Essay contests, journalism programs, and media internships for students who want to write and report.
Programs in this collection (9)
NYT Student Editorial Contest: The New York Times. Competition, Worldwide. Write a 450-word editorial on an issue you care about.
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: Scholastic. Competition, USA. A national competition in which students in grades 7-12 who are at least 13 years old submit original art and writing in 28 categories through an online portal. Entrants must live in the U.S. or a U.S. territory or military base, and some students outside the U.S., including teens at U.S.-accredited schools abroad, also qualify. Entries cost $15 each or $40 per portfolio, fee waivers are available for financial need, and only graduating seniors may enter the Art Portfolio.
The Concord Review: The Concord Review. Competition, Worldwide. Submit a history research essay, typically 5,000 to 10,000 words or more with Turabian endnotes, written in English before you finish secondary school. The $70 submission fee includes a year of the eBook edition, and about 5% of papers are published.
Iowa Young Writers' Studio: Univ. of Iowa. Summer Program, Iowa City, USA. A two-week residential creative writing program on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City for students currently in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade, including international students. Admission is based almost entirely on a writing sample, with a $10 reading fee.
Journalism Education Assoc. Awards: JEA. Competition, USA. JEA runs national awards and contests for high school journalists, including Journalist of the Year scholarships for seniors that begin at the state level, and the National Student Media Contests, where JEA member advisers enter students in writing, design, photo, and broadcast categories.
School-Year Journalism Internships: The Bell. Internship, New York, USA. A paid school-year journalism internship from The Bell for New York City public high school students. Interns learn audio journalism and produce stories for the Miseducation and P.S. Weekly podcasts. The program runs from October to May, and recent cohorts have included about 15 public high school students.
NYWICI Scholarships: New York Women in Communications. Scholarship, New York, USA. Scholarships from New York Women in Communications for high school seniors and college students studying communications who live in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania or attend school in New York. Awards range from $2,500 to $10,000 and are based on academic excellence, financial need, and commitment to the field. Many are sponsored awards, and winners may be invited to NYWICI events.
Voice of Democracy: Veterans of Foreign Wars. Scholarship, USA. An audio-essay scholarship competition from the Veterans of Foreign Wars for students in grades 9 through 12. Students record an essay on a yearly patriotic theme and submit it with an entry form to a local participating VFW Post, with awards at the local, state, and national levels. The national first-place winner receives a $35,000 college scholarship, and each state first-place winner earns a trip to a youth leadership experience at Valley Forge.