The Academy Launches 2025 Student Academy Awards Competition

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that it is now accepting entries for its 2025 Student Academy Awards® competition. The entry DEADLINE for submissions is May 18, 2025.

The presentation ceremony for the annual international student film awards will be held in New York during the New York Film Festival at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on Monday, October 6, 2025, in partnership with Rolex. The brand is supporting the Student Academy Awards as part of its ongoing commitment to fostering excellence, achievement and the transfer of cinematic knowledge to the next generation. Last year’s ceremony was held in London.

The competition is open to full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students who have completed an intermediate-level or final graduation film as part of their coursework. Starting with the 2025 competition, students in certificate programs will be eligible to submit their final film project. Prior to this rule change, only individuals pursuing a degree could submit films for consideration. Additionally, schools no longer need to meet an accreditation requirement to be considered eligible. 

Students are asked to submit their films online using FilmFreeway, a widely used festival and competition platform. Each year, college and university film students from all over the world compete for awards and cash grants, with films being judged in the following categories: Animation, Documentary, Live Action Narrative and Alternative/Experimental. Complete rules and a link to the online submission platform are available at www.oscars.org/saa.  

The winners of the 52nd Student Academy Awards competition will be announced in August. All Student Academy Award-winning films will be eligible to compete for the 98th Oscars® in the Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film or Documentary Short Film category. Past winners have gone on to receive 69 Oscar® nominations and have won or shared 15 awards. 

The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to provide a platform for emerging global talent by creating opportunities within the industry to showcase their work.