Ethics Essay Prize

SMU’s Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility is proud to host 2026-2027 Ethics Essay Prize—an essay competition open to all SMU students, with undergraduate and graduate entries judged in separate divisions. The competition encourages the development of ethical discernment, imagination, and thoughtful reflection by challenging students to consider the role of ethics in their lives. Further, the contest provides valuable insights into topics of importance to students.

2027 Writing Prompt: Complicity and Courage

Most of us are never asked to be heroes. But, at some point, nearly all of us face a smaller and harder question: Do I go along with this, or do I refuse? Does our responsibility change depending on the scope of the question? Explain the moral standard behind your decision, then confront the strongest objection to it.

Each essay will be judged on the quality of the writing along with its integration of ethical concerns and questions of personal and social responsibility. Engage us. Enlighten us. Explore any ethical question that moves you, whether it arises from the tension between complicity and courage or from another moral or ethical challenge, close to home or across the world. We are eager to learn from you.

Prizes

🏆 First Place: $1,000
🥈 Second Place: $500
🥉 Third Place: $300
🎖️ Honorable Mentions: $200

* Entries are judged in two separate divisions: undergraduate and graduate. Each division is awarded its own first, second, third place, and honorable mention prizes.

Submissions Due Friday, January 8, 2027 at 5PM CST.

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