The 2008 Sir John M. Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest

Top Essays to Be Awarded $2,500 (Students) or $10,000 (Untenured Faculty)

The Independent Institute is pleased to announce the 2008 Sir John M. Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest. Cash prizes will be awarded to outstanding college students—and untenured “junior” faculty—from around the world through a competitive essay contest. The essay topics change annually. This year’s topic pertains to property rights and human rights:

UCLA economics professor Armen Alchian once wrote, “For decades social critics in the United States and throughout the Western world have complained that ‘property’ rights too often take precedence over ‘human’ rights, with the result that people are treated unequally and have unequal opportunities. Inequality exists in any society. But the purported conflict between property rights and human rights is a mirage—property rights are human rights.” (Source: “Property Rights,” in The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.

Are property rights human rights? How are they related? What are their similarities and differences? If property rights are human rights, why have they enjoyed fewer legal protections and intellectual champions than other human rights?

A panel of three judges will look for the best essays related to the topic—original essays distinguished by their clarity, rigor, and eloquence. The essays need not be technical or demonstrate hyper-specialized scholarship, but they should be serious in content, tone, and style. Held annually, the Sir John M. Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest (a continuation of the Olive W. Garvey Fellowship Competition) was created to encourage and reward scholarship pertaining to the meaning and significance of economic and personal liberties.

STUDENT DIVISION:

College students up to the age of 35
First Prize: $2,500
Second Prize: $1,500
Third prize: $1,000

FACULTY DIVISION:

Junior faculty members up to the age of 35 and not yet tenured:
First Prize: $10,000
Second Prize: $5,000
Third Prize: $1,500

ELIGIBILITY: 1) Student Division: Any student 35 years or younger enrolled at a recognized college or university anywhere in the world. 2) Junior Faculty Division: Untenured college or university teachers, Assistant Professor or higher, 35 years or younger.

LENGTH: Student essays must be 1,500 to 5,000 words long. Teacher essays must be 5,000 to 8,000 words long.

DEADLINE: May 1, 2008

MORE INFORMATION, including complete eligibility requirements, a suggested reading list and examples of past winning essays can be found here.