Student Scholarship Contest

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Sphere Education Initiatives is holding a scholarship contest for students of alumni in our educator network.

Close up of Constitution of the United States of America with the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Sphere Education Initiatives is holding a scholarship contest for students of alumni in our educator network. This scholarship is designed to provide students the opportunity to share their understanding of civil discourse and its relationship to upholding the principles of liberty outlined in the Declaration.

Students are invited to explore this relationship further using resources from our America’s 250th collection.

America's 250th Student Scholarship Essay Content Logo

Essay Prompt

In the Declaration of Independence, authors Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston brought to bear the influence of Enlightenment philosophies on fostering strong democracies. Before the famous “We hold these truths” claim, the authors framed their intent to separate from the British monarchy in the following statement:

“WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.”

How does civil discourse uphold the Enlightenment belief that “mankind” should be respected, and that individuals have the liberty to think freely and express their opinions in a democratic society? What are the challenges and opportunities that might be present?

Submit Your Essay

Essay submission form opens at 12:00 a.m. (EDT) September 17, 2025.

Awards

Trophy with a star and blue ribbon

The prizes in this Contest are as follows:

  • One first‐​place prize of a scholarship of $10,000.00 USD.
  • One second‐​place prize of a scholarship of $5,000.00 USD.
  • Four honorable‐​mention prizes of scholarships of $2,500.00 USD.

The winners of the Contest will be announced on or before February 16, 2026. A list of winners will be posted online on the Sphere Essay Contest home page.

Criteria

All essays must be 1,000 words or less

Content—70 points:

  • Has a clear thesis that fully answers the prompt—10 points
  • Articulates points with evidence to answer the prompt and support their thesis—10 points
  • Addresses the challenges and opportunities clearly and concisely—20 points
  • Demonstrates understanding of civil discourse—25 points
  • Original material—5 points

Technical aspects—30 points

  • Free of grammatical errors—10 points
  • Clear structure with proper grammatical conventions—10 points
  • Outlines source material in bibliography or “works cited” page (no minimum or maximum here)—10 points

Eligibility & Requirements

To qualify as a participant in the Contest, individuals must meet all of the eligibility requirements set forth in the official Terms and Conditions. These requirements include that entrants are:

  • Age 14 or older at the time of entry; and

  • Enrolled in high school or a high‐​school‐​equivalent program (such as homeschooling or a GED program) during the Entry Period; and

  • At the time of submission, enrolled in high school or a high‐​school‐​equivalent program as a student with an educator that has been a participant in any Sphere programming (such as Sphere Summit or Sphere’s professional development) or is otherwise a member of Sphere’s network.

How to Enter

Quill in an inkwell
  • To be entered and have their essay considered, each participant must navigate to the Scholarship Essay Contest entry page.
  • Applications open September 17 at 12:00 a.m. (EDT) and all entries received on or before 11:59 (EDT) on October 17, 2025, will be reviewed prior to entries received after this date. The final deadline will be December 15, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. (EST).
  • This contest is free to enter. There is a limit of one entry per individual.

    • Contact the scholarship coordinator at scholarship@​sphere-​ed.​org with any questions. Prior to emailing, please review our FAQ section for further information on the essay and submission process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Sphere Education Initiatives provides educators with viewpoint‐diverse resources to bring conversations to the classroom and equip students to engage in civil discourse. We offer exclusively nonpartisan lesson plans, discussion questions, videos, and publications on various topics for use in the classroom.

As defined by the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona in 2011, civil discourse is the “robust, honest, frank and constructive dialogue and deliberation that seeks to advance the public interest.”

To achieve a successful outcome, participants need to be willing to listen to another viewpoint. Civil discourse, then, is the mechanism by which people in a healthy society interact and overcome their inevitable disagreements in a peaceable manner.

Applicants may apply only if they are a current student of a Sphere Education Initiatives educator alum or have had an educator from part of our network.

Essays must not exceed 1,000 words. No, the works cited and bibliography pages will not be counted toward the final word count.

Yes, you need to cite your sources and outline them in a bibliography or works cited page. Any style is acceptable, including but not limited to MLA, APA, or Chicago.

There is no minimum or maximum source limit.

You will receive an automated confirmation of the submission of your entry. You will not receive any further communication from us unless we have follow up questions or requests, or your entry is chosen as a winner. Winners will be announced and posted online on February 16, 2026. Please do not contact us about the status of your essay.

Subject to the Contest Terms and Conditions, scholarships winners will be paid in the form of a check mailed to the winner or, if a minor, their parent or legal guardian.

AI and other online resources may be used as a support tool for research, but not to generate an essay or any part thereof.

  • Essay exceeds word limit (1,000 words)
  • Plagiarized work or work that is not wholly created by the individual submitting the essay. AI and other online resources may be used as a support tool for research, but not to generate an essay or any part thereof.
  • Lack of works cited or bibliography
  • Submitted after deadline
  • Essay not substantially related to the prompt
  • Essay is written by more than one individual
  • Submission is by a student who is not part of a Sphere alumni teacher’s class
  • Any violations of the Contest Terms and Conditions.

• All judging will be based on the scores earned as set forth in the Contest criteria.

• Essays will be judged by a first panel of judges. Essays that earn a score of at least 75 points will be advanced as a finalist to a second round of judgment.

• Every essay that is deemed a finalist will be anonymized and independently re‐​graded by a second panel of judges. This second panel’s grades will determine the winners.

• In the event of a tie after the second panel grades the essays, the winner will be determined by which entry scores higher based on the cumulative score in each category by the first panel and the second panel in a particular category of the content and technical criteria. If there remains a tie in every content and technical criteria, the final winner will be determined by the grades of a final tiebreaking Panel, and the winner will be the highest score by the tiebreaking Panel.

For more details and the official rules governing the Contest, please visit our Terms and Conditions on our application webpage.