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. Applications open in January and close in May.
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. Entries opened in January and closed on 20 March 2019.
ADCAN Awards - annual film competition to encourage unsigned filmmakers and animators to submit a 30sec ad from a chosen charity brief. You could win exposure to top production companies and have your ad promoted and featured by Vimeo. Usually opens in April and closes in August each year.
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/horticulture sectors. There's also a chance to win the John Deere trophy and £250. Applications closed on 29 March 2019.
GMKC Global Marketing Competition - business simulation competition, open to teams of current students. Last year's sign up deadline was June, with the final held in December in Madrid.
The Daniel Marks Planning Academy - annual opportunity to receive mentoring, support, a paid internship and a potential permanent job opportunity as a junior planner at a leading creative agency in London. Open to recent graduates and junior account handlers. To apply, you need to submit your response to a brief - full details are on their website. Opens in May and closes in September.
L'Oréal Student Innovator Brandstorm - crack a real business case, take it from idea to concept, learn to be a brand manager and be automatically invited to an assessment centre for a L’Oréal UK internship. The prize is a trip to Paris to compete at their international finals and an automatic offer of a summer internship or industrial placement. Registrations close in November each year.

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 - British educational charity which exists to promote excellence in creative communications. Run a ‘new blood’ competition for young people between 18-24 including students and recent graduates. Entries opened in January and closed on 20 March 2019.
Crafts Council: Opportunities - includes lists of awards and competitions.
Hiive: Opportunities - includes competitions across a range of creative sectors, including music, dance and theatre.
The House of Illustration: The Book Illustration Competition - 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 a total of nine illustrations and a binding design for the book, which is then published by The Folio Society. Five runners each receive £500 cash. Closes in January each year.
The House of Illustration: The Lauren Child Poetry Illustration Prize - international prize for illustrators aged 18-25. £1000 first prize, plus prizes for commended illustrators. The top 12 illustrators will be exhibited at St Pancras International station in September 2018. Last year's competition closed on 1 June 2018.
MYCS Scholarship - MYCS is an interiors brand based in Berlin. They’re offering a one-off scholarship of £2000 to a current student (undergraduate or postgraduate) studying any degree discipline. Submit a 2000-word innovative essay, outlining an original and creative solution to a problem relating to your field of study, for the chance to win the scholarship and be featured in their online magazine. Entries closed on 1 May 2019.
The Alpine Fellowship - every year, writing, visual arts, and theatre prizes are awarded to the best works concerning the year's theme. Applications closed on 1 April 2019 and the theme for this year was 'identity'.
Vision Direct: Visionaries international student competition - submit a product design aimed at helping contact lens wearers in their daily lives for a chance to win £25,000 for the winning design along with £5,000 for the winning university. The competition is open to individual students and teams of up to four (undergraduates or postgraduates) from any higher education institution, college or university in the UK, Netherlands, Spain and Italy. Applications open on 18 September 2019 and close on 21 December 2019 at 23:59.

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. The prize is two weeks' work experience at the Observer. This year's competition closes on 23 January 2020.
Hiive: Opportunities - includes competitions across a range of creative sectors, including music, dance and theatre.
Northern Writers' Awards - annual competition, offering cash prizes, mentoring and support to talented writers based in the North of England. This year's competition opens on 20 November 2019 and closes at 23.59 on 6 February 2020.
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. Applications close on 31 March 2020.
New Writing North: Young Writers’ Talent Fund - supports people aged 15-25 living in Newcastle, looking to contribute to the culture of the region. Funding and support for projects across a range of literature or writing forms including: graphic novels, spoken word, flash fiction, script, poetry, prose, journalism, blogging, or another area of arts or cultural activity. Closing date last year was 1 June 2018.
The Alpine Fellowship - every year, writing, visual arts, and theatre prizes are awarded to the best works concerning the year's theme. Applications closed on 1 April 2019.
Thousand Films and Sid Gentle Films - television writer competition in the UK.
Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF): Student Critics Programme - annual programme offering experience, skills and networking to UK based students aged 18-25 with a passion for cinema. Successful applicants will attend screenings, receptions and events at EIFF, will be mentored by professional film journalists, and create articles during their time at EIFF in June each year.

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. Deadline for entries this year was Friday 30 August 2019.

Media

Student Radio Awards - annual competition awarding the best in student radio across 12 categories. Last year's applications closed on Friday 26 July 2019.
BAFTA UK Scholarships Programme - award scholarships to UK students in need of financial assistance to take a postgraduate course related to a career in film, television or game. Scholarships provide up to £10,000 to cover one year's course fees, an industry mentor and free access to BAFTA events around the UK for a year. Applications usually open in March and close mid June.
Edinburgh TV Festival: The Network - 4-day free entry-level scheme for anyone aged 18+ who wants to start a career in television. Applications open in February - this year's deadline was 7 May 2019.
John Brabourne Awards - funding opportunities for talented individuals with at least 2 years' related experience, wanting to break into TV or film. Two deadlines per year: 31 January and 31 July. The winter round opened on 18 November 2019 and closes on 31 January 2020.
Shooting People - details of the latest film upload competitions. (subscription required)
Hiive: Opportunities - includes competitions across a range of creative sectors.
ADCAN Awards - annual film competition to encourage unsigned filmmakers and animators to submit a 30sec ad from a chosen charity brief. You could win exposure to top production companies and have your ad promoted and featured by Vimeo. Opens in April and closes in August each year.
Grierson Trust: Best Student Documentary - awarded to a student director for a film made during a UK-based, full-time academic course. Last year's entries opened on 1 April and closed on 31 May 2019.

Music & performing arts

World Federation of International Music Competitions - lists international classical music competitions.