ChallengeUS is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 93-4475161) that describes itself as award-winning and UN-accredited and runs global civic competitions for students, reporting 1,900 students reached across 120 countries. Its Future Leaders Competition runs in two cycles a year: a summer cycle opening 1 June, and a winter cycle that opened 10 November in the last round. The Summer 2026 cycle is run with New Voters, a student-run organization — over 90 per cent of its team is under 20 — that runs nonpartisan voter-registration drives in United States high schools, and asks entrants what experiences shaped their belief in whether they can make a difference. Entrants answer in one of four categories — creative writing, analytical writing, speech or art — and everything is submitted online, so no travel is involved. Five students are recognized per cycle: one Grand Prize Winner plus four Category Winner honourable mentions. The competition page lists no entry fee.
Benefits & funding
- Grand Prize Winner: USD 1,000, publication in the Stanford Political Review, a biographical article written by ChallengeUS, and a Certificate of Achievement.
- Four Category Winner honourable mentions, one per category: a Certificate of Achievement, a biographical article, and publication of the entry by ChallengeUS. Five students in total are recognized each cycle.
- Selected participants gain access to the global ChallengeUS Future Leaders Network, the organizer’s community of young changemakers.
- No entry fee is listed anywhere on the competition page; all four submissions go through free online forms.
Eligibility
- Students currently enrolled in an accredited high school, or in an undergraduate college or university, residing in any country.
- Students on an academic gap year or gap semester are eligible. Homeschooled students are eligible.
- The eligibility list names high school and undergraduate enrolment only; graduate study is not named.
- All submissions, written or spoken, must be in English.
- No nationality, residency, age or gender condition applies.
- Entrants from earlier cycles may enter again, except anyone who has won first place in a previous ChallengeUS competition.
- Any use of AI, and any plagiarism, is strictly prohibited and results in automatic disqualification.
Can you apply?
Worth a closer look
Sign in and add your profile to check this against your nationality, residency, and studies.
Education required
High School · Bachelor Enrolled
Not in your profile yet
Appears to have an age limit “under 20”
confirm in the requirements
We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Read this cycle’s prompt: what experiences shaped the entrant’s belief in whether they can make a difference.
- 2Choose a category — creative writing (1,250 words), analytical writing (1,250 words; if research is used, any citation style is accepted and citations do not count toward the limit), speech (10 minutes) or art.
- 3Prepare the file in the required format: PDF for both writing categories, set in 11 or 12 point Times New Roman or Arial; MP4 for a speech video; PDF, JPEG or PNG for art. Audio, video and image quality is expected to be clear.
- 4Submit through the online form for that category, linked on the competition page — each category has its own form. Entering several categories is welcomed and encouraged, though a winner is recognized in one category only.
- 5To revise before the deadline, submit again through the same form; the latest submission counts as final.
- 6Submit by 7 August 2026. No exceptions to the deadline are granted. Questions go to admin@challengeusnow.org.
Program timeline
Submissions open
1 June 2026
Submission deadline
7 August 2026
Results published on the competition page
End of October 2026