FAQs

GENERAL

WHAT IS AN ETHICS BOWL?

An Ethics Bowl is a competitive yet collaborative event in which students discuss timely real-life ethical issues. In each round of competition, teams take turns analyzing ethical cases and responding to questions and comments from another team and a panel of judges. An Ethics Bowl differs from a debate competition in that students are not assigned opposing views; rather, they defend whichever position they think is correct, provide each other with constructive criticism, and win by demonstrating that they have thought rigorously and systematically about the cases and engaged respectfully and supportively with all participants. You can learn more about how Ethics Bowl works and see a match for yourself here.

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL ETHICS BOWL?

The National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB) is an educational outreach program headquartered at the University of North Carolina’s Parr Center for Ethics in Chapel Hill, NC. This program supports competitive Ethics Bowls for high school students across the United States, as well as supportive and preparatory programming for students, coaches, organizers, and members of the NHSEB community. The NHSEB program oversees affiliated Regional Competitions across the country, and four Divisional Playoff circuits, as well as hosting the National High School Ethics Bowl Championship, conducted each Spring on the UNC Chapel Hill campus. Assessment data on the National High School Ethics Bowl has shown that participating in the activity fosters and promotes ethical awareness, critical thinking, civil discourse, civic engagement, and an appreciation for multiple points of view in students. You can learn more about NHSEB’s Mission, History, and Values here.

How does Ethics Bowl differ from Speech and Debate?

While the Ethics Bowl activity may look similar to various speech and debate formats from a distance, the core skills and values emphasized by the National High School Ethics Bowl are quite different than those emphasized in debate. A few key differences are the Ethics Bowl’s focus on students’ agency, its collaborative rather than adversarial nature, and its commitment to democratic deliberation about underlying reasoning, rather than competitive exercise of rhetoric. You can learn more about the Ethics Bowl format and its distinctiveness from other similar activities here.

who can participate in a HIGH SCHOOL ETHICS BOWL?

Students enrolled in grades 9-12 at accredited U.S. high school may join a team to participate in the National High School Ethics Bowl program. Ethics Bowl teams are composed of 3-7 students with up to 5 students seated on a team in any given match. The team must have the official endorsement of the school administration to participate in the program. All teams must have a coach or advisor vetted and approved by school administration. More information about eligibility and starting an Ethics Bowl team is available here. Other participants include Judges, Moderators, and other event volunteers. These roles are typically fulfilled by community members, local professionals, and faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students from a nearby university.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO PARTICIPATE IN A HIGH SCHOOL ETHICS BOWL?

For official recognition and to get started competitively, an Ethics Bowl team should complete a two-step registration process. These steps should generally be completed in tandem:

  1. Teams should register with their geographically closest Regional Competition by contacting its Organizer(s). NHSEB Regionals typically occur between January and early February of a given school year. A full list of contact information for NHSEB Regional Organizers is available here.

  2. All teams participating in the NHSEB program must register with NHSEB HQ each season, and pay a yearly registration fee. The registration fee for 2024-2025 is $175, if schools register before November 1, 2024. After November 1, fees will increase to $250. NHSEB HQ is committed to ensuring that no students are prevented from participating because of financial need. Therefore, financial assistance and/or fee waivers are available for teams who qualify. For more information or to request a fee waiver, please contact us. More information about registration is available here.

  3. Some Regional Competitions may have their own registration fees and requirements. Please inquire with your closest Regional Organizer for the most up to date local information.

WHO CAN I TALK TO IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?

If questions arise which are not answered by the resources on this website, please feel free to contact NHSEB HQ. A member of our administration team will be glad to assist you with whatever you may need.

COMPETITIONS

WHAT IS A REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL ETHICS BOWL?

Regional High School Ethics Bowl Competitions (often referred to as simply ‘Regionals’) are official affiliates of the National High School Ethics Bowl program, and are conducted by NHSEB’s partner organizations across the country (typically University Departments, Ethics Centers, or other such entities). As of 2023, there are 44 Regional Competitions affiliated with NHSEB. The winner of each Regional competes in their respective Divisional Playoff, and winners from the playoff circuits are invited to the National Championship each Spring. A full list of current NHSEB Regional Competitions is available here.

What is a divisional HIGH SCHOOL ETHICS BOWL PLAYOFF?

Due to the National High School Ethics Bowl’s prodigious growth across the country, the NHSEB Executive Committee designed and began implementing a new Divisional Playoff system in 2022-2023 to replace NHSEB’s previous Regional Playoffs. These Divisional Playoffs comprise an intermediary level of competition for NHSEB participants, whereby teams qualify for Divisional Playoffs at the Regional Competition, and for the National Championship at the Divisional Playoffs. The country’s existing Regional Competitions have been sorted into four geographic Divisions. Each of these Divisions has been assigned to a host institution responsible for conducting Divisional Playoffs in partnership with the Parr Center in order to set the team roster for the National Championship. All Divisional Playoffs are conducted online using the Parr Center’s NHSEBOne competition platform. More detailed information about Divisional Playoffs is available here.

WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR AN ETHICS BOWL?

All official rules and regulations are made publicly available in NHSEB’s Rules Manual, which is updated annually every Fall, and released alongside Regional Cases at launch for a given season (typically in September). All NHSEB-affiliated Regional Competitions and Divisional Playoff events are required to adopt NHSEB’s rules in full except in cases of exception given via written approval by the NHSEB Executive Committee.

WHO ORGANIZES HIGH SCHOOL ETHICS BOWLS?

A Regional or Divisional Organizer(s) is a person or group of people who coordinate all logistics in order to successfully run and host a Regional Competition or Divisional Playoff event, respectively. The Organizer is the main contact for a High School Ethics Bowl in that event’s particular area, and they are tasked with ensuring that all NHSEB rules and regulations are followed in the administration of their event. NHSEB typically prefers an institutional partner at a college or university to host and organize affiliated events. This arrangement helps to mitigate any potential local biases when selecting judges, scoring the competition, etc. More information about organizing an Ethics Bowl is available here.

HOW LONG IS AN ETHICS BOWL EVENT?

While events vary based on their size, a typical Ethics Bowl is an all-day event held on a weekend. The event can last between 8 to 10 hours. The length depends on a variety of factors: number of teams, number of preliminary rounds, breakfast and lunch, the inclusion of a plenary session, awards ceremony, and judges’ and moderators’ training, etc. A typical NHSEB competition is divided into rounds: some number of Preliminary Rounds (typically no less than 2-3), a Semifinal Elimination Round, and a Championship Round. Each round is typically scheduled for 60-70 minutes.

WHAT TOPICS ARE DISCUSSED IN A HIGH SCHOOL ETHICS BOWL?

A High School Ethics Bowl gives students the opportunity to learn about applied ethics through the analysis, research, and critical discussion of case studies that incorporate real world ethical conflicts from politics, business, international affairs, popular culture, and their personal lives. These case studies are produced in two sets each year (one for Regional Competitions, and one for the National Championship) by the Parr Center for Ethics. Some recent topics have included: breastfeeding in public, the student loan crisis, dating a friend’s ex, ecotourism, social media privacy, and genetic engineering. You can learn more about NHSEB cases and view our Case Archive here.