The NPR College Podcast Challenge is back, and there’s a generous cash prize for the winner.
The contest invites anyone pursuing an associate or bachelor’s degree or those who graduated in 2025 to submit a podcast. The top prize is $5,000. The other nine finalists get $500 each.
Meghan McKinney, now Morning Edition host at Iowa Public Radio, was named a finalist in the 2023 challenge while working for KSMU.
Steve Drummond, executive producer at NPR who is involved with the challenge, said entries can focus on any topic.
"We get reported investigative stories from college journalists, but we also get personal essays and sort of private explorations from students who are just recording in their bedrooms or who just have an idea in their heads and something they want to talk about," he said.
Janet Lee, producer on NPR’s education desk who works with Drummond on the College Podcast Challenge, suggested that participants choose a topic they’re passionate about.
"And it really doesn't have to be some big national news story or really like rare personal story that only 1 in 1,000,000 people are able to tell," she said.
She advised podcasters to "just follow your gut. Tell a story that you're interested in, and it'll resonate with other people."
Judges look for great writing that tells the story simply and thoughtfully, according to Drummond.
Participants don’t need expensive equipment, he said. They can make a podcast using their smartphone and a laptop computer with readily available editing software. Entries must be three to 12 minutes in length, and those who enter need to be mindful of using copyrighted music or audio, Lee said.
Lee described McKinney's podcast, "Breaking from the Bible Belt," as "a really good example of strong reporting, use of strong reporting in telling your own personal story." McKinney's guest sang songs her mom used to sing to her when she was growing up, and McKinney used her reporting skills to add to her story.
"I think it was a really good, like, full package of how you can tell a personal story but add reporting and use of sound," said Lee.
There’s lots of advice on how to get started as well as information about how to enter here.
