School of Communications Amplify Awards: Rules and Eligibility

Eligibility Guidelines

These rules apply to all eight categories.

1. Who can enter?
   • Open to enrolled 9th–12th grade students at a Connecticut high school. 
2. Entry limits
   • One entry per student per category, up to eight in all. Where a category offers a choice of type, entrants choose one type per entry. 
3. Teams
   • Teams are allowed in categories where the medium naturally involves collaboration: Broadcast Journalism, Audio Storytelling, Documentary and Short Film, Web and Interactive Design, and the PSA option of Short-Form and Social Video. There is no cap on team size. A team submission counts as one entry, and every contributing student and their role must be listed. 
4. Eligibility window
   • Work must have been created, and published or shared, within the 2026–27 school year: between August 25, 2026 and April 9, 2027. 
5. Published or shared with a public audience
   • All entries must have been published or shared with a public audience within the eligibility window. A public audience can be a classroom, a school or the broader community. Examples include a school or community publication, website, broadcast, podcast feed or social media account as well as a class or school screening, exhibit or showcase. The teacher or adviser confirms where and when on the sign-off form. Print and Digital Journalism entries must have been published in a school or community outlet, in print or online. 
6. Originality
   • All work must be the student’s own creation. 
7. No generative AI
   • Submissions must be created by students without generative AI. Generative AI tools, including chatbots and image, video, audio and music generators, as well as generative features inside editing and design software (such as Photoshop’s Generative Fill or Canva’s AI image tools), may not be used to create or alter any part of a submission. This covers text, images, video, audio, music, voices, graphics, code, captions, scripts and statements. Tools that don’t generate new content are fine, including spell-check, grammar checkers that only flag errors, transcription, noise reduction, color and exposure correction and standard editing software. By submitting, entrants and their teacher or adviser confirm the work follows this policy. Entries that violate it will be disqualified, and the awards team may request drafts, raw files or project files to verify. 
8. Statement
   • Every entry includes a statement of 150–250 words describing the purpose, process and context of the work. Prompts are listed with each category. Judges read statements for insight rather than writing polish, and statements should not include names. 
9. Teacher or adviser sign-off 
   • Each submission requires a brief confirmation from a teacher or adviser that the work is authentic student work, that it follows the no-generative-AI policy and where and when it was published or shared. 
10. Blind judging
    • Judges see only the work, its title and the statement. Entrants remove names from file names, credits, bylines and statements where practical. Identifiers inherent to the work, such as an on-air sign-off or a school’s name on its own website, do not disqualify an entry. Identifying information is collected separately on the submission form. 
11. Music, sound and consent
    • Video and audio entries use original music and sound or royalty-free or licensed tracks. Sounds from social platform libraries, including trending audio, are not cleared for use outside the platform. Entrants confirm consent from anyone interviewed or recorded. 
12. File formats
    • Video: MP4 (H.264), 1080p minimum
    • Photo: JPG, at least 2,000 pixels on the long edge
    • Audio: MP3
    • Writing: PDF (DOCX accepted) with name and byline removed
    • Graphic design: PDF 
    • Web: a working link plus an MP4 walkthrough. See each category for size limits and additional requirements. 
13. Usage rights
    • Students keep copyright to their work. By submitting, entrants give the Quinnipiac University School of Communications a non-exclusive right to display, screen and publish the work, with credit, for promotional and educational purposes.
14. How entries are judged
    • A panel judges entries blind on four criteria:
      • Content and Storytelling (30%)
      • Craft and Technical Execution (30%)
      • Creativity and Originality (25%)
      • Adherence to Category Requirements (15%)