Competition
Profile in Courage Essay Contest
John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
Recognition
First place: $10,000 cash award plus an invitation (with paid travel) to the Profile in Courage Award ceremony in Boston; second place: $3,000; three finalists: $1,000 each; fifteen honorable mentions; all participants receive a Certificate of Participation.
Deadline
~Jan 12, 2026
Estimated; confirm on sponsor site
An annual contest in which US high school students write an original 700-1,000 word essay (with at least five cited sources) describing and analyzing an act of political courage by a US elected official who served during or after 1917.
Eligibility
- Grade levels
- High school
- Fields of study
- Humanities, Social sciences
- Essay
- Required
Application requirements
- Review the contest topic and choose an eligible elected U.S. official (served during/after 1917, not JFK, not a president)
- Research and write a 700-1,000 word essay analyzing a single act of political courage: Must cite at least 5 sources with a full bibliography; citations/bibliography don't count toward the word limit.
- Have a nominating teacher (or, for homeschoolers, a parent/guardian) read the essay before submission
- Submit the essay through the official online contest portal by the deadline: 2026 deadline was January 12, 2026 (11:59 PM ET); the next cycle's date is not yet posted.
Verified Jul 6, 2026 · View official source