What You Need to Know

Thank you for your interest in serving as a judge for the National History Day in Missouri state contest!​

Volunteer judges are vital to the contest, offering feedback to middle and high school students on their creative projects and helping top finishers prepare for the national contest. NHDMO's five competitive categories—documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, and website -- offer something for everyone!

Who Can Be a Judge?

You can!  National History Day in Missouri is looking for educators, historians, writers, filmmakers, museum staff, and community members to join us for this year's state contest to judge student projects. We also welcome graduate students and select undergraduates to our judging teams.

The 2026 NHDMO state contest will be at the University of Missouri-Columbia. ALL judges must be able to attend the state contest in person on April 25, 2026, to interview students and finalize rankings. Judging assignments will be announced closer to the contest date.

​We deeply appreciate your time and the thoughtful feedback that you provide to Missouri students. Thank you for your service! 

Judge Resources

Explore NHD categories and sample projects from previous years.
Learn more about NHD rules and how to judge each category.
View the Contest Rule Book and evaluation sheets for important rules and revisions. 
Looking for guidance on how students may use (and may not use) AI tools when creating an NHD project? Check out this handout.