About

The APO, which holds its authority from the American Philosophical Association, runs its selection competition online each February or March: participants write a three-hour philosophical essay in either French or Spanish on one of several prescribed topics, proctored virtually, with access only to a printed dictionary. Post-AP proficiency in the chosen language is required — the combination of philosophical depth and foreign language fluency demanded is what makes the APO the most selective filter it is. The top two essays are selected to represent the United States at the IPO, held each May in a rotating host country. At the international level, each student chooses one of four topics — spanning the full range of philosophical inquiry from ethics to epistemology to metaphysics — and writes a four-hour essay judged by a panel of philosophy professors on relevance to the topic, philosophical understanding, persuasiveness of argumentation, coherence, and originality. Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded, along with honorable mentions.

The IPO occupies a singular position in the pre-college humanities landscape: it is the only internationally organized academic competition for high school students in philosophy, and there is nothing structurally comparable in any other humanities discipline. For a student with genuine philosophical ability and strong foreign language proficiency, APO selection alone — representing the United States among two students nationally — is a credential that admissions offices in philosophy, humanities, and law recognize as exceptional. IPO medal performance places a student in company that no other pre-college philosophy competition can offer, because no other pre-college philosophy competition of this scope exists.

The IPO is the right competition for a high school student with serious philosophical ability and genuine fluency in French or Spanish — the language requirement is not incidental but structural, and the combination of linguistic and philosophical demand is what gives the credential its weight.