The Sir John M. Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest for junior faculty and students in higher education is held every year. The submission deadline is May 1, 2009 . Winners will be announced in October, 2009 . The 2009 Templeton Fellowships will be awarded for the best essay on the topic:

“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
—Benjamin Franklin

Which virtues contribute the most toward achieving freedom, and how can the institutions of civil society encourage the exercise of those virtues?

Please visit the Guidelines page for more information about how to write your essay.

Awards:
Students

Junior Faculty Members

First Prize: $2,500
Second Prize: $1,500
Third prize: $1,000

First Prize: $10,000
Second Prize: $5,000
Third Prize: $1,500

Deadline: May 1, 2009

The Sir John M. Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest encourages college students and young college professors around the world to study the meaning and significance of economic and personal liberty.

Co-sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation and the Independent Institute, the essay contest honors Sir John M. Templeton and is held annually with a different topic each year.

Created in 1974 by Olive W. Garvey, the Fellowship contest has drawn essay submissions from more than 75 countries on 5 continents. Garvey winners have since become some of the finest of scholars, business and civic leaders, and journalists, applying and advancing public knowledge and appreciation around the world for the ideas of individual liberty and personal responsibility.

* Essay Guidelines
* Suggested Essay Reference Bibliography
* Past Winners
* Submit Your Essay

The Independent Institute will publish the winning essays on this website and seek to have them published elsewhere in major magazines and journals. All winning entries become the property of and are copyrighted by The Independent Institute.

More info here.