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Physics Prize 2026

Drake University takes great pleasure in announcing the 2026 Drake Physics Prize Competition. Since 1970, we have offered this scholarship opportunity to encourage interest in physics, astronomy, the physical sciences, engineering and medical sciences, and to give recognition to outstanding high-school students. High school students with an interest in these areas are invited to participate!

Three scholarship awards are offered:

• First place award is a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to study physics at Drake University.
• Second place award the Helmick-Cruisenberry partial-tuition scholarship.
• Third place award is the William Humphrey partial-tuition scholarship aimed at, but not limited to, students interested in computational physics.

The first part of the competition consists of an online application. This includes information academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, transcripts and recommendation letters. There is also an essay to be written by the applicant on the topic “Why I want to study physics”. The credentials of the applicants will be evaluated by faculty members. The deadline for application is January 10, 2026. The best applicants who are senior students will be selected and informed on February 2, 2026. They will be invited to campus for the second part of the process to be held on February 27, 2026. This part will consist of the Physics Prize Test, a program description, discussion with parents and students, a campus tour and lunch. The winners will be announced the following week. The winners will additionally receive a trophy. The top 20 contestants will receive a certificate of achievement by Drake University.

The Drake Physics Prize Test will cover topics in physics that would normally be studied by students during the first semester of their high-school physics course: kinematics, dynamics (Newton’s laws), circular motion, universal law of gravitation, harmonic motion (simple pendulum and mass-spring systems), impulse, linear momentum, conservation of momentum and collisions, work, energy and conservation of energy, torque, static equilibrium, rotational kinematics, dynamics and energy, angular momentum conservation, mechanical waves, and sound.

Drake University offers Bachelor’s of Arts degree programs in physics with emphasis on pre-engineering, biomedical physics and computational physics. Our graduates find employment in the industry or attend graduate school in physics, medicine, engineering and other related fields.

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Please log in using your Office of Admission application credentials. (If you have not yet started your admission application, you must start it before you can set up a scholarship application. A complete application to Drake, including all required application materials must be submitted by the January 10 deadline to be considered.

For questions or concerns about the exam, please email the department at physics@drake.edu.

For more information about the Physics & Astronomy program at Drake, please visit the department’s home page: http://www.drake.edu/physics/.

Drake University values academic integrity.  Use of any unapproved outside assistance (such as ChatGPT or other AI tools, search engines or assistance from other students/friends/family) will result in disqualification for this prize.

Yours sincerely,

Athan Petridis, Physics Prize Director
Professor of Physics
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Drake University