National High School Model United Nations
NHSMUN · IMUNA · New York City
National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN), organized by IMUNA, is widely regarded as the largest high-school MUN conference in the world. It is held annually in New York City over two back-to-back sessions in March and includes committee sessions inside the United Nations Headquarters — one of the few conferences where high-school delegates get UN-floor time. Substantive depth is a defining feature: NHSMUN places heavy weight on detailed working papers grounded in primary sources.
History
NHSMUN was founded in 1974 and is run by IMUNA (the International Model UN Association), a non-profit dedicated to MUN education. The conference's scale and its UN-floor sessions have anchored it in the high-school MUN landscape for five decades.
Because of the venue partnership with the United Nations Headquarters, NHSMUN follows additional security and conduct guidelines beyond standard hotel-conference logistics. Delegates should prepare accordingly.
Format and committees
NHSMUN's committee slate is dominated by GA, ECOSOC, and specialized-agency simulations. Crisis is offered but is a smaller share of the conference than at, say, ILMUNC or NAIMUN. Substantive committees emphasize policy realism and detailed working papers.
Each delegation is expected to submit position papers in advance; chairs read them and reference them in committee. Position-paper awards are a meaningful credential at NHSMUN.
Who attends
NHSMUN draws an unusually international delegation pool for a U.S. conference — schools from across Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia regularly send large delegations. Because of two sessions, total attendance dwarfs most other high-school conferences.
The conference is open to any high school that registers; it is not invitation-only. This makes it a reasonable target for both established travel teams and ambitious newer programs.
What makes it distinct
The two features delegates remember most are the UN Headquarters sessions and the substantive expectations. Working papers at NHSMUN tend to be longer and more sourced than at peer conferences; chairs reward delegates who can cite specific UN reports, treaty provisions, or country statements rather than speak in generalities.
For students considering careers in international affairs, NHSMUN is one of the few high-school experiences that puts them physically inside the institutions they're simulating.
How to prepare
- Submit a strong, sourced position paper — chairs read them and reference them in award decisions.
- Bring printed UN documents (treaty texts, Security Council resolutions, GA resolutions) for citation in working papers.
- Plan logistics around the UN Headquarters session — security screening adds time.
Dates, registration, fees, committees, and background guides for the current edition live on the conference's own site. We don't mirror them — they change.
Prep with Atlas
Research your country, draft your position paper, and prep for committee.
Ask Atlas about NHSMUN