The NSPA Individual Awards honor the nation’s best scholastic journalism. Entrants are individuals and small teams whose work is judged by teams of professionals with experience and expertise in the contest category. For high school journalists, there are approximately 45 contests in 11 categories:
- Broadcast Story of the Year (4 contests)
- Cartoon of the Year (2 contests)
- Design of the Year (10 contests)
- Digital Story of the Year (7 contests)
- Photo of the Year (5 contests)
- Story of the Year (5 contests)
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards (1 contest)
- Fred Ross Systemic Change Student Journalism Competition
- Local Climate Change Reporting (1 contest)
- Portfolio of the Year (7 contests)
- Best Use of Social Media (2 contests)
Location(s)
- Remote
Schedule
- Spring/Summer
Cost/Compensation
- Participation in the NSPA Individual Awards is $99 in addition to NSPA membership
Eligibility Requirements
- Entries must have been published between June 25 of the previous year and June 1 of the year in which the competition takes place
- Open only to student media with a current NSPA membership as of the contest deadline
- Any student on the staff of an NSPA-member media outlet is eligible to enter
- The entry must be published in the NSPA-member student media
- The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion contest and the Fred Ross Systemic Change Journalism Competition do not require NSPA membership
Deadline
- Early June
Application or Entry Requirements
- The number of entries allowed for each contest is indicated. In most cases, 2 entries per student media outlet are allowed
- Entries may not be submitted in more than one category
- The submission format required for each contest is indicated. In most categories, a URL link to a website or a PDF file of the printed page is required—but not both
- For PDF files, the folio line with the publication date should be included
- For Photo of the Year contests, actual image files (JPG, TIF, PNG) are required
- Word documents will be rejected.
Notifications of Decisions
- Finalists are typically announced by September
Financial Aid Details
Other Dates to Keep in Mind
Have other questions?
The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) is a national community of student journalists and scholastic journalism advisers founded in 1921 with more than 1,350 members. It is based and incorporated in Minnesota as a non-profit educational association, and provides journalism education services to students, teachers, media advisers, and others throughout the United States and abroad. The NSPA's mission is to advance journalism and media as a vital cultural force by connecting advisers, students, and professionals through national events and competitions.
