Ethics and Morality Essay Submission Form
2025 Dr. K. York & M. Noelle Chynn CUNY Ethics and Morality Essay Contest
Submission Deadline: Friday, November 6, 2026
In today’s modern society however, virtues have slowly begun to lose their importance, or are often forgotten in the daily hustle of people’s daily lives. For example in China, officials recently enacted a new law to foster filial piety among its citizens by compelling adult children to visit their aging parents. Recognizing the importance of virtues in our lives, will lead to better communication, understanding, and acceptance between us and our fellow man.
For your essay, please select one Virtue from the list above to discuss in detail. In discussing the Virtue you have selected, please incorporate all of the following points in your essay:
- Tell us about your own experience in practicing the Virtue you have chosen to write about and what personal reward or satisfaction have you gained from it.
- Why did you think the Virtue that you chose was an important one to practice in your life?
- What obstacles did you encounter in practicing this particular Virtue and how did you, or do you, still strive to overcome the difficulties?
Note: All winning (3) and honorable mention essays will be posted online for the public to read. If your essay is selected to win a cash prize, it must be posted online or you will forfeit your prize award.
Submission must meet the following requirements:
- Applicant must be a currently enrolled CUNY undergraduate or graduate student. Include a scanned copy of your college ID and current semester program. (Official transcripts are not required.)
- Cover page containing title of essay, name of student, name of CUNY college, and date.
- Length: 1,000 to 1,500 words
- Typed, 12-size Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins, and double-spaced.
- Work citations in MLA format: Reference all materials that are not your own. Exclude dictionary references and single-line quotes. Include at least (3) three verifiable sources, e.g. books, articles and websites.
- All work must be original material. Attribution and references to quoted materials must be included.
- Please use the form below to submit your essay by Friday, November 6, 2026. Please include copy of college ID and current semester program from CUNYfirst.
Please let us know if you have any issues with the submission form.