-by-case basis and we will not enter into any correspondence. 

Q. May I have someone else edit, or otherwise help me with, my essay?

A. You may of course discuss your essay with others, and it is perfectly acceptable for them to offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses in your writing or content, leaving you to address them.

However, no part of your essay may be written by anyone else. This means that you must edit your own work and that while a proofreader may point out errors, you as the essayist must be the one to correct them. 

Q. Do I have to attend the awards ceremony to win a prize? ​

A. Nobody is required to attend the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London. But if we invite you to London it is because your essay was good enough - in the opinion of the First Round judges - to be at least a contender for First, Second or Third Prize. Normally the Second Round judges will agree that the short-listed essays are worth at least a commendation.

Q. Is there an entry fee?

A. No. There is no charge to enter our global essay competition unless you submit your essay after the normal deadline, in which case there is a fee of 20.00 USD .

Q. Can I receive a certificate for my participation in your essay competition if I wasn't shortlisted? 

A. No. Certificates are awarded only for shortlisted essays. Short-listed contestants who attend the award ceremony in London will receive a paper certificate. If you cannot travel to London, you will be able to download your eCertificate.

Q. Can I receive feedba ck on my essay? 

A. We would love to be able to give individual feedback on essays but, unfortunately, we receive too many entries to be able to comment on particular essays.

Q. The deadline for publishing the names of short-listed essayists has passed but I did not receive an email to tell me whether I was short-listed.

A. Log into your account and check "Shortlist Status" for (each of) your essay(s).

Q. Why isn't the awards ceremony in Oxford this year?

A. Last year, many shortlisted finalists who applied to join our invitation-only academic conference missed the opportunity because of capacity constraints at Oxford's largest venues. This year, the conference will be held in central London and the gala awards dinner will take place in an iconic London ballroom. 

TECHNICAL FAQ s

Q. The system will not accept my essay. I have checked the filename and it has the correct format. What should I do?  

A. You have almost certainly added a space before or after one of your names in your profile. Edit it accordingly and try to submit again.

Q. The profile page shows my birth date to be wrong by a day, even after I edit it. What should I do?

A. Ignore it. The date that you typed has been correctly input to our database. ​ ​

Q. How can I be sure that my registration for the essay competition was successful? Will I receive a confirmation email?

A. You will not receive a confirmation email. Rather, you can at any time log in to the account that you created and see that your registration details are present and correct.

TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR SUBMISSION

If you are unable to submit your essay to the John Locke Institute’s global essay competition, your problem is almost certainly one of the following.

If so, please proceed as indicated.

1) PROBLEM: I receive the ‘registrations are now closed’ message when I enter my email and verification code. SOLUTION. You did not register for the essay competition and create your account. If you think you did, you probably only provided us with your email to receive updates from us about the competition or otherwise. You may not enter the competition this year.

2) PROBLEM I do not receive a login code after I enter my email to enter my account. SOLUTION. Enter your email address again, checking that you do so correctly. If this fails, restart your browser using an incognito window; clear your cache, and try again. Wait for a few minutes for the code. If this still fails, restart your machine and try one more time. If this still fails, send an email to [email protected] with “No verification code – [your name]” in the subject line.

SUBMITTING AN ESSAY

3) PROBLEM: The filename of my essay is in the correct format but it is rejected. SOLUTION: Use “Edit Profile” to check that you did not add a space before or after either of your names. If you did, delete it. Whether you did or did not, try again to submit your essay. If submission fails again, email [email protected] with “Filename format – [your name]” in the subject line.

4) PROBLEM: When trying to view my submitted essay, a .txt file is downloaded – not the .pdf file that I submitted. SOLUTION: Delete the essay. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “File extension problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

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7) PROBLEM: I have a problem with submitting and it is not addressed above on this list. SOLUTION: Restart your machine. Clear your browser’s cache. Try to submit again. If this fails, email [email protected] with “Unlisted problem – [your name]” in the subject line. Your email must tell us exactly the nature of your problem with relevant screen caps.

READ THIS BEFORE YOU EMAIL US.

Do not email us before you have tried the specified solutions to your problem.

Do not email us more than once about a single problem. We will respond to your email within 72 hours. Only if you have not heard from us in that time may you contact us again to ask for an update.

If you email us regarding a problem, you must include relevant screen-shots and information on both your operating system and your browser. You must also declare that you have tried the solutions presented above and had a good connection to the internet when you did so.

If you have tried the relevant solution to your problem outlined above, have emailed us, and are still unable to submit before the 30 June deadline on account of any fault of the John Locke Institute or our systems, please do not worry: we will have a way to accept your essay in that case. However, if there is no fault on our side, we will not accept your essay if it is not submitted on time – whatever your reason: we will not make exceptions for IT issues for which we are not responsible.

We reserve the right to disqualify the entries of essayists who do not follow all provided instructions, including those concerning technical matters.

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Woolf Essay Prize 2024

The Woolf Essay Prize 2024 is now open!

Woolf Essay Prize 2024 Information and Questions

In 1928, Virginia Woolf addressed the Newnham Arts Society on the Subject of ‘Women and Fiction’, and from this talk emerged her seminal text,  A Room of One’s Own . Newnham is very proud of its place in the history of women’s education, and we are delighted in the continuation of the Woolf Essay Prize.  A Room of One’s Own  raises a number of questions surrounding the place of women in society, culture, and education, and the competition allows students to contemplate these themes and ideas while developing the independent research and writing skills essential to university-level study.

This year, the Woolf Essay Prize is open to all Women in Year 12 (or equivalent), regardless of school or country. For more information, including the question list, word limit, and submission details, please consult the Information and Questions document. The deadline for submission is 09:00am BST on Monday 8th July 2024. For any queries not answered here, please contact [email protected].

The Woolf Essay Prize will run separately to our Essay Writing Masterclass Programme , which encompasses a variety of subject interests.

This prize may be of particular interest to those studying English Literature, History, Politics, Philosophy or Sociology, but we absolutely welcome entries from interested students studying any combination of subjects.

Find out more about  studying English Literature  at University of Cambridge

Meet  Shakespeare scholar Dr Bonnie Lander-Johnson

Read essays from previous winners of the Woolf Essay Prize 2022 here: 

First Prize :  Isobel Brewer

Second Prize :  Rose Rowland

Third Prize :  Annie Fogden

Congratulations to the author of our highly commended entries, Dorina Nentcheva, Mair Andrews, and Ruby Watts.

Please note information submitted as part of this competition will be used by the College for the purposes of assessing your essay as part of the Woolf Essay Prize. Certain personal details (questions 24-33 in the submission form) may also inform research which includes evaluation of the effectiveness of this programme for different types of participant, and equalities monitoring . All essay submissions are retained by the College permanently in the College Archive, with winning entries additionally published on the Newnham College website. If you have any questions about the use of your data, please contact [email protected] in the first instance.

Information about how your personal information will be used by us in connection with the administration of this event/activity, and for related purposes, is available here .

• For students

Prizes, Awards and Competitions

This page contains a list of the academic competitions, prizes and awards available to students at St George's. These competitions are run by leading medical organisations across the country and overseas. Visit their websites to find more information about their competitions and how to apply. 

Association for Palliative Medicine :  undergraduate students are invited to submit reports of a clinical audit, or an essay on palliative medicine to win prizes worth up to £250. 

British Association of Dermatologists :  various prizes available for an essay competition, a thesis competition (for Masters or PhD theses) and an elective prize/project grant for work relating to dermatology. Also offer a grant of £3000 for medical students undertaking an Intercalated degree relevant to dermatology or skin biology. 

The British Society for Clinical Neurophysiology : essay competition open to medical students on the topics of neurophysiology or neuroscience, with a prize of up to £500 

The British Geriatrics Society : grants, prizes and awards to encourage high-quality research and professional development for those interested in older people's healthcare.

The British Holistic Medical Association : an annual essay competition looking for innovative ideas from medical students, with a prixe of up to £250.

British Society for Haematology : annual essay competition that centres on haematology.

ENT UK undergraduate essay prize : annual essay competition focused on ENT, as well as an elective prize available to medical students.

Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships—Harvard University : pays full Harvard University tuition and provides a stipend to cover living expenses for a single fellow for the academic year. 

Guts UK Charity—Dr Falk Awards : Various prizes including an essay compeition on gastroenterology and a prize for medical students undertaking a science degree focusing on gastroenterology.

HealthWatch student prize : a competition that asks students to provide a critical appraisal of hypothetical research protocols.

The Marfan Trust studentships   :  offer two studentship opportunities involving work in the Sonalee Laboratory, one focused on Marfan syndrome. They also offer a competiton for the participants in the studentships for oustanding project and contribution to research. 

The Medical Council on Alcohol : an essay compeititon run every year and a design competition held every two years, both open to medical students.

Medical Women's Federation : travel funds, student grants, elective bursaries and an essay competition. 

MRC London Intervollrgiate Doctoral Partnership Studentships : The Doctoral Training Partnership, between St George's and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, offer studentships, which includes tuition fees, an annual stipend and additional support for research and training.

National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia : award for outstanding achievement  for postgraduate medical students and an undergraduate research award presented by the Royal College of Anaesthetists' president.

Pain Relief Foundation : an essay competition focused on an aspect of chronic pain. 

The Pathological Society : an essay competition for undergraduates.

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists : awards, grants and prizes handed out to medical students working to improve women's health care.

Royal College of Ophthalmologists—Duke Elder Examination : the candidate with the highest mark wins a visit to St John's Eye Hospital in Jerusalem, or a £400 cash prize.

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health—RCPCH Medical Student Prize : t he prize entitles an MBBS student to attend the RCPCH Annual Conference as a guest of the RCPCH. You will need to submit a short CV and a personal statement highlighting why you think you should be nominated. To apply or for more information, email  Vanessa Nsilu .

Royal College of Physicians : offers a variety of awards, prizes and bursaries. 

Royal College of Psychiatrists : offers a variety of prizes and awards to support psychiatric studies. 

Royal College of Radiologists : prizes for undergraduates, elective bursaries, research prizes and an essay competition focused on clinical radiology. 

Royal College of Surgeons of England—Medical Student prizes : an annual national award open to all UK medical students. 

The Royal Society of Medicine : the Royal Society offers a wide range of prizes, awards, travel grants and bursaries. 

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Opinion Psychiatrists learned the wrong lesson from the gay rights movement

Advocates for puberty blockers don’t have science on their side.

Benjamin Ryan is an independent journalist and has been covering LGBTQ health for over two decades.

Five decades ago, the world’s most powerful psychiatric association changed the course of LGBTQ civil rights history when it removed homosexuality from its influential bible of mental health disorders.

At annual meetings of the American Psychiatric Association during the early 1970s, activists and internal reformers compelled the association to host panels and discussions on the merits of the relevant research, fostering a rigorous debate about whether homosexuality should still be considered a pathology. The science won in 1974 and set in motion a parade of legal victories for the gay rights movement, including the right for same-sex couples to wed .

APA members gather in New York on Saturday for this same crucial meeting . The summit should again serve as a watershed moment in the care of LGBTQ people. This time, the pressing question facing American psychiatrists is how best to treat children who are distressed about their gender. In response to emerging analyses of the available research, health officials in several European nations have sharply restricted the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in this population — in some countries to research settings only. But the APA still endorses the use of these drugs as a front-line intervention for minors.

In 1974, the science lined up neatly with the demands of gay rights activists. But today, the science of pediatric gender medicine is uncertain, so it doesn’t back the cause the of groups leading the contemporary LGBTQ civil rights movement in the United States.

GLAAD has gone so far as to insist that “ the science is settled ” regarding pediatric gender transition. It is not. In fact, the field of pediatric gender medicine is woefully compromised by a critical lack of quality research . Evidence-based-medicine experts insist that we simply do not know whether gender-transition treatment is safe and effective for minors.

Understandably, APA leaders — and other empathetic everyday people — are wary of repeating the mistakes of the past and are inclined to stand with LGBTQ advocates, particularly as conservative groups fight for all manner of restrictive laws that target kids who identify as transgender.

During the past decade, nations across the globe saw a surge in children and adolescents with gender-related distress, a population with a high rate of other psychiatric conditions , autism and self-harm . This phenomenon has occurred amid an overall crisis in youth mental health . It is not a betrayal of gender-distressed young people’s complex needs to demand the highest possible quality of evidence to determine whether prescribing them medications that could rob them of their fertility and sexual function are in their best interest. It is the APA’s responsibility, free from ideology or politics, to make such demands — which are, in fact, in service of these young people’s well-being.

The APA’s signaling on best practices for the care of such young people is of paramount importance. The offices of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are often the entry point into gender-transition medicalization. And in U.S. gender clinics, a therapist typically must approve a minor’s referral to an endocrinologist for puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones.

The APA has been notably silent on a landmark report published last month that was commissioned by the British National Health Service. Called the Cass Review , it concluded that pediatric gender-transition treatment is based on “remarkably weak evidence.” The report is supported by seven independently conducted systematic literature reviews — the gold standard of scientific evidence. Their findings were in line with those of six previous such reviews, conducted by European and North American investigators and published since 2019.

The program for the 2024 APA annual meeting lists only one panel that touches on pediatric gender-transition treatment, titled “Channeling Your Passion and ‘Inner Outrage’ by Promoting Public Policy for Evidence-Based Transgender Care.”

The panel notably includes Jack Turban, a University of California at San Francisco child psychiatrist and a vocal supporter of broad access to gender-transition treatment. This week, he lashed out at the Cass Review on X and asserted that the associated literature reviews “ scored some of the studies incorrectly .” Turban didn’t mention the reviews deemed a few of his own widely referenced papers to be low quality.

The APA’s meeting has a proud history of transforming open debate over LGBTQ-related research and care and should do the same for trans-identifying kids. This should include asking themselves whether LGBTQ activism that once enhanced the understanding of science about this population is now clouding it.

The 1972 APA meeting included a panel featuring a gay psychiatrist who wore a gruesome costume mask and wig that disguised his identity. He opened his mouth and regaled a rapt crowd with his searing story about the agony of working from within the closet.

At the 1973 APA meeting, one psychiatrist panelist proclaimed, “All my gay patients are sick!” to which another replied, “ All my straight patients are sick! ” This rejoinder pointed to a fatal flaw in the research that had supported considering homosexuality a mental illness: Those supposedly scientific papers were largely based on psychiatric patients, not the general gay public; therefore their conclusions were weak and inconclusive.

The APA board was finally convinced. At the end of that year, it voted that homosexuality was not a mental disorder. The organization’s full membership effectively ratified this decision when a majority voted down a referendum to overturn it on April 8, 1974.

In March, I asked APA President Petros Levounis, who like me is a gay man, if the organization was taking into consideration the recent review papers on pediatric gender medicine.

“We do look very closely to international research,” Levounis, a psychiatrist, told me. “But this is something that has to also come through U.S. channels before we finalize our opinion.”

Now is the time for rigorous and open scientific debate in the United States about this vital subject among the nation’s psychiatrists. The APA needs to remember the power of its annual meeting to foster such a transformative free exchange of ideas. It needs to trade silence for science.

About guest opinion submissions

The Washington Post accepts opinion articles on any topic. We welcome submissions on local, national and international issues. We publish work that varies in length and format, including multimedia. Submit a guest opinion or read our guide to writing an opinion article .

Prizes for trainees

There are over 70 prizes available for those in clinical training.

Please note this page is updated regularly.

All submissions must be sent in by 11.59pm on the stated deadline date.

Generally prizes, awards or travel grants must be claimed before the end of the academic year in which they are gained (30 September).

For more information or help please contact [email protected]

General Practice with Primary Healthcare

CAIPE John Horder Team Award and John Horder Student Award

Deadline: Wednesday 31 July 2024

Open to: Individuals or teams working within the community who can demonstrate outstanding principles of collaborative working and the Student annual essay award offered to a student who has been involved with interprofessional learning or working, within the community.

Team Award prize:  Certificate of achievement and £600, Student Award prize:  Certificate of achievement and £150

Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Herbert Reiss Trainees Prize

Deadline: Thursday 1 August 2024

Open to: Specialty Registrar in a hospital specialty in obstetrics and gynaecology

Prizes: Oral 1st: £150, 2nd: £100 - Posters 1st: £100, 2nd: £75

Paediatrics & Child Health

Paediatrics & Child Health Section: Overseas bursary

Deadline: Tuesday 28 May 2024

Open to:  RSM Paediatrics & Child Health Section members of all grades

Prize: C overs the registration fee plus a contribution of £500 towards travel and hotel costs

Palliative Care

RSM Scholarship for Palliative Care trainees in their first year

Deadline: Sunday 9 June 2024

Open to: Trainees who are in their first year of Palliative Medicine training or those who have been formally accepted onto the Palliative Medicine training programme and will start their traineeship by 1 September 2024

Prize: Provision of RSM membership and event attendance, plus mentoring and professional development support

BSHNI annual oral presentation

Submission deadline: Sunday 12 May 2024

Open to: All delegates. The presenting author should register for the meeting and  will receive a complimentary conference dinner invitation.

"It’s a great privilege for our team to have been recognised by this prestigious award from the RSM Surgery Section and reflects the dedicated work behind this exciting innovation."

See more from prizes and awards  or hear from  previous prize winners.

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Guest Essay

In Medicine, the Morally Unthinkable Too Easily Comes to Seem Normal

By Carl Elliott

Dr. Elliott teaches medical ethics at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of the forthcoming book “The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No,” from which this essay is adapted.

Here is the way I remember it: The year is 1985, and a few medical students are gathered around an operating table where an anesthetized woman has been prepared for surgery. The attending physician, a gynecologist, asks the group: “Has everyone felt a cervix? Here’s your chance.” One after another, we take turns inserting two gloved fingers into the unconscious woman’s vagina.

Had the woman consented to a pelvic exam? Did she understand that when the lights went dim she would be treated like a clinical practice dummy, her genitalia palpated by a succession of untrained hands? I don’t know. Like most medical students, I just did as I was told.

Last month the Department of Health and Human Services issued new guidance requiring written informed consent for pelvic exams and other intimate procedures performed under anesthesia. Much of the force behind the new requirement came from distressed medical students who saw these pelvic exams as wrong and summoned the courage to speak out.

Whether the guidance will actually change clinical practice I don’t know. Medical traditions are notoriously difficult to uproot, and academic medicine does not easily tolerate ethical dissent. I doubt the medical profession can be trusted to reform itself.

What is it that leads a rare individual to say no to practices that are deceptive, exploitative or harmful when everyone else thinks they are fine? For a long time I assumed that saying no was mainly an issue of moral courage. The relevant question was: If you are a witness to wrongdoing, will you be brave enough to speak out?

But then I started talking to insiders who had blown the whistle on abusive medical research. Soon I realized that I had overlooked the importance of moral perception. Before you decide to speak out about wrongdoing, you have to recognize it for what it is.

This is not as simple as it seems. Part of what makes medical training so unsettling is how often you are thrust into situations in which you don’t really know how to behave. Nothing in your life up to that point has prepared you to dissect a cadaver, perform a rectal exam or deliver a baby. Never before have you seen a psychotic patient involuntarily sedated and strapped to a bed or a brain-dead body wheeled out of a hospital room to have its organs harvested for transplantation. Your initial reaction is often a combination of revulsion, anxiety and self-consciousness.

To embark on a career in medicine is like moving to a foreign country where you do not understand the customs, rituals, manners or language. Your main concern on arrival is how to fit in and avoid causing offense. This is true even if the local customs seem backward or cruel. What’s more, this particular country has an authoritarian government and a rigid status hierarchy where dissent is not just discouraged but also punished. Living happily in this country requires convincing yourself that whatever discomfort you feel comes from your own ignorance and lack of experience. Over time, you learn how to assimilate. You may even come to laugh at how naïve you were when you first arrived.

A rare few people hang onto that discomfort and learn from it. When Michael Wilkins and William Bronston started working at the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island as young doctors in the early 1970s, they found thousands of mentally disabled children condemned to the most horrific conditions imaginable: naked children rocking and moaning on concrete floors in puddles of their own urine; an overpowering stench of illness and filth; a research unit where children were deliberately infected with hepatitis A and B.

“It was truly an American concentration camp,” Dr. Bronston told me. Yet when he and Dr. Wilkins tried to enlist Willowbrook doctors and nurses to reform the institution, they were met with indifference or hostility. It seemed as if no one else on the medical staff could see what they saw. It was only when Dr. Wilkins went to a reporter and showed the world what was happening behind the Willowbrook walls that anything began to change.

When I asked Dr. Bronston how it was possible for doctors and nurses to work at Willowbrook without seeing it as a crime scene, he told me it began with the way the institution was structured and organized. “Medically secured, medically managed, doctor-validated,” he said. Medical professionals just accommodated themselves to the status quo. “You get with the program because that’s what you’re being hired to do,” he said.

One of the great mysteries of human behavior is how institutions create social worlds where unthinkable practices come to seem normal. This is as true of academic medical centers as it is of prisons and military units. When we are told about a horrific medical research scandal, we assume that we would see it just as the whistle-blower Peter Buxtun saw the Tuskegee syphilis study : an abuse so shocking that only a sociopath could fail to perceive it.

Yet it rarely happens this way. It took Mr. Buxtun seven years to convince others to see the abuses for what they were. It has taken other whistle-blowers even longer. Even when the outside world condemns a practice, medical institutions typically insist that the outsiders don’t really understand.

According to Irving Janis, a Yale psychologist who popularized the notion of groupthink, the forces of social conformity are especially powerful in organizations that are driven by a deep sense of moral purpose. If the aims of the organization are righteous, its members feel, it is wrong to put barriers in the way.

This observation helps explain why academic medicine not only defends researchers accused of wrongdoing but also sometimes rewards them. Many of the researchers responsible for the most notorious abuses in recent medical history — the Tuskegee syphilis study, the Willowbrook hepatitis studies, the Cincinnati radiation studies , the Holmesburg prison studies — were celebrated with professional accolades even after the abuses were first called out.

The culture of medicine is notoriously resistant to change. During the 1970s, it was thought that the solution to medical misconduct was formal education in ethics. Major academic medical centers began establishing bioethics centers and programs throughout the 1980s and ’90s, and today virtually every medical school in the country requires ethics training.

Yet it is debatable whether that training has had any effect. Many of the most egregious ethical abuses in recent decades have taken place in medical centers with prominent bioethics programs, such as the University of Pennsylvania , Duke University , Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University , as well as my own institution, the University of Minnesota .

One could be forgiven for concluding that the only way the culture of medicine will change is if changes are forced on it from the outside — by oversight bodies, legislators or litigators. For example, many states have responded to the controversy over pelvic exams by passing laws banning the practice unless the patient has explicitly given consent.

You may find it hard to understand how pelvic exams on unconscious women without their consent could seem like anything but a terrible invasion. Yet a central aim of medical training is to transform your sensibility. You are taught to steel yourself against your natural emotional reactions to death and disfigurement; to set aside your customary views about privacy and shame; to see the human body as a thing to be examined, tested and studied.

One danger of this transformation is that you will see your colleagues and superiors do horrible things and be afraid to speak up. But the more subtle danger is that you will no longer see what they are doing as horrible. You will just think: This is the way it is done.

Carl Elliott ( @FearLoathingBTX ) teaches medical ethics at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of the forthcoming book “The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No,” from which this essay is adapted.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Honors and Laurels Earned by the Class of 2024

National, university and departmental awards presented to members of the Class of 2024

The following is a partial list of national, university, school and departmental awards presented to the members of the Class of 2023. In some awards where there are multiple winners, only members of the Class of 2023 are included.

Nationally Competitive Scholarships

Mitchell Scholarship : Chloe Nguyen will do graduate work in Ireland specializing in technology, privacy and internet law. (Read more in Duke Today. )

G oldwater Scholarship : Sofia Guerrero received the scholarship that encourages students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. (Awarded in 2023. Read more in Duke Today .)

Udall Scholarship : Ariella Chukwuma received the award for students who have demonstrated a commitment to careers in the environment, health care or Native American tribal public policy or health care. (Awarded in 2023. Read more in Duke Today .)

Knight-Hennessy Scholarship : Daniel Collins will do graduate work in ocean studies at Stanford. University. (Read more in Duke Today. )

Schwarzman Scholarship : Sejal Mayer-Patel will do graduate study on global affairs in China (Read more in Duke Today .)

Gaither Fellowship : Kristin Zhu will work with the American Statecraft program, where she hopes to contribute to the Pivotal States series and research gaps in American foreign policy. (Read more on the OUSF website .)

Departmental Awards

African and African American Studies

John Hope Franklin Award for Academic Excellence: Tashia Ayanna Ethridge

Mary McLeod Bethune Writing Award: Sanceray Sanai Smith

Walter C. Burford Award for Community Service: Khilan Jamaar Walker, Moorea Rose Mitchell

Art, Art History & Visual Studies

Mary Duke Biddle Foundation Visual Art Award: Gabriella Caroleena Underwood

Nancy Kaneb Art History Award: Ruth Sarah Player

Sue and Lee Noel Prize in Visual Arts: Elayna Yilan Lei

Visual Studies & Media Studies Award: Malynda Ellen Wollert, Willa Fabian Gilbert-Goldstein

Rodger Frey Film Essay Award: Annie Zhang

ACC Plaque for Excellence, Scholarship and Athletics:  CJake Anthony Naso and Brianna Danielle Smith

Bass Connections

Excellence in Collaborative Leadership Award: Rachael Ellen Lau

Student Research Award:  Thanh-Nhu Tran Bui, Erika Lili Berlik, Zixin Zhang, Shuaichen Liao ,Micaela Elanor Simeone, Kashyap Sreeram, Chloe Williams, Keena Gao, Emily Rose Hallock, Sunggun Lee, Darienne Rae Rogers, Rohan Gupta and Sujay Alluri

Edward C. Horn Memorial Prize for Excellence in Biology:  Zachary Mathias Pracher

Excellence in Plant Science Prize: Mira Isabel Polishook

James B. Rast Memorial Award in Comparative Organismal Biology:  Brennan David McDonald

Maggie Schneider Award in Marine Biology:  Catalina Rose Lopez

Biology Faculty Award:  Anna Clare Sparling

Biostatistics and Bioinformatics

Overall Academic Excellence Award: Ryan Butcher, Molly Ehrig, Hui Huang, Alexander Joseph Thomson, and Danielle Jayne Vaithilingam

Student Leadership Award: Alexandra Sarai Da Silva, Catherine Gervais

Most Outstanding Master's Project Award for Clinical & Translational Research: Hui Huang. Honorable Mention: Catherine Gervais

Most Outstanding Master's Project Award for Methodology: Qin Wang. Honorable Mention: Caroline Anne Falvey

Most Outstanding Master's Project Award for Biomedical Data Science: Alexander Joseph Thomson, Yilong Qu

Office of Health Professions Advising             

Raymond Lublin, M.D. Award: Anna Clare Sparling

Classical Studies         

Classical Association of the Middle West and South Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in Classical Studies: Stephanie Allison Morgan, Jacob Alexander Rosenzweig

David Taggart Clark Prize in Classical Studies: Stephanie Allison Morgan, Jacob Alexander Rosenzweig

Anthony Fauci Award in STEM and Classics: Stephanie Allison Morgan

Computer Science     

Alex Vasilos Memorial Award: Yuxi Long, Muhang Tian, Shiyou Wu, Chloe Qinyu Zhu

Rebecca DeNardis Memorial Award: Andrew John Fate-Bolognone, Brandon Derick Lopez, Joshua Oshotse, Alyssa Wang Zhao

Cultural Anthropology               

Judith McDade Prize in Cultural Anthropology: Sebastian-San Miguel, Malynda Ellen Wollert

Paul Farmer Award for Justice and Social Responsibility: Corali Salomé Francisco-Zelkin, Huiyin Zhou

Doctor of Physical Therapy   

ACAPT National Student Honor Society: Alyssa Marie Bush, Madison Rose Catalano, Brielle Rose Ciccio, Miles Scott Moore, Shannan Leigh Mueller and Hope Wendy Reynolds

Helen Kaiser Alumni Award: Kimberlyn Michelle Hayes

Jan Gwyer Student Recognition Award for Academic, Clinical, and Scholarly Excellence: Hope Wendy Reynolds, Miles Scott Moore

Robert Bartlett Student Recognition Award for Service and Leadership Excellence: Wesley Joseph Bell-Pritzlaff

DPT Inclusive Excellence Award: Razan Mazin Fayyad

Documentary Studies               

Julia Harper Day Award for Documentary Studies: Staci Grimes

Duke Arts          

Benenson Award in the Arts: Huiyin Zhou, Staci Grimes, Keena Gao, Ruby Wang, Yixuan Sun, Foxx Hart, Catherine Suzanne Grafe Knothe

Duke Divinity School

Award for Excellence in Bible- Old Testament: William Paul Vines Sharkey

Award for Excellence in Bible-New Testament: Katherine Jane Bracy Limkeman

Award for Outstanding Student in Theology: Joseph Neil Reigle

Award for Excellence in Worship and Liturgical Leadership: Leah Benn Miller

Jameson Jones Preaching Award: Beth Regena Glenn, Katherine Christine Mangum

Hoyt Hickman Award for Excellence in Liturgics: Patrice Elizabeth Turner

McMurry Richey Award in Field Education: Emily Lynn Stambaugh

McMurry Richey Award in Missions: Britt Anliza Taylor

McMurry Richey Award in Student Pastor: Evan A. Smith

Seminarian Award of the Fellowship of United Methodist in Music and Worship Arts: Leah Benn Miller

Frederick Buechner Writing Award: Jaime Steiert McGlothlin, Vivian Grace Saxon

Duke Global Health Institute                 

Madeline Boccuzzi Outstanding Master of Science in Global Health Student Award: Maria Espinoza Gonzalez

Earth and Climate Sciences

Thomas V. Laska Award: Emily Marie Nagamoto

Economics      

Master's Program Award for Leadership: Timothy Chiu Ching-Lih Kusuma, Yuhao Zheng, Uyanga Gansukh

Master's Program Award for Academic Excellence: Yangfan Wang

Edward Tower Best Thesis Award: Marcos Hirai Catao

Craufurd Goodwin Distinction in Research Award : Lilia Yimin Qian

Best Thesis Finalist: Jakobe Zamir Bussey, Zixin Zhao

Outstanding Honors Poster – Faculty Choice: Heera Rajavel

Outstanding Honors Poster – Student Choice: Lucas Michael Johnson

English                 

Award for Most Original Honors Thesis: Heidi Ann Smith

Victor Strandberg Award for Excellence in the Literary Arts: Marina Jinghang Chen, Sita Conde

Barbara Hernnstein Smith Award for Outstanding Work in Literary Criticism or Theory: Skijler John Hutson

Stanley E. Fish Award for Outstanding Work in British & Anglophone Literature: Eliana Alex Genatt

Louis J. Budd Award for Outstanding Work in American Literature: Madeline Rubin, Milla Surjadi

George P. Lucaci Award for Creative Nonfiction: Ruby Wang . Second Prize: Rowan Huang

Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Poetry: Jocelyn Andrea Chin

Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Fiction: Makee Gonzalez Anderson

Reynolds Price Award for Fiction: Tomas Elias Esber

Academy of American Poets Prize: Nima Babajani-Feremi

Evolutionary Anthropology    

Mossé Award for Excellence in Research in Evolutionary Anthropology: Elizabeth Anne Siebeneck, Rachel Lorraine Poutre

Fuqua School of Business     

Alan D. Schwartz Award for Mentorship: Bhavna Tripathy

Asa T. Spaulding, Sr. Award for Leadership: Louis Wu

Deans' Recognition Awards: Hilary Shea Badger, Keerthana Rao Balusu, Alyssa Diane Barnea, Lauren Camille Boone, Kunj Chheda, Vasileia Christaki, Louis A. Fierro III, Kandasi Kalyse Griffiths, Felipe Guevara Aguero, Jenna Kathleen Houchins, Ashley Marie Pech and Gabrielle Mercedes Rogers

Fuqua EMBA HSM Leadership Award: Dhruv Choudhry

Keohane Leadership Award: Arya Diwase, Stephen Chinedu Ezekoye

Team Fuqua Award (MMS): Kenneth Beau Allen, Piper Lorraine Hampsch, Olivia Louise Kohan, Aakash Nankani, Adèle Clarissa Swanson

Team Fuqua Award (MQM): Alexia Berenice Torres Calderón

The Breeden Award in Finance: David Chioma, Hannah Lillian Deichman

Distinguished Service Award (MBA): Annie Moore Forrest

International Comparative Studies Program              

Capstone Research Prize: Grace Marguerite Endrud

Distinguished Thesis Award: Maya Ghanem

Journalism and Media Studies            

Melcher Family Award for Excellence in Journalism: Charlotte Kramon

Fischer-Zernin Award for Local Journalism: Chloe Mai Nguyen

Patterson Prize for Excellence, Leadership and Integrity in Journalism: Milla Surjadi

Mathematics 

Julia Dale Prize in Mathematics: Aram Tabrizi Lindroth

Mathematics  Julia Dale Prize in Mathematics: Nguyen Nguyen, Jiaxi Zhang

Mathematics  Excellence In Research Award: Aram Tabrizi Lindroth, Luke Finley Triplett, Jiaxi Zhang

Karl Menger Award: Nguyen Nguyen

Excellence In Community Service Prize: Elaijah Roger Lapay

School of Medicine    

Brenda Armstrong Living the Dream Award: Braylee Nicole Grisel

Dean's Merit Scholarship: Mariam Mina Ardehali, Tamar Chukrun, Vikram Freedman Gupta, Ryan Joseph Kramer, Margaret S. Min, Charles Phifer Nicholson Jr., Sophie Evelyn Nick, Katherine Nancy Penvose, Albert Jacob Rechenmacher, Roshini Srinivasan, Troy Q'mars Tabarestani, Vishal Venkatraman, Eric Scott Warren Jr .

Dean’s Tuition Scholarship: John Lewis Atwater, Alexandria Mullikin, Ernest Neil Barral, and Prince Jeffrey Boadi, Alejandro J. Carruyo, Amanda Christina Del Risco, Julia Marie Denniss, Nicole Marie Diaz, Romel Joseph Holmes, Jr., Nia Michaela Mitchell, Mary Elizabeth Moya-Mendez, Jennifer I. Okunbor, Edwin Simeon Jusi Owolo, Camille Noelle Pierre, Chidyaonga Shalita, David Alexander Webb Sykes, Kenyon Wright and Marilyn Melelani Fryar Yamamoto

Humanism in Medicine Award: Prince Jeffrey Boadi

Palmer/GSK Award: Alexander Daniel Cherches, Sophie Evelyn Nick

Rauch Future Leaders Merit Scholars: Kristina Moriah Stenstedt Dunworth, Bronwen Emily Foreman

Unsung Hero: Stacy Meredith Goins

Music  

Henry Schuman Music Prize: Andrew John Fate-Bolognone , Julia Michelle Leeman, Joseph Cristofori Scarpa

Julia Wilkinson Mueller Prize for Excellence in Music: Julia Michelle Leeman , Aram Tabrizi Lindroth

Paul R. Bryan Award: Nina Zhang , Satya Yalamanchi

Ciompi Quartet Award in Chamber Music: Aram Tabrizi Lindroth , Jaewon Jung, Alexander Zhaokun Du, Allen Yiyang Zhang, Jean-Luc Pereira Rabodeau, Claire Yijun Li, Kenneth Kaishi Gong

Duke Symphony Orchestra Conductor's Award: Andrew S. Kelbley , Amira Axelle Arellano Miel, Spencer Samuel Schutz, Zachary Mathias Pracher

Office of the Provost 

Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award: Elaijah Roger Lapay

Global Health

Michael Merson Undergraduate Student Leadership Award in Global Health: Shanzeh Mishal Sheikh

Physics               

Daphne Chang Memorial Award: Alexander Dun Yin Tong

Rodney I. McCormick Award: Alexander Christian Migala

Political Science          

Alona E. Evans Prize in International Law: Sanjit Beriwal

Elizabeth G. Verville Award: Koby Samuel Cohen

The Jerry B. and Callie Irene Stone Award: Frank J. Cejas Rodriguez

Ole R. Holsti Award in American Foreign Policy and International Relations: Robert Stefan Miron

The Robert S. Rankin Award for Leadership and Academic Achievement: Ruthie Ann Kesri

The Robert S. Rankin Award in American Government and Constitutional Law: Nicole Sara Rosenzweig

The Robert S. Rankin Award in American, National, State, and Local Governments: Kay Yanily Maldonado

Pratt School of Engineering  

American Society of Civil Engineers Outstanding Senior Prize: Sarah Ann Bailey, Grace Eunhae Lee

Aubrey E. Palmer Award: Sarah Ann Bailey

Marie Foote Reel Undergraduate Research Award: Arya Kishan Tschand

Charles Rowe Vail Memorial Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award: Claire Yijun Li

da Vinci Award: Alexandra Leigh Hoffman, Benjamin Alfred Johns, Jonathan Caswell Piland

David Randall Fuller Prize : Ian Marcos Morales

Eric I. Pas Award: Sarah Ann Bailey, Annie Wollmuth

Edward D. "Ned" Light Memorial Award: Jacklyn Leah Herzberg

George Sherrerd III Memorial Award in Electrical and Computer Engineering: Andy Summers He, Sophia Marie Williams

Helmholtz Award: Joanna Rui Peng

Howard G. Clark Award for Excellence in Research: Anand Manohar Chundi, Dahlia Halabi, Selena Halabi, Jack R Kovach, Claire Yijun Li, Benjamin Charles Perry, Rajiv Sundar Raman, Bowie Nathan Shreiber, Mia Ellen Woodruff, Sophie Ru Wu

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Award: Benjamin Alfred Johns, Isabelle Warger Sanz

Otto Meier, Jr. Tau Beta Pi Award: Keith Alexander Cressman

Pi Tau Sigma Scholarship Award: Miranda Liu, William Joshua Guanzon King

Pratt School of Engineering Student Service Award: Kishen Mitra, Jack Stuart Rhodes

Raymond C. Gaugler Award in Materials Science and Engineering, Spencer Samuel Schutz, Raymond Kelly Lennon

Theo C. Pilkington Memorial Award: Jacklyn Leah Herzberg

Walter J. Seeley Scholastic Award: Brandon Kunjun Bae, Andy Summers He, Alexandra Leigh Hoffman, Benjamin Alfred Johns, Minjun Kwak, Jonathan Caswell Piland, Cathylin Wen Wang, Chengyang Zhou

William Brewster Snow Environmental Engineering Award: Sarah Ann Bailey

Karl E. Zener Award for Academic Excellence in Psychology: Priscilla La

Jerome S. Bruner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research: Caimiao Liu

Public Policy  

Terry Sanford Leadership Award: Grace Marguerite Endrud, Chloe Mai Nguyen

Joel Fleishman Distinguished Scholar Award: Grace Marguerite Endrud, Hannah Kate Galdes, Katherine Elizabeth Heath, Anisha Reddy

Best Honors Thesis: Christina Zemong Wang

Religious Studies         

Best Paper Award: Mariami Shanshashvili, Ruthie Ann Kesri, Christina Stewart Lewis

Romance Studies        

Guido Mazzoni Prize in Italian: Jacob Campbell Carnes

Richard L. Predmore Award in Spanish: Brooke Lauren Sevchik

Robert J. Niess / Alexander Hull Award in French: Rebecca Valerie Boss

The Paol Keineg Prize for an Honors Thesis Written in a Language other than English: Brianna Rose Cellini

School of Nursing        

Annie Beery Bieber Award for Outstanding Leadership Award: Sandra Okeke Bates

Ruby L. Wilson Excellence in Clinical Practice Award: Katherine Alexandra Sundt

Thelma Ingles Excellence in Clinical Expertise and Scholarly Activities Award: Iris Mayoral

Distinguished PhD Dissertation: Melissa Ann Powell

Outstanding DNP Scholarly Project Award: Chantal Howard

Ida Harper Simpson Award: Mackenzie Elizabeth Culp

Linda K. George Award: Amber Claire Smith

Highest Academic Achievement Award: Caimiao Liu

Statistical Science     

Outstanding Mentor of Undergraduate Researchers: Edric Cheuk Yin Tam

Statistical Science MS TA of the Year Award: Yicheng Shen. Honorable Mention: William Tirone

Statistical Science PhD TA of the Year Award : Yi Ji . Honorable Mention: Shariar Vaez-Ghaemi, Emmanuel Kene Mokel

Student Affairs               

Distinguished Leadership Award: Expanding the Boundaries of Learning: Robert Addison Sprung

Distinguished Leadership Award: Building Alliances Through Collective Engagement: Christopher Zollino Lloyd, Amber Claire Smith

William J. Griffith University Service Award: Outstanding Contribution to the Duke Community: Essence Renee Hughes

William J. Griffith University Service Award: Outstanding Contribution to the Durham and Local Community: Dedriek Jalisa Whitaker

William J. Griffith University Service Award: Outstanding Contribution to the Global Community: Chanté Davis

Duke Cornerstone Award, Undergraduate: Catherine Xia

Duke Cornerstone Award, Graduate: Trevor Sytsma

Theater Studies             

Award for Excellence in Acting: Emi Marie Hegarty (Read on D

Award for Excellence in Acting: Benjamin David Taylor Davies

Harold Brody Award for Excellence in Musical Theater: Sam Carpenter

John M. Clum Distinguished Theater Studies Graduate Award: Emi Marie Hegarty, Isabella Perle Mellody

Feldman Collaborator's Award in Memory of Kenneth J. Reardon: Yixuan Sun

Reynolds Price Award for Best Original Script for Stage, Screen, or Television:   Isabella Perle Mellody

Forlines Family Theater Studies Grant: Elise Mignonne Gutierrez

Award for Excellence in Design or Theater Technology: Yixuan Sun

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences                 

Bascom Headen Palmer Literary Prize: Shourya Agarwal

Louis B. Sudler Prize in the Creative Arts and Performing Arts: Emi Marie Hegarty (Read more in Duke Arts)

Undergraduate Research Support Office    

Student Team Grant: Angela Nana-Akua Darkowaa Addae, Brendan Simmons Kelleher, Jeehye Rose Lee, Taylor Corbin Parker, Dedriek Jalisa Whitaker

Call for Undergrad Essays - YRIS Acheson Prize 2024

The Yale Review of International Studies is currently soliciting submissions for our annual Acheson Prize Issue. The three best pieces will be published in our quarterly print journal and uploaded to our website. The author of the winning essay will receive a monetary prize of $700, second place will receive $300, and third place will receive $200.

We are accepting any essay broadly related to international affairs under 40 pages double spaced. A panel of Yale professors will judge the essays, and the competition is exclusively open to Yale undergraduates. Students can direct any questions or requests for deadline extensions to [email protected] . Submissions are due on May 12 at 11:59 PM and must be submitted to this Google Form .

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

Prof. boyle contributes the new york times essay on trump’s trial.

May 1, 2024

Current Department Chair and Professor Kevin Boyle contributes guest essay in T he New York Times , titled   “Trump’s Trial Can Right a Wrong From 50 Years Ago”   –

Of the four criminal cases that Donald Trump is facing, the one unfolding in Manhattan is generally considered the weakest. Its legal foundation is complex. Its key witness is a felon. Its details are the sort of stuff that the tabloids splash across their front pages…   Read the full article.