150 student prizes and 53 teacher prizes totaling $100,000.
Prizes are awarded in two separate categories: Middle School & High School. We welcome entries from students in the U.S. territories. We also accept entries from international students who are in the equivalent of U.S. grades 6-12.
- High School entries are judged regionally in one of 3 Regions (West/Central/East), based on their school's state. Students from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will be judged as part of the East division, and students from American Samoa and Guam will be judged as part of the West division. C-SPAN also reserves the right to award international entries at our discretion. Entries from high school students in Asia-Pacific regions will be judged against the High School-West division entries, high school students in European and African countries will be judged against High School-East division entries, and high school students in South and Central America will be judged against High School-Central division entries.
*A map of the 3 High School regions can be found at the bottom of the page.
- Middle School entries are judged nationally against their peers. Any international entries from middle school students will be judged against all middle school entries received in the competition.
- C-SPAN will also select and award 5 teams who will each receive a $100 cash prize if they submit a "Behind the Scenes" photo from the production of their documentary.
*A graphic outlining this sub-contest can be found at the bottom of the page.
- C-SPAN also reserves the right to award a "Fan Favorite" - a secondary prize awarded to one of the top prize-winning entries (as determined by C-SPAN judges), based on the results of a period of online public voting.
| GRAND PRIZE: 1 award - the best overall entry in either the High School or Middle School category | |
| Student(s): | $5,000 cash prize award |
| Teacher/School: | $750 cash prize award |
| 1ST PRIZE: 4 awards total - 3 in the High School category (1 x HS West Region, 1 x HS Central Region, 1 x HS East Region), and 1 in the Middle School category. | |
| Student(s): | $3,000 cash prize award per entry |
| Teachers/Schools: | $500 cash prize award |
| 2nd PRIZE: 16 awards total - 12 in the High School category (4 x HS West Region, 4 x HS Central Region, 4 x HS East Region), and 4 in the Middle School category. | |
| Student(s): | $1,500 cash prize award per entry |
| Teachers/Schools: | $250 cash prize award |
| 3rd PRIZE: 32 awards total - 24 in the High School category (8 x HS West Region, 8 x HS Central Region, 8 x HS East Region), and 8 in the Middle School category. | |
| Student(s): | $750 cash prize award per entry |
| Teachers/Schools: | $125 cash prize award |
| HONORABLE MENTION: 97 awards total - awarded to entries from either the High School or Middle School category. | |
| Student(s): | $250 cash prize award per entry |
| * Grand, 1st, and 2nd Prize videos may be aired on the C-SPAN Networks. | |
| * All students with winning videos will receive a certificate of recognition and may be placed on C-SPAN's StudentCam Winners page. | |
