• Only Undergraduate Student Work Is Eligible. 
• All entries submitted to NSSC must be produced by undergraduate students currently enrolled and pursuing a degree at an accredited college, university, or art school.
• Eligible work must have been created between March 2026 and March 2027 as part of an undergraduate school curriculum. 
• Winter 2026 and Spring 2027 graduates remain eligible to enter as long as work was completed during the March 2026–March 2027 eligibility period. 
• The following work is NOT eligible:
  • Personal projects 
  • Freelance work 
  • Work produced at a job or internship 
  • Work produced during a masters or graduate program

• Do not plagiarize. Submit only original work created by you or your credited team members. Plagiarism, unauthorized use, or close imitation of another person’s work represented as your own will result in immediate disqualification. The designer’s professor or school will also be notified by NSSC.

• You are responsible for properly crediting anyone who contributed to your work, as well as any assets you did not create yourself. 

• Credits may include:
  • Art Direction: Student Name
  • Illustration: Artist Name
  • Photography: Photographer Name
  • Stock Image: iStock

• Third-party assets include, but are not limited to: stock photography, stock illustration, licensed typefaces, music, or AI-generated assets. 
• If your work incorporates imagery under Fair Use provisions of the Copyright Act, please note this in the Credits field.

• A group project is defined as work created by 2–4 students who were assigned to work together on a single project. 
• When submitting a group project, list each team member and their role in the Credits field. 
• Prize money for winning entries is awarded to the person who submits the entry. The submitter is responsible for notifying their team and distributing any awarded prize money among eligible team members.

• AI-generated work is NOT eligible for the Illustration, Photography, and Copywriting categories.
• Similar to other third-party assets, NSSC requires students to disclose any use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creation of submitted work. 
• AI use may include, but is not limited to:
  • Copywriting or text generation
  • Image generation or manipulation
  • Mockups
  • Ideation or concept development
  • Other AI-assisted processes

• You will be asked during submission whether AI was used and, if so, how it contributed to the work. 
• Failure to disclose AI use, or submission of work that violates NSSC’s AI policy, may result in disqualification. 
  • NSSC acknowledges that AI use is a developing, emerging technology and therefore AI disclosure does not automatically disqualify or disadvantage an entry. Understanding how AI contributed to a project helps judges evaluate the work in the context of the student’s creative process and design intention.

• All entries must be submitted digitally by the published deadline. Physical work and late entries will NOT be accepted for judging. 
• Each entry requires:
  • Title
  • Short project description
  • Name and email of professor associated with submitted project
  • Credits for collaborators and third-party assets, when applicable
  • Required images and/or digital media specified by the category
  • Some scholarship categories may also require additional information or verification from you and your professor.

• You may submit up to 5 image files per entry (e.g. jpeg, jpg, png), unless a category specifies otherwise. 
• If submitting multiple images, upload them in the order you want judges to view them.
  • For additional security, you are welcome to include an order reference in the bottom right corner of each image (e.g. 1/5, 2/5, etc.) 
• Your submitted images should present the work as clearly as possible. Images will be printed on 11″ x 17″ paper for judging, so consider the best scale, orientation, and presentation for your work. 
  • Each image can be designed as you would a single page in your student portfolio.

• Do NOT include your name or the name of your school in the online entry form’s Title or Description fields. Do NOT display your name or the name of your school in your  work unless it is part of the design (e.g. senior exit show poster or self-branding).
• This helps ensure that our judges have an unbiased opinion when reviewing your work.

• Depending on the category, you may submit a live site, clickable prototype, online mockup, vimeo or youtube video.
  • For interactive and prototype-based work, NSSC strongly recommends submitting a screen recording or video walkthrough so judges can see the intended user experience. 
• A project-related image is also required as a reference thumbnail for judging.

• All entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. By submitting an entry, the submitter agrees to pay all applicable entry fees in full.

For bulk orders from schools, educators can request an invoice with this form link. A code will be given to the educator to be distributed to the students to use when entering entries or registering for the conference.