To All Awards

2026 Student Awards

Call for Entry: November 24, 2025
Deadline: May 31, 2026
Eligibility Period: March 2025 – March 2026
Results Notification: late June 2026

YOUR IDEAS, CELEBRATED.

YOUR WORK, PUBLISHED.

YOUR TALENT, RESPECTED.

Current secondary, post-secondary, or graduate students studying Graphic Design, creative advertising, photography, illustration, digital, motion or gaming programs are eligible to enter the 2026 Student Awards competition.

Any school (group or individual) or personal work created at any time during your academic, creative program is eligible.

Whether you are just starting your journey or looking to launch your career, the Applied Arts Awards give you an advantage in this competitive market. So, draw attention to yourself now and be remembered when you send in your resume.

Breathtaking portfolio piece. Strut with confidence. Fast-track to landing your first job. Winning an Applied Arts Award is your best chance for success.

Showcase your work, gain recognition, and let your creativity be celebrated by the industry's leading professionals. Enter Today!

2026 Call for Entry Kit 2026 Student Awards Categories Kit Awards Entries

Jury & Judging Process
Categories & Entry Fees
Entry Material Guidelines
How to Enter
Payment & Refunds
Winner Recognition
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact
Disclaimer

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Jury & Judging Process

What's more rewarding than to put your work in front of mid-to senior-level creatives, all currently working in the creative industry today? Our jurors are award-winning creative professionals who have contributed to notable advertising and branding campaigns for influential clients, such as Heinz, Adidas, Nike, and more. They know exactly how to spot Award-worthy work and provide the recognition that can help launch your career.

Entries are judged digitally by award-winning creatives working in Canada and beyond.

Categories & Entry Fees

Entry fees vary per sub-grouping and category. Download the 2026 Student Categories Kit for detailed pricing.

CREATIVE ADVERTISING SINGLE / SERIES: $35 | CAMPAIGNS: $45
Brand Activation Campaign
Concept Development Campaign
Copywriting for Advertising
Digital Advertising
Digital Experimental/Innovative Campaign
Experiential/Event
Print Advertising
PR/Viral Campaign
Radio
Social Responsibility
Video Advertising

DESIGN - SINGLE / SERIES: $35 | PROGRAMS: $45
Brand Identity Design
Logo Design
Concept Development
Digital Content
Digital Experimental/Innovative
Editorial Design
Game Design & Development
Motion
Packaging Design
Product Development
Promotional Design
Social Responsibility
Typeface Design
Website
Typography
Website and App Design

DIGITAL, MOTION & GAMING - SINGLE / SERIES: $45
Animation
Digital Content
Game Design & Development
Motion
Website and App Design

ILLUSTRATION - SINGLE / SERIES: $35
Animation
Cartoon/Comic illustration
Conceptual Illustration
Editorial Illustration
Graphic Novel Illustration
Packaging Illustration
Social Responsibility Illustration
3D Modelling
Photo Illustration/Mixed Media

PHOTOGRAPHY - SINGLE / SERIES: $35
Conceptual Photography
Food Photography
Lifestyle photography
Motion
Nature, landscape & Wildlife
Portrait Photography
Photo Illustration/Mixed Media
Photo Manipulation

HIGH SCHOOL - SINGLE / SERIES: $20
Entries can be from any application from the sub-groupings above.

Entry Material Guidelines

Main Entry Files

REQUIRED
Main Entry File(s) must clearly show the images, ideally without additional graphics to be judged in hi-res format.

PERMITTED

SINGLE | 1 file

A single unit – Such as a magazine ad, annual report, book/publication, multiple-page brochure, poster, environmental signage for an event/storefront, image/illustration, video, website, etc.

SERIES | 3 files miximum

2-3 units – i.e. Magazine ads, images/illustrations A family of logos, packages, posters.

CAMPAIGN | 6 files maximum

Up to 6 elements/units from an entire campaign or program to promote an event, brand, product, service or business.

NOTE ON MULTIPAGE PDFS: Recommended when incorporating any additional images into the maximum number of files allowed (e.g. the image in context, inside pages from a book, or multiple views of 3-dimensional entries such as packaging). It only counts as 1 file.

Support Files

Support Files help clarify your entry for judges. They are not for publication (unless noted) and do not count towards your main file limits. Only one (1) file or URL may be uploaded.

REQUIRED
~ English translations for non-English entries; must be included either as a Support File or within a multipage PDF as your Main Entry File.

PERMITTED
~ Brief descriptions: Optional, recommended if the use or intention is not obvious. Limit to 50 words in English (10-second intro for motion).
~ Case studies: Optional, ONLY as a support file. Limit 50 words in English or 45s for videos. Note: judges score the creative, not the outcomes.

NOT PERMITTED
~ Uploading the same creative: Do not submit the same creative either as a file or URL if it's been added as the Main Entry File.
~ Entrant information: Do not add entrant-identifying watermarks on support files or URLs (self-promo work excluded).

RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES

Judging is fully online. Here's how to make your entry clear and impactful:

How To Enter

The Entry Form consists of five (5) steps. You can save your progress at any point.

Log in or sign up for an account

View a sample entry

Step 1: entry information

Choose the Awards competition, sub-group, category, and add your entry title.

Step 2: Entry Materials

Upload all required digital files. Follow the Entry Material Guidelines for specs and tips.

Step 3: Winners' Information

For publication only, not for judging.

Step 4: Creative Credits

List the creatives who worked on the project and specify their roles.

Step 5: Certificate information

Provide the winning company/individual and/or client name to appear on the certificate.

One certificate will be given for each winning entry. Additional certificates can be ordered later.

FINALIZE & PAY

Click Save to return to your dashboard to add or copy entries.

Payment completes the submission—entries are not officially submitted until payment is processed.

You may edit entries up until payment. After payment, only limited edits (e.g., Winners' Information) are allowed. Once results are released, there will be a 48-hour window to update Winners' Information and creative credit role.

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Payment & Refunds

NOTE TO STUDENTS WITH A SCHOOL CODE For students with a school code, please select "School Code" as the method of payment, followed by the school code issued by your instructor/school.

NOTE TO TEACHERS If you have a large volume of student entries to submit and would like to organize payment through your school, contact awards@appliedartsmag.com for a School Group Code. We will track entries and issue an invoice.

Entries are non-refundable. If an entry is submitted to the same category, entrants will have the option to move the entry to another category or enter new work in its place.

Keep a record of your submissions.

Winner Recognition

Award recipients receive:

OPTIONAL ADD-ONS*

  • Extra certificates for your team or client (with optional plaque mounting).
  • Additional copies of the Awards Annual at a discounted rate.
  • A personalized, engraved Lucite AACE trophy (3.5 × 3.5 × 3.5 in.).

*Additional fees apply

Frequently Asked Questions

Eligibility FAQ

I'm a high school student. Can I enter? Yes. There are a limited number of categories available for high-school students in the Student Awards competition. The rest of the categories are open only to post-secondary students attending a college, university or other type of art school.

I am currently studying a post-graduate/graduate program, am I still eligible to enter? Yes. You are still eligible to enter the Student Awards competition.

Am I still eligible to enter if I recently graduated? If you've graduated in the past year you are still eligible to enter the Student Awards. You may also qualify to submit work to the Young Blood categories in the professional competitions. Please see the specific discipline for eligibility.

Judging FAQ

Will the judges see my descriptions during the judging? Judges do not see the creative descriptions you have entered. These are only for publishing beside your entry if chosen as a winner. If you feel judges need an explanatory note, you may include a brief description as a Support File (no more than 50 words or 10 seconds for broadcast/video).

Categories FAQ

Can I enter a piece in multiple categories? Yes. In your account on the Awards Entries home page, click "Copy" on any entry you've created. Be sure to change the discipline and/or entry category to the new one you want to submit to.

Which category does my entry belong in? Often the best way to understand a category is to see previous work that won in that category. Check our online Winners Gallery for examples. If you still have questions regarding our categories or require assistance in selecting the appropriate category, contact awards@appliedartsmag.com.

NOTE: Applied Arts reserves the right to move an entry to another category if we feel it unsuitable or incorrectly categorized.

Is my entry a single series, and campaign? A single means one piece, and series means you are submitting more than one piece of the same project to a maximum of three. A campaign is up to six pieces for the Student competition. If an entry contains more than the specified images, we will either contact you to split the submission into multiple entries, or choose which ones will be judged, so it's best to stick to the indicated number of pieces specified.

Entry Material FAQ

At what specs do I need to submit my entry? Refer to ENTRY MATERIAL GUIDELINES section for specifications.

Can I submit a hard copy or disk? No. Only digital uploads are accepted.

The program crashed. Did I lose everything? No. You are saving your work as you go through each section of the entry form. If the program crashes as you are completing a certain section, it may not have been saved in that section.

The file I uploaded won't show me a preview. Why? You may not see the image preview if you haven't followed the specs outlined in ENTRY MATERIAL GUIDELINES. Check your file and re-upload. If you continue to experience difficulties, try clearing your browser history or contact awards@appliedartsmag.com.

I uploaded the wrong file. Can I change it? Yes. You can resubmit images at any time until payment is made. Click the "X" beside the appropriate file and re-upload your image.

NOTE: The thumbnail image may not correctly display your new image. If this happens close your browser and log back into "Awards Entries" for the changes to show. If you continue to experience difficulties, try clearing your browser history or contact awards@appliedartsmag.com.

Rights FAQ

Do I need to get the rights of the subjects or material used from external sources in my entry? It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure copyright is not infringed. Upon entry you must grant us the rights to reproduce the image or images for both our online and print publications, so you would most likely need to have these rights in place to protect yourself. Although you do not need to send us a copy of the release forms, we do suggest that you have them. Entrants who request we don't run their winning work because they don't have the rights will not be refunded for their entry. NOTE: Student work is often exempt from copyright rules.

What rights do I retain if my work is chosen? You retain all rights to your images.

Payment FAQ

How do students enter and pay? Payments can be made by Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, or with a School Code. If using a school Code select the "School Code" option under Payment Method to finalize the entries.

Can I submit more entries after paying? Yes. In Awards Entries, you will have the opportunity to submit additional entries even if others already entered have been paid. This will simply generate a new confirmation email when you complete your entries with payment.

I want to change something after I've paid. What do I do? Once an entry is paid, you cannot change the category, entry title, entry format, winners information, description of entry, or credits. A paid entry is final, so check carefully before proceeding to the payment field. If chosen as a winner, you will be given a small window of time to add or edit information.

Can I get a refund? Entries are non-refundable; costs cover administration, processing and the judging of the entry. A submission of entry acknowledges acceptance of these rules.

I'm getting error messages when I try to pay. What do I do? If you entered your payment information incorrectly on your first attempt, any subsequent attempts would be declined, even if you change your payment type. Close your browser and log back into Awards Entries. You should now be able to proceed with payment. If you continue to experience difficulties, contact awards@appliedartsmag.com.

Winners FAQ

If I win, what image will you use for reproduction? We will use the image(s) you submitted on entry. In the case of series, complete, campaign or motion, we select a sampling at our discretion from the images/files submitted.

Contact

Questions? If you've checked all of the above sections and cannot find the answer to your question, or if you are having difficulty entering, contact awards@appliedartsmag.com.

Disclaimer

Applied Arts reserves the right to amend these rules throughout the competition. Applied Arts assumes all entries are original and the property of the entrant, with all rights granted therein. Applied Arts reserves the rights to publish or exhibit entries for our print or electronic formats, or related promotions. Entries are non-refundable. Costs cover administration, processing, and the judging of the entry. Entries may be moved to a more suitable category, if Applied Arts deems the category chosen unsuitable. All descriptions and credits are subject to be edited for length, clarity and grammar in accordance with the Applied Arts editorial style guide. A submission of entry acknowledges acceptance of these rules.