COLLEGE SCREENWRITING AWARDS
The Humanitas College Screenwriting Awards recognize writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way and are currently enrolled in a college or university program.
Humanitas awards two prizes annually which recognize screenwriting by students: The David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Award and The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award.
The two writers receive a $20,000 cash prize, additional benefits, and a trophy at the annual Humanitas Prizes event. Ten semifinalists, four finalists, and one awardee are named for each award.
Humanitas recognizes that students are often in a precarious position as they transition into the labor market, and a cash prize of this magnitude grants students flexibility post-graduation by mitigating moving expenses, defraying the cost of tuition, or funding creative projects that would otherwise not be financially feasible.
Click here to view the Humanitas Talent Guide, which offers individual bios and project information on the 2024-25 College Screenwriting Award winners and New Voices Fellows. The 2025-2026 Humanitas Talent Guide has a projected April 2026 release. In the meantime, you can learn more about the 2025-26 New Voices Fellows here and the 2025-26 College Screenwriting Award winners here.
SUBMISSIONS & DEADLINE
The application period for the College Screenwriting Awards
opens on February 18, 2026.
All submissions must be made via the Humanitas submission portal linked below.
Please carefully read all guidelines before submitting. All submissions are final.
Deadline: 11:59 PM PT on Monday, April 6, 2026
(Submission Fee: $55)
PROGRAM COMPONENTS & BENEFITS
Cash Prize: Each awardee receives a $20,000 cash prize.
Professional Notes Session: Each awardee will receive feedback on the winning script from a writer in the Humanitas community. Previous writers have included Alena Smith, Kira Snyder, Sheridan Watson, and Chrysanthy Balis.
Humanitas Community Events: Awardees will receive invitations to Humanitas community events throughout the year.
Components and benefits are subject to change. If you’re a company or organization that would like to be considered for program partnership, please email info@humanitasprize.org with “Program Partnership” in the subject line.
COLLEGE SCREENWRITING AWARDS CALENDAR:
February 18, 2026: Submissions Open
April 6, 2026: Final Deadline
May 2026: Semifinalist Announcement
June/July 2026: Finalist Announcement
August 2026: Announcement of New Voices Fellows
Autumn 2026: New Voices Fellows recognized at Humanitas Prizes event
September 2026 - March 2027: Fellowship period
SUBMISSION MATERIALS:
A pilot script (30- or 60-minute pilot) or feature-length screenplay no longer than 120 pages
Logline
Brief synopsis (approximately 250-300 words)
A short artist statement (no more than 250 words) that speaks to the applicant's professional aspirations and why they felt compelled to write the submitted project
A document demonstrating you are enrolled at an institution located within the United States. Examples include:
Official or unofficial transcripts
Enrollment verification letter from the Office of the Registrar
A formal or informal letter of verification from your academic department
A tuition bill, receipt, or statement for the academic term during which you are making your submission
IMPORTANT DETAILS:
The name(s) of the applicant(s) should not appear on the submitted script’s title page, in a watermark, in page headers, or anywhere else on the script. Applicants will not necessarily disqualify their application by failing to adhere to this, but will put themselves at a disadvantage.
All submissions are final. No revised or late material will be accepted.
Applicants are strongly advised to only submit one application and script per year.
A script may only be submitted in connection with one Humanitas program per year, meaning that a script submitted with a College Drama Award application may not also be submitted with a New Voices Fellowship or College Comedy Award application, and vice-versa.
Scripts must be an original work. Adaptations or re-imaginings of true events or fictional stories are acceptable; by submitting you acknowledge you have secured all rights needed to adapt any material and can demonstrate with documentation if asked to do so.
Applicants for Humanitas programs may not submit literary material created through the use of generative AI.
Assessment to determine finalists weighs the quality of the applicant’s script, the script’s relevance to Humanitas mission, and the quality of the applicant’s supplementary materials.
All finalists are interviewed on Zoom. These meetings cover the submitted project, short term practical needs, long term career aspirations, and play an essential role in determining who is selected to receive the annual College Screenwriting Awards.
Should a writing team be selected, cash prizes will be split evenly amongst the writers.
Humanitas has a limited number of submission fee waivers it can offer annually. Please use this form to request a fee waiver if cost presents a barrier to entry.
While the Humanitas College Screenwriting Awards accept materials from all writers, writers with diverse backgrounds and social identities historically underrepresented in media are highly encouraged to apply.
ELIGIBILITY DETAILS:
Students must be enrolled in a college or university program located within the United States at the time of their submission. Students enrolled in some non-degree certificate conferring screenwriting programs organized by an accredited college or university (e.g.: UCLA TFT Professional Program) are also eligible. If you have questions about if a particular program is eligible, please contact Humanitas at info@humanitasprize.org.
Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for the awards.
While the majority of our submissions come from students studying screenwriting and/or film, students of any discipline or major are welcome to apply.
Current Humanitas staff and interns are not eligible for the fellowship, nor are those engaged as the program’s readers/judges.
SELECTION PROCESS
The beneficiaries of the New Voices Fellowship and College Screenwriting Awards are determined through a multi-stage review process. Based on the submission patterns of the last several years, Humanitas anticipates approximately 1,000 applicants per program cycle.
In the first stage, an assembled team of readers will review submitted scripts across two rounds. At minimum, all first acts will be reviewed at least once. Readers will recruited on the basis of demonstrable experience as writers, analysts, and educators. Readers will not be volunteers; they will be paid. Those interested in acting as readers for the New Voices Fellowship and College Screenwriting Awards program may express their interest via this form. Readers will not be eligible for either program.
Following this reading process, Humanitas staff will review the top scoring applicants, their submitted scripts, corresponding reader notes, and supplemental materials in order to select semifinalists.
For the semifinal and final rounds, Humanitas staff curates reading committees that oversee the review of semifinalists and finalists to determine the awardees. These committees consist of writers, assistants, and others with industry and/or organization experience. Members of reading committees who are not Humanitas staff are offered an honorarium in recognition of their time and expertise.
All readers are given an orientation sheet describing Humanitas and its mission, and a scorecard which asks them to evaluate scripts in the following areas: plot, characters, concept, structure, dialogue, originality, writing style, connection to the Humanitas Mission, and an overall impression.
To learn more about what we look for in a script, you may wish to read this article on our website about the art of screenwriting and exploring the human condition.
COLLEGE SCREENWRITING AWARDS PROGRAM PARTNERS
COLLEGE SCREENWRITING AWARDS SUPPORT
The College Screenwriting Awards are supported through various fundraising efforts, including support from Carol Mendelsohn, past support from the Angell Foundation, and proceeds from The Humanitas Prizes event. This activity is funded in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency, and by the Snap Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization. College Screenwriting Awards submission fees are used to cover administrative costs.
QUESTIONS?
Please visit our FAQ or email us at info@humanitasprize.org or by using the contact form below.