Essay Contest

Announcing the 2025 LOUCHHEIM SCHOOL ANNUAL JEWISH STUDIES ESSAY/PROJECT CONTEST

FIRST PRIZE: $500 SECOND PRIZE: $250 THIRD PRIZE: $150

Deadline: April 11, 2025, 9:00 am

Purpose: To encourage undergraduate research in the field of Jewish Studies through academic engagement and clear and thoughtful scholarship.

Eligibility: Applicants must be currently enrolled undergraduates at the University of Southern California.

Theme: Submissions must engage with one of the following topics:
Representations of Jews, Judaism and/or Jewish culture in popular culture (historical or contemporary)
Jewish languages and literatures
Judaism and/or religious practice and experience
The Hebrew Bible and/or the archaeology of Israel and its neighbors
Antisemitism and/or intersections of antisemitism, racism and other hatreds
Intergroup connections and/or disconnections (interfaith, intolerance, inter-ethnic)
Jewish law and/or the intersections of Jewish law and civil legal practices or ideas

Format: We are offering two categories this year:
(a) Research Papers/Essays (minimum 2 pages in length) and (b) Creative Academic Projects.

Students may submit work submitted for USC courses and, in the case of research papers, write a new essay. All submissions must be entirely original and unpublished.

Submission: Submissions must be uploaded electronically by using the submission link or the QR code below. The subject line should include “Louchheim School Essay Competition.” Entries should be formatted double spaced, using 12pt Times New Roman with 1” margins. Please be sure to include a cover page with your full name, essay title, email address, telephone number, and current mailing address. Please do not include your name in the file name or beyond the title page. Essay submissions must be upload as a MS Word document (not PDF or Google Doc). Creative submissions must include a brief description and a link to a file saved on USC’s OneDrive.

One entry (either written or creative) per student, please.

Criteria: Essays and creative projects will be evaluated for quality of prose, clarity of purpose, thoughtful integration of evidence, command of language and originality. All entries will be read and evaluated by a committee of Jewish Studies faculty members.

If you have questions, please contact USC’s Jewish Studies program at JewishStudies@usc.edu or 213-765-2113.

Submissions:
https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cZSI3kwfsCBLeHs