Theme and Topics

Theme Resources

Every year, National History Day Ⓡ selects a theme to guide students in their research. The theme is chosen for the broad application to world, national or local history. Students are tasked with selecting research topics that not only relate to the annual theme but are also significant in history and interesting to them. The 2025 theme is Rights and Responsbilities in History.

Topic Resources

Choosing an NHD research topic can be a daunting task but luckily, good topics are everywhere! Start by thinking about a person, event, or larger time period in history that interests you. You can also think about your hobbies and interests outside of school—chances are there's a connection to history somewhere in your favorite music, movie or sport.

Once you've found a topic that captures your interest, start thinking about that topic's relationship to the annual theme and its significance in history. Keep in mind that a good NHD topic should also have plenty primary and secondary sources to document its history.

Still stuck? Use the resources below to jumpstart your topic selection process!