C-Span StudentCam Competition
Scholarship Sponsored by C-Span
StudentCam is C-SPAN's annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think critically about issues that affect our communities and our nation.
For the 2024 competition, we are asking students in grades 6-12 to create a short (5-6 minute) video documentary on a topic that relates to the competition theme, "Looking Forward, While Considering the Past"
The submission deadline for all entries will be 11:59pm PST on Friday, January 19, 2024. With cash prizes totaling $100,000 each year, C-SPAN awards prizes to the top 150 student documentaries. If you are a teacher and listed as an adviser on one of the top 50 winning films, you will also receive a cash award. Since 2004, C-SPAN has awarded over $1.5 million dollars in cash prizes to students and teachers.
Competition Requirements
Obtain a printable Student Checklist (Google Doc) online.
- This annual competition is open to all students in grades 6-12. Grades 6-8 compete in the Middle School category, and grades 9-12 compete in the High School category. For more information, check out our Prizes page online.
- Students may compete individually, or in teams of either 2 or 3 members.
- Documentaries must include clips of supporting or opposing C-SPAN video that relate to the chosen topic.
- Winning StudentCam documentaries will thoroughly explore a variety of viewpoints related to the chosen topic, including those that may oppose the filmmakers points of view. We recommend that you interview experts on your chosen subject.
- Documentaries must be between 5-6 minutes in length. *End credits, if applicable, must begin after the 5-minute mark but are permitted to run longer than the allotted 6-minute time frame.
- Entries must include either end credits or a works cited list. Students can use whichever format they currently use to cite their sources.