Get ready to enter the 2027 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, which open for entries on October 1! When you enter the Awards, your work could be considered for national scholarships ranging from $500 to $12,500. Plan ahead and keep in mind that some scholarships require a written statement to go along with the work and/or that your art or writing explores a particular theme. In addition to scholarships for creative teens, educators can earn cash awards for supporting their students. 

New York Life Award 

Supported by the New York Life Foundation, the New York Life Award offers $2,500 scholarships/travel stipends to ten students whose works explore death, personal grief, memory, and continuing connection after someone important has died. A $500 cash award will be offered to the educators of the New York Life Award winners. 

Take a look at resources provided by the New York Life Foundation and at the end of your Scholastic Awards application, opt-in to the New York Life Award. You will be prompted to include a personal statement on how your work explores the themes. The statement should be 50 words or more. All students and categories are eligible. 

The Herblock Award for Editorial Cartoon 

Supported by The Herb Block Foundation, The Herblock Award for Editorial Cartoon offers $2,000 scholarships for three students whose visual art offers commentary or criticism on current events, social events, or political topics. A $500 cash award will be offered to the educators of The Herblock Award winners.

Create your own editorial cartoons with guidance from professional cartoonists with videos from the Drawing & Cartooning Workshop Series. All students who enter works in the Editorial Cartoon category, sponsored by The Herb Block Foundation, are automatically eligible for this award. 

Portfolio Awards 

Portfolio Awards offer $12,500 scholarships to Gold Medal Portfolio winners and $2,000 scholarships to Silver Medal Portfolio winners. All graduating seniors who enter portfolios consisting of a collection of six works with accompanying Artist or Writer Statements and Personal Statements are automatically eligible for this award. 

Visit our website to learn more about crafting statements and the generous sponsors who provide endowment funding for these opportunities.

American Voices & Visions Award

Supported by Dav and Sayuri Pilkey, the American Voices & Visions Award offers $500 scholarships to approximately 150 works representing each region of the Scholastic Awards. To be nominated for the American Voices Award or American Visions Award, participants must first earn a Gold Key in their region. These nominated works are then reviewed by national judges to receive American Voices Medals or American Visions Medals. All students and categories are eligible. 

Best-in-Grade Award 

Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Best-in-Grade Award recognizes 24 works at the national level (two art and two writing per grade, grades 7–12) with a $500 scholarship and a $250 cash award for their educators. All students and categories are eligible. 

Educator Awards

The Scholastic Awards recognize educators at regional and national celebrations and in publications. The educators of national winners also receive medals of their own. If your student wins a scholarship award, you may also be eligible for a cash award.

All scholarships are for individual teens and will not be awarded to works created by groups of collaborators.