Pre-Collegiate Competitions

Students from 32 northeast Georgia counties in grades 6-12 are invited to compete in the 2025 Northeast Georgia National History Day Regional Contest, which will take place at the University of Georgia on Saturday, February 8, 2025. Winners will advance to the state-level contest hosted by LaGrange College in April, and may then be selected to advance to the national competition hosted by the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.

National History Day (NHD) actively engages middle and high school students in a historical research program in which they examine past events, think critically about their significance, and communicate and defend a well-researched argument. Students select a topic related to this year's theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research to investigate their topic and answer specific research questions. Students then showcase their evidence and conclusions with a project in one of the following categories: Exhibit, Paper, Website, Documentary, or Performance. The NHD guide can help students get started on a project.

NHD equips students with college- and career-ready skills of collaboration, research, writing, and innovative thinking that come from the study of history and civics. An independent study confirmed that students who participate in NHD outperform their peers in ways that extend beyond the classroom and the competition.

All projects must adhere to general and category-specific rules outlined in the NHD Rule Book. In addition to creating the project, applicants in all categories submit an Annotated Bibliography and a Process Paper, which discusses the reasoning behind the project, the research process, and topic's relationship the to the theme. See the Written Materials Guide for more details.

Contest Entry:
Submit Application for the Northeast Georgia NHD Regional Contest

To enter the NHD Regional Contest, students – with the help of a teacher – must submit the Project Application, including written materials (all categories) and the $10.00 per student (not per team) application fee by Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

The project application deadline is firm. Teachers must create an account before students can begin the application; please allow time to do so.

Teachers, please complete this brief Intent to Participate form with your expected number of projects by December 13, 2024. The intent is not binding but will help us ensure we have enough volunteer judges and venue space for a successful contest.

Completed Paper and Website projects must be submitted with the Project Application. Website projects must be created using the NHDWebCentral site creator; no other website formats will be accepted. Depending on application volume, Paper and Website projects may be pre-screened, with a limited number of competitors in these categories being selected to compete at the regional contest.

Payment Options:
Please note that the online payment site differs from the Project Application site.

Submit online payment for the Northeast Georgia NHD Application Fee

To pay by check, please make checks payable to “University of Georgia,” and write the applicant’s name in the memo line. Mail payments to:

Northeast Georgia National History Day
Office of Academic Special Programs
1197 S. Lumpkin St., Suite 198
Athens, GA 30602

Resources for Teachers and Students:

1. All NHD participants should carefully review the NHD Rule Book as it provides important information about selecting a topic, conducting your research, and readying your project for competition.
2. The NHD website provides a wealth of information and resouces.
3. The LaGrange College NHD website has additional resources for students and teachers about finding and using primary sources, developing research topics, incorporating NHD projects into classroom learning objectives, and much more.
4. The National Archives website provides guidance to digital collections and billions of primary sources, many of which can be incorporated into NHD research.