Student Case Competition: New Deadline, Summer Competition Open for Submissions

The National High School Ethics Bowl invites case submissions from high school students at participating schools. The NHSEB Case Competition is a great way to develop research and writing skills, learn to analyze ethical dilemmas, and craft compelling narratives that challenge your peers to think deeply about important ethical issues. All students who are enrolled at a U.S. high school with a team which participates in the National High School Ethics Bowl program are eligible to enter submissions for competition. 

This is the first year of our new August deadline. In past years, case submissions were accepted only during the school year and limited to NHSEB student participants. While only high school students are eligible for case competition prizes, any member of the NHSEB community may now submit a case for consideration in future case sets.

Though this competition is being held over the summer, the 2025–2026 competition cycle will run from the start of the season in September 2025 through August 2026. Case Competition winners and runners-up will be announced alongside the release of the Regional Case Set in September each year, allowing us to fairly incorporate student-written cases into our published materials. That means that your students who submit cases over the next few months may be eligible to have their cases included in the 2025-2026 Regional Case Set! Any submissions made after the deadline will be included for consideration in the 2026-2027 Regional Case Set.

2025 SUMMER Submission Deadline: AUGUST 18, 2025

Submissions should follow the general format for Ethics Bowl cases: a scenario, between 500 and 700 words long, which highlights a clear moral issue; is appropriate for high school students; and is written in a way that encourages reasonable disagreement. The scenario should be framed so the central issue is clearly moral and not simply or primarily legal or professional. You can review NHSEB’s Case Writing Guidelines here, and check out the NHSEB Case Library for examples of past cases. To enter, please use the form below to upload your submission, along with your identifying and contact information. Microsoft Word (.docx) and PDF files are accepted. Please email ethicsbowl@unc.edu with any questions or concerns. 

All submissions must be original materials, although appropriately cited excerpts may be used (a quote from a news source, for example). All cases may be edited after submission if selected for publication in an NHSEB Case Set. Edited cases will become the intellectual property of the Parr Center for Ethics.

For official rules, please see our Case Submission Page