Competitions · Humanities and writing · Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
The oldest and largest creative programme for young people in the United States - around 330,000 works a year across twenty-nine categories, and more than $250,000 in awards and scholarships.
Read this first
The school has to qualify, not just the student.
Eligibility here is defined by the institution, which is unusual and decides whether a student can enter at all.
US and Canadian schools, and American institutions abroad
Entrants must be in grades 7 to 12 at a school in the United States or Canada, or at an American-recognised institution in another country.
Which some international schools meet
An American-curriculum school outside North America may qualify. A local national school generally will not. Check the school’s status before planning an entry.
And age 13 is the floor
Grades 7 to 12, with a minimum age of 13.
There are fees
Each work and each portfolio carries a fee. The amounts are published with each season’s announcement.
At a glance
What the awards are.
Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Awards are the longest-running and most established creative recognition programme for young people in the United States. Work is judged by leading figures in the visual and literary arts, looking for originality, technical skill and a personal voice.
- Who can enter
- Students in grades 7 to 12, aged 13 and over, at a school in the US or Canada or an American-recognised institution elsewhere
- Scale
- Around 330,000 works of art and writing submitted each year
- Categories
- Around 29, across art and writing
- Two levels
- Regional awards first, then national awards
- Portfolio awards
- Gold and Silver Portfolio awards are for grade 12 students specifically, and carry scholarships
- Total awards
- More than $250,000 in awards and scholarships
- Judging
- Blind. Films in particular must carry no opening credits
- Fees
- Charged per work and per portfolio
- Submission
- Online, following each category’s own requirements
Getting the category right
The routing rules, which decide more than people expect.
Scholastic publishes detailed guidance about which category a piece belongs in, and it is worth reading because the same work scores differently in different categories.
| If your work is... | It goes in... |
|---|---|
| A digital photograph you have lightly retouched | Photography - not Digital Art. Light processing does not move it |
| A digital image with text, made for a commercial purpose | Design - not Digital Art |
| A sequence of illustrations telling a story | Comic Art - not Drawing and Illustration |
| An illustration commenting on politics or current events | Editorial Cartoon. Without that commentary it goes to Drawing and Illustration or Digital Art, depending on the tools used |
| Something made entirely of ceramic or glass | Ceramics and Glass - even if it would otherwise read as sculpture |
| Ceramic or glass worn as personal adornment | Jewellery |
| A large installation | Expanded Projects - not Sculpture |
| Work with a strong interactive element | Expanded Projects |
Two rules worth remembering. Unfired ceramics and plasticine work are not accepted at all. And drawings copied from published photographs, from the internet or from existing works are disqualified - the copyright and plagiarism guidance applies across every category, including collage.
Category requirements
Four practical rules from the submission guidance.
Each category has its own upload requirements. These are the ones that most often cost an entry.
Two-dimensional work
Enter zero in the depth and weight fields. Up to four images may be uploaded per work.
Ceramics and glass
Up to eight images per work, so the piece can be shown from several angles. Unfired ceramic and plasticine work is not accepted.
Film and animation
Uploaded online rather than posted on disc, with the equipment and software listed. A film over five minutes must be accompanied by a version of five minutes or less, and the judges use the short version for their first assessment.
Expanded Projects
Up to five collaborators may work on one project - the only category on this page that allows a team.
The portfolio awards
The part that carries scholarships.
Individual works win regional and national awards. The portfolio awards work differently and are worth planning toward.
For grade 12 only
Gold and Silver Portfolio awards are open to students in their final year of school, and are given for a body of work rather than a single piece.
And they carry scholarships
This is where the substantial money in the programme sits, within the $250,000 in awards and scholarships offered overall.
Which means starting early
A portfolio is assembled over years, not months. A student who intends to submit one in grade 12 should be making work with that in mind from grade 10.
Individual works still count
Entering single works in earlier years builds both the body of work and an understanding of what the judges respond to.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares a Scholastic entry.
A very large field, judged blind, across twenty-nine categories. Placement and presentation do a lot of work here.
Choosing the category deliberately
The routing rules are published and they are specific. The same photograph can go to Photography or Digital Art depending on how it was processed, and the fields are not equally competitive.
Photographing work properly
Judges see uploaded images, not objects. For three-dimensional work the documentation is effectively the entry, and up to eight images for ceramics exists for a reason.
Keeping the work original
Copying from published photographs, the internet or existing works is disqualifying. For collage in particular, read the copyright guidance before assembling.
And building toward the portfolio
For a student serious about art or writing, the grade 12 portfolio award is the thing worth aiming at - and it takes two or three years of work.
Why Hanlin
Preparation for Scholastic Art and Writing Awards at Hanlin is taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
Programme formats
Five ways this is taught.
Group size is the whole difference between these. It decides how much of the tutor's attention a student gets and how far the course can bend to them, so it is worth choosing rather than accepting.
| Format | Group size | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | One student | Content, pace and emphasis set by what this student actually needs rather than by a syllabus. The only format that can be rebuilt mid-course. |
| Small group | Three to eight | Opens at three. Frequent discussion, and the tutor can slow down or move on according to what the group has absorbed. Most students chasing a higher award are taught in this one. |
| Class | Eight to twelve | Taught by the subject lead or a medal coach. Less back-and-forth, so it suits a student who will say when something is unclear. |
| Large class | Ten to twenty | For students in the middle of the placement range, and a way to try a competition before committing. Students often move to a small group or to one-to-one afterwards. |
| Past-paper class | No cap | Past papers worked through in sequence in the weeks before the sitting. Free to students already enrolled. |
Course length for Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is set after a placement paper. The gap between where a student is and what the paper asks for is what the course has to close, and that gap is not the same for two students in the same year group.
How it runs
Six steps, four people on your side.
The same process for every student, so that nothing depends on one tutor remembering to do it.
Step 1Pre-course assessment
A placement paper before anything is booked, so the course tier is chosen on evidence rather than on a year group.
Step 2Tutor matching
A subject tutor is matched to the result, and their full background is provided before you agree to it.
Step 3Plan and group
A study group opens with four people on one student: the tutor, a planner, a supervisor and an academic manager.
Step 4Scheduled teaching
The teaching office sets the timetable around the competition date and school term, and teaching begins.
Step 5After-class reports
What was covered, and how the student handled it, reported after every lesson.
Step 6Homework follow-up
The teaching assistant and the form teacher both check that homework is done, which is where most preparation quietly fails.
Free resource pack
Past questions and writing pack
The same material our own Scholastic Art and Writing Awards students work from. Scan the code, say what you need, and an advisor sends it.
Tell an advisor which competition and year group, and the material comes back the same day. Free, and you do not have to enrol in anything. If we do not already hold what you need, we will go and find it.
- PDFEvery past question the competition has set
- PDFShortlisted and published essays, to calibrate the standard
- PDFStructure, referencing and word-count guide
- PDFEntry checklist and the dates for the current cycle
Teaching team
Who would teach it.
Three of the twenty-two tutors on the published Hanlin roster - the ones whose subject this is.
Lu
Master's in education from the University of Pennsylvania and a double major in psychology and philosophy at Mount Holyoke. Cross-cultural teaching experience across China and the US, with research work in child and adolescent development, cognition, and international students' identity.
Yang
Educated at American Heritage School, then English literature and philosophy at the University of British Columbia and a master's in language education at Toronto. Eleven years in North America, with a close working knowledge of the international curricula and overseas admissions.
Zhang
Master's in cognitive science at UC San Diego on full scholarship, after double honours in neurobiology and behaviour and in cognitive science at UC Davis. Ten years overseas, a perfect TOEFL speaking score, and named an outstanding education scholar at UCSD.
Student results
What Hanlin students got.
Taken from Hanlin's published record of student honours and rewritten in English. Figures are as the organisers reported them.
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
- 2019A Silver award
The full record, across every subject and year, is on the student honours page.
Where it is taught
Hanlin learning centres.
Teaching runs from Hanlin's own centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, and online for students elsewhere.
Talk to an advisor
Everything Hanlin does for Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, in one conversation.
Entry, planning, coaching and the past papers. An advisor will tell you which of these a student actually needs, including when the answer is none of them.
Competition entry and planning
Which competitions suit this student, in what order, and by when - then we handle the registration, including the ones that can only be entered through a school or a centre.
Competition coaching
Taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
International curriculum tutoring
IB, AP, A-Level, IGCSE and the US high school curriculum, taught alongside school and timed around the exam calendar.
Competition past papers, free
A large library of past papers, mark schemes and syllabus breakdowns across every competition on this site. No charge and no enrolment.
Scan to add an advisor
Say which competition or course you are asking about. Replies in Chinese or English.
Or call +86 21 6352 6630FAQ
The Scholastic Awards, briefly answered.
What students and families ask before entering.
Who can enter?
Students in grades 7 to 12, aged 13 and over, at a school in the United States or Canada, or at an American-recognised institution in another country.
Can a student at an international school outside North America enter?
Possibly. Eligibility depends on whether the institution is American-recognised, so check the school’s status before planning an entry.
How many categories are there?
Around 29 across art and writing, from painting, drawing and photography to design, film and animation, comic art, editorial cartoon, ceramics and glass, jewellery, fashion, sculpture, printmaking and expanded projects.
How do I know which category my work goes in?
Scholastic publishes routing rules. A lightly retouched photograph goes to Photography rather than Digital Art; a story told in sequential illustrations goes to Comic Art; anything made entirely of ceramic or glass goes to Ceramics and Glass; and large installations go to Expanded Projects.
How many images can I upload?
Up to four per two-dimensional work, and up to eight for ceramics and glass. Enter zero in the depth and weight fields for two-dimensional work.
What about films?
They are uploaded online rather than posted, with equipment and software listed. If your film runs over five minutes you must also submit a version of five minutes or less, which the judges use for their initial assessment. Judging is blind, so films must carry no opening credits.
Can I work with other people?
In the Expanded Projects category, up to five collaborators may work on one project. Other categories are individual.
What is not accepted?
Unfired ceramics and plasticine work. Drawings copied from published photographs, the internet or existing works are disqualified.
What are the portfolio awards?
Gold and Silver Portfolio awards are for grade 12 students, given for a body of work rather than a single piece, and they carry scholarships.
Is there a fee?
Yes. Each work and each portfolio carries a fee, published with each season’s announcement.
How does the judging work?
Regional awards first, then national awards, judged by leading figures in the visual and literary arts looking for originality, technical skill and a personal voice.
Related
Other art and writing competitions.
What students enter alongside the Scholastic Awards.
Scholastic Awards enquiries
Check the school first, then the category.
Eligibility depends on the institution, and after that the biggest decision is which of twenty-nine categories a piece belongs in. Tell us where the student studies and what they make, and an advisor will settle both.