FFRF College Essay Competition – Michael Hakeem Memorial Award

Award Amount
Application deadline
Awarded By:

Freedom From Religion Foundation

Number of Awards & Eligibility: Ten awards provided annually. Additional honorable mention awards may be provided if sufficiently many high quality submissions are received.
In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:
  1. This award is for international and U.S. students.
  2. Must be a freethinker (atheist or agnostic) or reject religion.
  3. Must be a resident of North America.
  4. Must be a college freshman or older to apply for this undergraduate award.
  5. Must be under 25 years of age.

In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:

Description: This writing contest is for currently enrolled North American undergraduate students who consider themselves to be atheist/agnostic/freethinkers/unbelievers. Students must be 24 years of age or younger.

Application requirements for the FFRF College Essay Competition – Michael Hakeem Memorial Award are:

  • Essay
  • Biography (one paragraph)
Additional Information: Winners will be asked to provide a photograph suitable for publication. By entering the contest, winning students agree to have their essays printed in full or in part in 'Freethought Today', the foundation's newspaper, and later posted online on the foundation's website. Winners will receive a school-year subscription to 'Freethought Today'. All eligible non-winning entrants will be offered the choice of a freethought book, or a school-year subscription to 'Freethought Today'.

Award Amount: Awards are provided from between $200 for honorable mentions to up to $3,500 for first place.  The total dollars awarded for this scholarship is $16,000.

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Monday, May 31, 2021

Deadline Information:

Deadline for this scholarship is Monday, May 31, 2021

Applications and information about the Michael Hakeem Memorial Essay Contest can be found online at the Freedom From Religion Foundation website. To enter, the applicant must write a typed, double-spaced essay of 450-600 words addressing the current year's topic. The student need only write on one topic. The applicant must also include a brief biography (one paragraph) identifying the college or university he/she attends, year in school, and his/her major and interests. The applicant must also provide his/her permanent and/or campus address, phone number and a valid email address. The applicant should not include a resume. The essay and the supporting materials must be submitted online by the deadline date.
About Freedom From Religion Foundation:
Contact Information: Scholarship Coordinator, Scholarship Committee
Address: P.O. Box 750 Madison, Wisconsin 53701

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