The Academic Decathlon is a national scholastic competition designed to stimulate intellectual growth, develop critical thinkers, and create lifelong learners.
"I love this program, not only for the academic challenges it gives us, and the engaging curricular approach to the various subject areas, but also for the opportunity it gives to boost the self confidence of our participants. I’ve seen our students grow as learners, speakers, and team members through this program. From the bottom of my heart, QUYANAQPAK!" - White Mountain Coach
Earn Scholarships
The Alaska Academic Decathlon provides more than $35,000 in scholarships on an annual basis.
The U.S. Academic Decathlon® is excited to announce that the overall curricular theme for 2026–2027 will be Journeys of Transformation: An Exploration of Travel and Transportation. Below, please find general information on the topics in each subject area.
- ART: The art curriculum will explore themes of travel and transportation.
- ECONOMICS: The economics curriculum will cover fundamental economic concepts, microeconomics, and macroeconomics, and will include a thematic section on the economics of transportation.
- LITERATURE: The literature curriculum will explore journeys, quests, and travel in literature and will include critical reading, one long work of literature, and selected shorter works. The long work of literature will be The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.
- MATHEMATICS: The mathematics curriculum will cover general mathematics, geometry, and an introduction to differential calculus. *
- MUSIC: The music curriculum will focus on travel and transportation.
- SCIENCE: The science topic will be an introduction to animal behavior and migration.
- SOCIAL SCIENCE: The social science topic will be an introduction to human geography and migration.**
*The 2026–27 mathematics curriculum and materials will be the same as those used for the 2023–24 U.S. Academic Decathlon.
**The portion of the social science curriculum that covers human migration will present an introduction to migration patterns and processes and will include historical case studies, but does not discuss current issues and policies related to migration.
The Experience
There are lots of wonderful academic competitions out there. You can go prove you’re the best writer, or the best physicist, or the best speller.
Academic Decathlon isn’t about any of that!
It’s not about demonstrating how good a student you already are. It’s about daring to push your limits, to master college-level material and to practice skills, like public speaking, that might be wholly new to you. It’s about the people you’ll meet along the way—the coaches who will mentor you, the competitors who will challenge you, and the teammates who will become your lifelong friends.
As Decathletes, you’ll learn an exciting new theme each year. You’ll explore seven subjects connected to that theme, from art and science to math and economics. You’ll learn to move an audience not just with facts and rhetoric, but with confidence. And you’ll never do any of this alone. You’ll be working with a team—a team composed of students with a wide range of grades but a single shared goal.
What Happens During the State and National Competitions
Academic Decathlon® isn’t about mastering a single event, but ten different skills and disciplines. Every Academic Decathlon competition, whether it’s a local round or the national finals, will follow the same multidisciplinary format.
You’ll deliver speeches, one on a topic of your choice and one on a topic you’ve never seen before.
You’ll write an essay demonstrating not just what you’ve learned but how powerfully you can argue an idea.
You’ll be interviewed by judges asking you thoughtful questions about your past experiences and your goals for the future.
You’ll take challenging exams in Art, Economics, Literature, Math, Music, Science, and Social Science.
And, at the exciting Super Quiz™, you and your teammates will take turns solving the most stimulating challenges of all from across every subject you’ve studied—while a virtual audience cheers you on.
Scholarships
The Alaska Academic Decathlon provides more than $35,000 in scholarships on an annual basis.
Students can earn scholarships through our premiere partner, Alaska 529, and the University of Alaska Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Southeast.
Scholarships are awarded to the highest scoring students AND by coach recommendation and student essays. Some scholarships are open to rural students only.
A look back
2025
2023
2024
2021
