College Photographer Of The Year Award (CPOY)

Are you a college student with a passion for photography? The college photographer of the year award (CPOY) is an opportunity you can’t ignore. Hence, it’s an opportunity to showcase your masterpiece and get rewarded with great opportunities.

The College Photographer of the year competition (CPOY) is a contest that awards honest and straightforward photojournalism.

Therefore, is all about encouraging college photographers to unleash their creativity in visual storytelling. Over 500-plus photographers from the 120 colleges enter the CPOY contest yearly. And, each photographer hopes to win an award and to have their photos recognized. This contest appreciates photographic work from this school year, whether taken for yearbook (to be published later) or news publication or website.

In this post, we will share with you all the information you need to help you apply for the College Photographer of the year award. Also, you will learn about the criteria that makes you eligible to apply for the different categories, the worth of the award, and how to apply for it.

Why College Photographer Of The Year Award?
Who can Apply for the CPOY Award?
How To Apply For CPOY COMPETITION?
Entry Deadline
Conclusion
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Why College Photographer Of The Year Award?

Cliff and Vi Edom found the CPOY competition in 1945. Unlike other photography contests, College Photographer of the Year is a journalistic competition. It encourages photographers to evaluate and select the best of their works to present to judges of the photo contest.

And awardees of this college photo contest have made great strides in their career. Some have become professional photographers and leaders in photojournalism.

WHO IS SPONSORING CPOY COMPETITION?

The University of Missouri administers the CPOY contest with continuing support from its co-sponsor, Nikon Inc. However, their generosity has allowed CPOY to offer free entry to college students worldwide.

The National Press Photographers Foundation (NPPF) administers the Colonel William J. Lookadoo and the Milton Freier Memorial Awards with CPOY.

Also, in 2005, National Geographic Magazine returned as a contributing sponsor and offers an internship to the Gold winner in the Portfolio category and winners in various other categories.

What are the categories for entry for the CPOY?

Amazingly, there are different categories you can choose to submit your entry.

Major Category	Sub Categories
Single Picture Category	Spot News General News Feature Sports Action Sports Feature Portrait Interpretive Eye Illustration
Multiple Picture Category	Interpretive Project Domestic Picture International Picture Story Documentary Portfolio
Portfolio Category	Sports Portfolio Portfolio
URL Category	Online Storytelling (Multimedia)
Multimedia Category	Group Story or Essay – Standalone (Multimedia) Multimedia: Individual Story or Essay – Standalone Multimedia: Documentary Short

How Much Is The College Photographer Of The Year Worth?

The amount to be won in this contest varies. However, awards for this college photo contest are given in different categories.

Each group entry will receive one certificate with a PDF of the certificate available to groups for additional printing.

Are There Rules for College Photographer Of The Year Entry?

There are rules to this photo contest:

Digital alteration or any similarly deceptive modification of entry materials is strictly prohibited, except for Illustration Category.
Staging and re-creations are prohibited. You may not deliberately arrange a scene or direct subjects to re-create or rearrange a scene. Exceptions are the Illustrations and Portraits categories.
You must own the copyright (or the right to copyright) all submitted material. With multimedia categories, you must be the allowed holder of the copyright for all components of the entry. In other cases, you must have copyright permission or have licensed the work from the holder.
A single image may not be entered into more than one image category. But an image may be entered in a single category, one multiple-image category, and a portfolio category. Also, a story may only be entered in one multiple-picture category, although it may also be entered in the Portfolio category.
Finally, All entries must have been created or first published between August 23, and August 22, the next year and may not have been previously entered in this competition. (EXCEPT DOCUMENTARY CATEGORY)

Who can Apply for the CPOY Award?

To apply for the CPOY awards, you must meet the following requirements:

You must be an undergraduate or graduate student who has enrolled for at least one semester between September and December 2024.
You must be a part-time or full-time student.
People who worked two years or more as full-time professional photographers, videographers or web producers (including paid internships) are not eligible.

Level/Field of Study

This photography contest is restricted to college students studying photography or photojournalism.

Host Nationality

The University of Missouri, Columbia, is the host for this contest.

Eligibility Nationality

This contest is open to US citizens only.

How To Apply For CPOY COMPETITION?

The submission process for the CPOY awards is relatively easy. All you have to do is follow the steps below.

Step by Step Application Process

Firstly, ensure that you have read the rules and instructions for your work to remain eligible for selection for the photography competition.

STEP 1 – Create an account

Click the Login button to create a new account, or to log back in to add or edit your entries.

Although, you must also create a new account through the login tab even if you created an account the previous year.

STEP 2 – Registration Info

You must ensure that you fill out the online form with your name, school, academic advisor, and also personal contact information.

STEP 3 – Build Your Entry

After that, select categories via the drop-down menus, then “browse” to select your file(s) and then upload.

STEP 4 – Review Entry

This is the best part. The system allows you to re-login to submit more images, replace images, rearrange photos within stories or projects, and edit captions.

STEP 5 – Submit

Once your entire entry is ready, proceed to the Submit tab. Your entry will be pre-validated for basic compliance with the rules and any issues displayed. Once any outstanding issues are resolved, you must lock and submit your entry for the competition.

STEP 6 – Advisor Verification

After the deadline passes, your academic advisor will receive an email to verify your eligible student status.

Then, you will receive a final verification email from us after your advisor completes this step and your entry is ready for judging.

Entry Deadline

The deadline for entering for 76th annual College Photographer of the year contest is September 22, 2024.

Conclusion

The college photographer of the year contest is a photography competition that rewards and appreciates college photographers and their unique works. However, these students must be undergraduates/graduates and must meet other requirements.

College Photographer Of The Year Award (CPOY)

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