National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics

 

The National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics is an annual competition held in the Spring. It is open to all Undergraduate and Post Graduate Students enrolled in UK universities.

Students are invited to enter by submitting an essay of up to 2000 words on any topic relevant to practical ethics.

Practical ethics is concerned with what we should do in any given situation. It reflects on personal, professional, policy, and social choices and structures and holds them up to scrutiny. It may balance or prioritise different values and interests.

Two undergraduate papers and two graduate papers will be shortlisted from those submitted to go forward to a public presentation and discussion, where the winner of each category will be selected.  

The winner from each category will receive a prize of £500, and the runner up £200. Revised versions of the two winning essays will be considered for publication in the Journal of Practical Ethics.

The competition is now closed for 2026 entries. 

How to take part and T&Cs       See past winners

 

The 12th National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize in Practical Ethics - the results

Group photo of the 2026 Essay prize finalists and judges

We were delighted to host the final of the 12th National Uehiro Oxford Essay Prize at Keble College's H B Allen Centre, where the finalists presented their ideas to an audience and responded to a short Q&A. We are grateful to our panel of judges, Professor Roger Crisp, Dr Gabriel De Marco and Dr Koji Tachibana, and would like to congratulate all the finalists, in particular the winners, Zineb Zbirou and Adam Hudson. The results are as follows:

Undergraduate Winner

The winner of the Undergraduate category is Zineb Zbirou with 'Should the law punish failure to save a life?'

Graduate Winner

The winner of the Graduate category is Adam Hudson with 'What (if anything) is wrong with consumer boycotting?'

Runners-up

Undergraduate runner-up: Ethan Beri: Is prostitution just a job?

Graduate runner-up: Clodagh Commane: “It’s Not Your Fault, Doctor.” How should we think about the Ethics of NHS Failure?

Honourable Mentions

Undergraduate honourable mention: Leela Kainth: Can pornography be feminist in a mass market economy?

Graduate honourable mention: Justin Perry: What We Owe The Dispossessed

Graduate honourable mention: James Forsdyke: 'It’s Physical, Not Intellectual.' The Ethics of Correcting Assumptions About Disability