Media, creative & cultural

Taking part in competitions can enhance your career opportunities in this sector. You could win a cash prize, an internship or even a chance to travel abroad.

Deadlines are staggered throughout the year, so check each link for up-to-date information.

Advertising, PR & marketing

DMA Talent Marketing Challenge - opportunity to win hands-on experience, prizes and the opportunity to meet and impress marketing’s top VIPs. Set up your student agency, get stuck into a real-life marketing brief and pitch your solution to a real-life client. Open to students at any stage of any course. Entries opened in January and close at 23:59 GMT on 6 June 2022.
D&AD: New Blood Awards - annual competition to cultivate new creative talent. Open to all students and recent graduates, the challenge is to answer a creative brief set by world famous brands. Call for entries opened in January, this year's deadline was 22 March 2022.
L'Oréal Student Innovator Brandstorm - annual international competition for students to work in teams of 3. This year there are 3 tracks to choose from: inclusion, green and tech. The prize is a trip to L'Oréal's headquarters in Paris to compete at their international finals. Registration closed on 19 January 2022.

Arts, design & creative

Arts Thread - includes arts, design and creative events and competitions and an opportunity to showcase work. Check website for competition deadlines.
D&AD: New Blood Awards - annual competition to cultivate new creative talent. Open to all students and recent graduates, the challenge is to answer a creative brief set by world famous brands. You can sign up to their free online course which walks you through the process and gives you hints and tips on how to win. Call for entries opened in January and closed on 22 March 2022.
Crafts Council: Opportunities - includes lists of awards and competitions.
ScreenSkills: Opportunities - includes competitions, mentoring, training opportunities and events
The House of Illustration - usually run the Book Illustration Competition, an annual international competition open to illustrators over the age of 18 who have not been previously published by The Folio Society. The winner receives a commission worth £5,000 to complete six illustrations and a binding design for the book, which is then published by The Folio Society. The competition is paused for this year.
The Alpine Fellowship - each year, writing, visual arts, and theatre prizes are awarded to the best works concerning the year's theme. Applications opened on 1 January 2022 and closed on 1 April 2022.
MacMillan Prize for Illustration - annual illustration competition, open to students from any discipline. The winner receives £1000 prize. Applications last year opened on 12 April 2021 and closed on 28 April 2021.
Penguin Student Design Award - annual design and illustration competition, offering the chance to win £1,000 in prize money as well as a work placement in the Penguin Random House Design Studios. Open to students of all disciplines. Applications opened on 7 December 2021 and closed on Tuesday 1 March 2022.
Arts Council: Developing your Creative Practice – the fund supports creative practitioners thinking of taking their practice to the next stage to research, have time to create new work, travel, training, develop ideas, network, or find mentoring. Applications opened on 5 August 2021 and closed on 2 September 2021.

Journalism, writing & publishing

Journo Resouces: Young and Student Journalism Awards - comprehensive list of awards and competitions by deadline.
The Poetry Society - list of competitions and prizes.
Amnesty International Media Awards - includes a student award for students who have had an article published (or a radio/TV piece broadcast) in a recognised student media outlet. This year's competition closed on 20 January 2022.
Northern Writers' Awards - annual competition, offering cash prizes, mentoring and support to talented writers based in the North of England. This year's competition closed on 17 February 2022.
British Guild of Agricultural Journalists/John Deere Journalism Training Award - training course and 3 days work experience in late June/early July for aspiring journalists and PR professionals in the agriculture sector. There's also a chance to win the John Deere trophy and £250. This year's applications close on 29 April 2022.
The Alpine Fellowship - each year, writing, visual arts, and theatre prizes are awarded to the best works concerning the year's theme. Applications opened on 1 January 2022 and closed on 1 April 2022.
Thousand Films - script-writing competition in partnership with BBC Studios ScriptWorks. Submissions for the competition will open in early 2022.
BAFTA - range of talent support programmes, including their UK Scholarships Programme which awards scholarships of up to £10,000 to UK students in need of financial assistance to take a postgraduate course related to a career in film, television or game, and screenwriting competitions. Register your interest to be notified when 2022 applications open.
James Berry Poetry Prize - aims to help young and/or emerging poets of colour with mentoring to help them develop their work, followed by publication of their debut book-length collection with Bloodaxe Books. Last year's competition opened on 1 April 2021 and closed on 1 July 2021.

Languages

Harvill Secker Young Translators' Prize - aims to recognise and celebrate the achievements of young translators at the start of their careers. The prize is open to anyone between the ages of 18 and 34, with no restriction on country of residence. Usually opens around April and closes around July/August.

Media

Student Radio Awards - annual competition awarding the best in student radio across 12 categories.
BAFTA - range of talent support programmes, including their UK Scholarships Programme which awards scholarships of up to £10,000 to UK students in need of financial assistance to take a postgraduate course related to a career in film, television or game, and screenwriting competitions. Register your interest to be notified when 2022 applications open. The application deadline for the UK Scholarships programme is Friday 20 May 2022 at 17:00. Check the website for other deadlines.
Edinburgh TV Festival: The Network - 4-day free entry-level scheme for anyone aged 18+ who wants to start a career in television. Applications for 2022 opened in February and close on Friday 29 April 2022.
Shooting People - details of the latest film upload competitions. (subscription required)
ScreenSkills: Opportunities - includes competitions, mentoring, training opportunities and events
Grierson Trust - Best Student Documentary - awarded to a student director for a film made during a UK-based, full-time academic course. This year's entries opened on 25 March 2022 and will close on 20 May 2022.

Music & performing arts

World Federation of International Music Competitions - lists international classical music competitions.
Arts Council: Developing your Creative Practice – the fund supports creative practitioners thinking of taking their practice to the next stage to research, have time to create new work, travel, training, develop ideas, network, or find mentoring. Applications last year opened on 5 August 2021 and closed on 2 September 2021.