The Ethics Essay Prize

This year, the Maguire Ethics Essay Prize is using the same prompt as the 2026 Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics , a national undergraduate competition that receives submissions from universities across the country and provides winners with substantial recognition. Winners also receive a fully funded trip to New York City for a one-day ethics seminar and the Prize in Ethics Awards Celebration.

Undergraduate students who submit to the Maguire Prize may choose to have their essay additionally considered for the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics. The national competition awards:

• First Prize: $10,000
• Second Prize: $5,000
• Third Prize: $3,000
• Honorable Mentions: $1,000

Because the national contest draws submissions from universities across the country, applicants are encouraged to identify a faculty sponsor for their submission. The Maguire Ethics Center will select and sponsor a small number of strong undergraduate essays for national submission to ensure that SMU’s contributions are prepared and competitive. For those submissions, Ethics Center Director Dr. Rita Kirk will serve as the optional, but encouraged, faculty sponsor.

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Submission Requirements

• In 2,500 to 3,500 words, you are encouraged to raise questions, single out issues, and identify dilemmas based on the essay prompt provided. 
• The essay must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file.
• The essay should be titled, typed in 12-point font easily readable font (such as Times New Roman), double-spaced with 1″ margins, and numbered pages.
• The title of the Microsoft Word document file name must be the entrant’s last name only (e.g., LastName.docx).
• All materials must be received by 5 PM CST on Monday, January 5, 2026.
• Students may only submit one essay. Further submissions will not be read.
• Submissions must include a reference page and proper in-text source documentation (if applicable). Plagiarism will lead to disqualification.
• The essays may be written in the formal or informal voice, but most importantly, your individual voice should be evident.  

   

• The essay must be the original, unpublished work. It may be a paper that was turned in for class.  

• Submissions will be judged anonymously. Hence, no name or identifying references (i.e. your name, school, or professor) should appear on the title page or in the document. Our office will put a code on your essay.

• Use of writing that is generated or aided by Artificial Intelligence is strictly prohibited. If, in our sole discretion, we determine that AI was used, the essay will be disqualified. 

 

• Who is eligible to compete in the Ethics Essay Prize?
  The Ethics Essay Prize is open to all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at SMU.
  Employees of the Maguire Ethics Center (and the immediate family members of said employees) are not eligible to participate in the contest.
  

• Are essays written for course credit eligible for submission?

  Yes, your essay submission can be from any class or from your independent writing outside of class.

• What citation format should I write in?

  There is no one required citation style, but your style should be professional and consistent. MLA or APA styles are recommended. Please cite all outside sources used, including a "works cited" page if necessary.

• When are Ethics Essay Prize Winners announced?

  Undergraduate Ethics Essay Prize participants will be sent an email in mid-January and graduate Ethics Essay Prize winners will be sent an email in early to mid-February informing them if they have earned a prize.

• How will I know you have received my essay?

  Ethics Essay Prize participants will receive an email receipt upon submission of their essay.

• Can I read previous essay submissions?

  Yes, 2024-2025 Ethics Essay Prize winning essays are available to read on our website.

• How will I be notified when winners are chosen?

  Ethics Essay Prize participants will be sent an email in mid-January informing them if they have earned a prize.

• I entered the contest and won an award last year; may I enter again?

  Yes! You may enter the Ethics Essay Prize even if you have previously won a prize.

• Can I use content generated by artificial intelligence tools such as Chat-GPT in my submission?
  

  Use of writing that is generated or aided by Artificial Intelligence is strictly prohibited. If, in our sole discretion, we determine that AI was used, the essay will be disqualified.  
• What do readers look for in Ethics Essay Prize submissions?
  • Clear articulation and genuine grappling with an ethical dilemma. 
  • Adherence to guidelines and careful proofreading. 
  • Observation of Standard English usage (grammar, punctuation, mechanics). 
  • Thoughtful, tightly focused essays demonstrating originality and imagination. 
  • Eloquence of writing style and unity of purpose.  
• What are the judging criteria for Ethics Essay Prize submissions?
  •  The quality of writing, 
  • The clarity of the ethical problem or issue, and 
  • The depth of ethical analysis, including reflections on right and wrong, justice and injustice, and the broader moral implications. 

2024-2025 Undergraduate Winners

 

First Prize: A Seat at the Table: How First-Gen Students Thrive When Institutions Make Room

Written by Cedar Roach, a Corporate Communications & Public Affairs and Public Policy student

 

Second Place: The Tapestry of a Mustang: Threads of Growth, Challenge, and Integrity

Written by Dani Lopez-Balderas, a Chemistry and French student 

 

Third Place: On It

Written by Emerson Mason, a Corporate Communications & Public Affairs student

 

Honorable Mention: When Community Looks Like One Person

Written by Natie Mekonnen, a Corporate Communications & Public Affairs and Public Relations & Strategic Communications student

 

Honorable Mention: Growing Through What You Go Through

Written by Angel Mugambi, a Psychology student

 

2024-2025 Graduate Winners

 

First Prize: The Participatory Power of Giving: An Immigrant Student’s Path to Community and Change

Written by Maria Guadalupe Casteneda, a Doctor of Liberal Studies student

 

Second Place: Burnout Doesn’t Wear Lipstick: A Manifesto on Rest, Power, and the Future of Women in Business

Written by Gloria Samuels, a Master of Business Administration student

 

Third Place: The Power of Difficult Dialogue

Written by Kaylie Kenebrew, a Juris Doctor candidate

 

2023-2024 Graduate Winners

 

First Prize: Invisible Ethics and Justified Hypocrisy: The Biopolitical Basis of Anti-Transgender Activism

Written by Sara Beth Becker, a Medical Anthropology graduate student

Second Place: A Mother’s Lessons to Her Sons: The Significance of Learning About Genocide

Written by Maria Castaneda Tellez, a Liberal Studies Ph.D. candidate

 

Third Place: Questioning the Morality of the Realm of Iron Bars

Written by Adeeb Abdul Taher, a Computer Science master's student

 

2023-2024 Undergraduate Winners

 

First Prize: Fake It ‘till You Make It: The Morality of Con Mans

Written by Cooper Shapard, a first-year studying Electrical and Computer Engineering

Second Place: Understood: Is Connection the Ethical Response to a Polarized Society?

Written by Anna Kelley Zielke, a third-year studying Dance Performance and Political Science

 

Third Place: The Struggle with Assisted Suicide, For and Against

Written by Andrew McClure, a third-year studying Finance and Philosophy

Honorable Mention: How Just is the Just Transition?

Written by Silas Hartman, a fourth-year studying Mechanical Engineering

 

Spring 2023 Graduate Winners

 

First Prize: What the Twelve Steps’ 'Design for Living' Can Teach about Ethics, Morality, and the Self

Written by Luis Zambrano, a Master of Education student

 

Second Place: Structural Racialization: Why do we continue to ignore it?

Written by Melissa Almonasi-Mulero, a Master of Education student

 

Third Place: Worship for the Anxious: Existential Anxiety, Christian Liturgy, and Tillich's Courage to Be

Written by Marie Schrampfer, a Systematic Theology Ph.D. candidate

 

Honorable Mention: Sister, Sister: Racial Tensions and Complacency with Whiteness in American Sororities

Written by Carolyn Mason, a Medical Anthropology Ph.D. candidate

 

Fall 2022 Undergraduate Winners

 

First Prize: Is overcoming Personal Prejudice an Analogy for Ethical Politics?

Written by Zoe Roberts, a third year in the class of 2024 studying Public Policy, Economics, and Human Rights

 

Second Place: Ethical AI: The Dilemma of Responsibility in AI

Written by Daniel Ryan, a third year in the class of 2024 studying Computer Science and Music

 

Third Place: Oil & Gas: and Ethical Quandary

Written by Evan Johnson, a second year in the class of 2025 studying Finance and Spanish

 

Honorable Mention: On Extractivism and Indigenous Rights: Ethical Considerations of Industry, Consumerism, and the Ethnographer

Written by Nicholas Simpson, a fourth year in the class of 2023 studying Health and Society

 

Spring 2022 Graduate Winners

 

First Prize: Nazi War Criminals in the United States and the Fight to Rectify Injustice

Written by Ann Marie Dell, Doctor of Liberal Studies candidate

 

Second Place: The Intentionality of Poor Living Conditions on Death Row in the United States

Written by Louis Siebrits, Doctor of Liberal Studies candidate

 

Third Place: Climbing into the Canopy: Ecological and Ethical Entanglements in Costa Rica’s Cloud Forest

Written by Megan Brown, Anthropology PhD candidate

 

Honorable Mention: Setting Retirement on Fire? Communal and Ethical Reflections on Retirement Strategies

Written by Danny Sebastian, Religious Studies PhD candidate

 

Honorable Mention: The Pedagogy of Racial Ignorance

Written by RL Holmes, Doctor of Liberal Studies candidate