Awards and Competitions
Start with a few good ideas, add some hard work and you could end up in San Francisco, New York City or even Cedar Rapids, Iowa, attending a communications festival or competing for a national award.
School of Communications students regularly participate in annual competitions related to their fields of study — in some cases competing for cash prizes. Below is a list of the contests, competitions and festivals available. Students should review the criteria and application requirements for each of the awards.
Contests, Competitions & Festivals for Student Entry
Open to All Majors
Photographer’s Forum Magazine
(Hosts a yearly college photo contest with a final deadline in December; magazine’s spring contest is open to all amateur photographers.)
Envision Kindness Student Photography & Film Contest
Deadline in April
AEJMC Creative Projects Competition
Deadline in April
AEJMC Best of the Web Competition
Deadline in April
Journalism
Hearst Journalism Awards Program
Deadlines vary based on competition, but runs November-April
Society of Professional Journalists Mark or Excellence Awards
Deadline in January
Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker and Individual Awards
Yearbook Pacemaker due January; Online Pacemaker due February; Newspaper Pacemaker due June; individual awards due June
College Media Association Apple Awards
Deadline in March
College Media Association Pinnacle Awards
Deadline start of June
North Carolina College Media Association Awards
Deadline in December
Columbia Scholastic Press Association Crown Awards
Deadline dates in June and October
Society of News Design
Deadline in January
Michigan State University Design Contest
Deadline in March
College News Design Contest
Deadline in March
College Broadcasters Inc. National Student Production Awards
Deadline in May
Society for Features Journalism
Deadline in March
Strategic Communications
PRSSA scholarship and leadership awards for PRSSA student members
Deadlines in spring
PRSSA Bateman Case Study competition
Students enter through school teams (must be a PRSSA member to enter)
Deadline in November.
Arthur W. Page Society Case Study Competition in Corporate Communications
The competition is announced in October and entries are due in January
PRWeek Magazine Student of the Year
Deadline in December
PSAID PSA competition
Deadline in April
American Advertising Federation Student ADDYs
Deadline for Raleigh-Durham in January
American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition
Teams first compete at the district level, then advance to the semi-finals and finals. Finals are held in late May/early June.
American Advertising Federation Triangle’s Lauterborn Scholarship
Deadline in mid-April
The One Show The Young Ones Competition
Deadline in March
Communication Arts Magazine
Deadline varies based on category.
Cinema & Television Arts
FilmFreeway (film festival submissions platform)
BEA Festival of Media Arts
Deadline in December
CineAid Film Festival
Deadline in mid-July
Southern Exposure Summer Fellowship
Deadline in March
HATCH Audiovisual Arts Festival
Deadline in August
BAFTA US Student Film Award
Deadline in April
Delta Moon Student Film Festival
New England Film and Video Festival
Buffalo Niagara Film Festival
Submissions start in September and end start of January
Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival BC AA
Submissions are accepted April to July
Cleveland International Film Festival
Mile High Horror Film Festival
Submissions start in April and end in July
East Lansing Film Festival
Submissions open in March
Eerie Horror Film Festival
Submissions start in October and end in August
The Lindsey Film Festival
Submissions start in May and end in September
Spirit Quest Film Festival April
Submissions start in May and end in April
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
Submissions start in June and end in September
WorldFest Houston International Film and Video Festival
Colorado Film Festival
Submissions start in November and end in June
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Student Awards
Submissions start in March and end in June
International Student Film Festival Hollywood
Submissions start in July and end in August
Sunset Film Festival
Submissions start in September and end in March
The Valley Film Festival
Submissions start in February and end in August
Women’s Voices Now Online Short Film Festival
Submissions begin in August and end in January
New York City Short Film Festival (NYC Shorts)
The Manhattan Short Film Festival
International Family Film Festival
New Vision Partners Interfaith Film Festival
NextFrame International Student Film Festival
Philadelphia XPN Music Film Festival
San Joaquin International Film Festival
The Shorty Awards – Student Film and News Festival
Deadline in February
RiverRun International Film Festival
Yosemite International Film Festival
Deadline Jan. 20 – Sept. 15
San Francisco Frozen Film Festival
Deadline late March to May
Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting
Early Deadline in March; Regular Deadline in April; Final Deadline in May
UCLA Extension Feature Film Competition & UCLA Extension Television Writing Competitions (Spec and Pilot)
Deadline in April
The Written Image Screenwriting Prize
Deadline in May
Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award
Deadline in June
Abraham Polonsky Award In Screenwriting
Deadline in February
Abraham Polonsky Graduate Award In Critical Writing
Deadline in February
RIFF Screenplay Competition
Deadline in June
The Sloan Grant Screenwriting Program
Deadline in April
Search for America’s Newest Scriptwriter Contest
Sitcom Contest.com National Writing Competition
Deadline in July
The Redstones; Fleder/Rosenberg Short Screenplay Contest
Deadline in January
David Levy Graduate Screenwriting Scholarship
Deadline in February
Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting (Collyer Fellowship)
Disney-ABC Television Writing Program
Deadline in May
College Broadcasters Inc. National Student Production Awards
Deadline in May
Communication Design
- Society for News Design Competition
- Links to specific contests, including:
- Michigan State University Design Contest for Students
Deadline in March - Missouri Student Society of News Design
Deadline in March
- Michigan State University Design Contest for Students
- Links to specific contests, including:
Adobe Design Achievement Awards
Deadlines in April and June
RSA Student Design Awards
Deadline in March
American Advertising Awards (formerly the ADDYs)
Raleigh-Durham specific awards
Deadline in February
Communication Arts Competition
Deadlines January-May
Print Magazine Design Competition
Deadlines throughout the year (several contest opportunities)
How Magazine Design Competitions and Contests
Deadlines April-August
International Visual Identity Awards
Deadline in September
Student Web Awards
Deadline in May
American Package Design Awards
The Dieline Awards
Deadline in February
Media Analytics
Google Online Marketing Challenge
Deadline in May