Expert Overview

The SPJ/JEA High School Essay Contest, run by the Society of Professional Journalists Foundation and the Journalism Education Association, asks U.S. students in grades 9 through 12 for a 300-to-500-word essay on a yearly topic about journalism and media literacy. Three winners receive scholarships of $1,000, $500, and $300.

Format

Individual

Judging Format

Jurors: essays are judged by a panel of journalists, media educators, and other media professionals

Monetary

Grade Eligibility

Rising Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors

Geographic Eligibility

U.S.

Discipline

JournalismCreative WritingEssay Contest

Entries

145

Percent Awarded

Important Dates

Deadline

February 22, 2026

Winners Announced

May 2026

Passed

Open

Approaching: < 1 mo.

Priority: < 2 weeks

Urgent: < 1 week

Registration Cost

see website

About

Entries are uploaded as Word files through an online portal by a February deadline, with a $10 fee per essay and one essay per student. Essays are typed, double-spaced, and need a bibliography if they draw on outside sources.

A judging panel scores topic analysis (30 points), originality and voice (25), language (20), structure (15), and mechanics (10). The contest bars AI-written text outright: essays found to be written by AI in whole or in part are disqualified without a refund. The organizers may publish any entered essay without payment.

At 300 to 500 words it is a short essay, open only to students in the United States, and only the winners are contacted.