CCU Education Abroad Photo Contest

Photo submissions are now closed. Check back for our announcement of 2022 winners!

Our annual photo contest is back for 2022! Each fall we hold an annual photo contest so CCU students can show off their photos from their time abroad. Prizes are awarded for first place in each category and many of the photos are featured on our social media or marketing materials.

Categories

#ChantsAbroad: Featuring CCU branding or other demonstrations of school spirit.

Global Experience: Educational moments inside or outside the classroom related to your academic subject, internship, research, competition, or cultural interactions.

Cultural Immersion: Stunning pictures of people, landscapes, food, or other ways that you experienced cultural immersion.  Show us the sights, natural wonders and cultural experiences of your destinations.

Entry guidelines

• You must have participated in an education abroad program (study, internship, competition, or research) during the 2021-22 academic year.
• Photos submitted must be your original work taken during your study abroad program, either in your host country(s) or in other places you traveled during your program.
• Photos must be free of inappropriate content.
• You may submit up to 3 total photographs.
• Photos must be submitted online.  You do not have the option to save and go back, so we recommend having all of the photos ready to submit before accessing the form.
• For each photo, you will be asked to submit the following:
  • Photo Category
  • Photo Title
  • Location
  • Short Description
• The submission deadline is September 25, 2022.

Technical requirements

• File format must be PNG or JPEG and a minimum of 2 MB, maximum of 10 MB.
• Submit original, high-resolution digital files.
• File names should be formatted accordingly:
  • Country_City_PhotoTItle_Category_FirstNameLastName.jpg

Enhancing Photos

You are welcome to make digital enhancements to your photos (ex. cropping, color balance, brightness/contrast, red eye elimination, grayscale, slight focus adjustments, etc.). To preserve the integrity of the photo contest, edits that change the photo itself (ex. Adding/removing/moving aspects of the photo, drastic color changes, filters, dramatic focus adjustments, etc.) are not acceptable.

Photo ethics

The photos submitted to this contest will be made viewable to the public and are not limited to just the CCU campus, but could be shared with the host institution and local community where a photo was taken. It is important to ask yourself the following questions when selecting the photos you will submit for this contest.

• Is your photo respectful of the subject(s) and host country?
• If your photo has people in it, did they consent to the photo and do they approve of its submission to the photo contest? Submission of any photos that include children/minors must have written consent from the parent/guardian.
• Does your photo promote any negative stereotypes or false generalizations about the subject(s) or host country?
• Have you thought about the ways in which others who see your photo will interpret it and is there any reason someone might be offended by it?

Please do not submit photos that stereotype, exploit, disrespect, or make false generalizations about the host country, its people, and/or its culture. Photos which appear unethical or inappropriate may be disqualified from the contest without notice.

For more background information on this subject, please see the following links:

• Photography Ethics and Why They Matter
• Ethics and Photography in Developing Countries

Terms and conditions

In submitting photos to the contest, you agree that CCU and the Center for Global Engagement may use the photos and supporting information/comments for promotional purposes without further permission, conditions or compensation.  All photos, not just winning photos, may be used by the CCU Center for Global Engagement for the purposes noted above.  Contest organizers reserve the right to disqualify entries that do not conform to the stated guidelines and ethics.

Judging

Judging will take place each fall by a community of CCU faculty and staff members.  Winners will be announced in conjunction with International Education Week in November.

Selection Criteria

• Technical merit (clarity, focus, lighting, etc.).
• Representation of the study abroad experience.
• Sensitivity toward the host culture.
• Artistic Expression and creativity
• Accurate representation of the category.

Prizes

One first place photo will be selected in each category.  First place winners will receive a $50 gift card.

A People’s Choice winner will be selected from the finalists based on voting to be held in early November on social media.  The People's Choice winner will receive a $25 gift card.

Only one prize per entrant will be awarded. Honorable mentions may be given.