National History Day Rules
For complete category rules, please consult the NHD Rule Book.
Rule Book in English
Rule Book in Spanish
The New Mexico Humanities Council has been the proud sponsor of National History Day in New Mexico since the program was introduced in the 1990s, because we believe in the transformative power of this program. We are so proud to support the excellent scholarship that New Mexico students demonstrate.
Find the official NHD Rule Book and theme related materials here.
In New Mexico:
- A school may enter 4 projects in any given category and division (4 junior individual exhibits, 4 junior group exhibits, etc.) to a regional contest.
- The top three projects from each category and division, as well as any qualifying honorable mentions, advance from the regional contest to the state contest.
National History Day in New Mexico
The New Mexico Humanities Council has been the proud sponsor of National History Day in New Mexico since the program was introduced in the 1990s. We believe in the transformative power of NHD and are proud to support the excellent scholarship that New Mexico students demonstrate.
For news about NHD in New Mexico, please follow us on Facebook and subscribe to the New Mexico Humanities Council newsletter by filling out the form.
About the Day of the Contest
Judge Criteria
National History Day is an exciting academic enrichment program which promotes the study of history. These young historians develop research papers, exhibits, documentaries, websites and performances based on topics for this year's theme: Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences. Participating in National History Day helps address the Common Core State Standards comprehensively.
As a judge, you are critical to the contest, giving them written constructive feedback about their projects. Students use this feedback to improve their projects after each contest on their way to Nationals in June. There are two divisions: Junior and Senior. The Junior Division is comprised of middle school students, grades 6-8. The Senior Division is comprised of high school students, grades 9-12. Projects for all categories can be completed individually or by a group, with the exception of Papers, which are only individual.
After viewing entries, each set of judges will confer to decide an order ranking of the entries.
Judges work on a team and are required to reach consensus on ranking. All ranked winners in each category (1st, 2nd and 3rd) are eligible to participate in the State Contest, which begins at the end of March. Ties for any place are allowed.