International Student & Study Abroad Photo Contest

The Office of International Education and the Office of International Student & Scholar Services are excited to announce the DU International Student & Study Abroad Photo Contest!  

Eligible photo entries must be submitted by DU students, either U.S. students who have returned from study abroad or by current international students studying at DU.

The submissions will be displayed in the Community Commons Gallery and highlighted as part of the Internationalization Summit on April 12th. Voting will occur April 8 – 12, 2024, and the DU community and Internationalization Summit attendees will be encouraged to vote.

Visually share your experience with your peers and enter to win a professional print of your photo and other prizes by participating in the photo contest.

Ready to participate in the photo contest?

Submit Photos

Photo Categories

The four categories for submission include: 

  • Connecting through Education: Photos of places where DU students took classes and/or interacted with professors, including learning sites outside of a conventional classroom.
    • In addition to a photo title, students must provide a brief description of how the picture captures making connections through education. 
  • Cultural Connections: Photos of DU students engaging with their host country’s culture. Students must provide information on how the photo depicts cultural connections to their experience.
    • In addition to a photo title, students must provide a brief description of the meaning behind the picture and the cultural connection being made in the image.
  • World Views: Pictures of the landscape, architecture, animals, or any eye-catching views.
  • Internationalization Summit Theme: Photos that connect with the annual Internationalization Summit theme, (Re)connecting in a dis/connected world.
    • Students must provide information on how their photo(s) in this category are connected to the theme of the Summit.

Students may submit a maximum of five (5) photo entries each.

Eligibility Requirements

  • Photo submissions must be original work (no professional photos with logos or watermarks will be accepted).
  • Photos must have been taken by the contestant during their DU Study Abroad program or while enrolled at DU as an international student.

Submission Guidelines

  • Images must be at least 1 MB in size with dpi 300 or higher (in order to be enlarged for large format printing without pixelation).
  • Digital images must be uploaded using the online submission form by clicking the 'Submit Photos' button on this page. No e-mail submissions or prints will be accepted.
  • Each photo submitted should include a caption, location, and brief explanation connecting to the category. If there are multiple students in the photo, please include their names.
  • Photos can be color, or black and white.
  • To preserve the integrity of the photo contest, photos may have basic digital enhancements (e.g. cropping, color balance, brightness/contrast, red eye elimination, grayscale, slight focus adjustments, etc.), though any 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 formats accepted are .jpg, .jpeg, or .png.
  • Photos must be in their original digital file (no social media or screenshot photos).
  • Eligible participants may submit up to five (5) photos total.
  • Photos that include scenes involving extreme sports, partying, alcohol, drug use, illegal activities or violating the DU Student Honor Code will be immediately disqualified. Defamatory, slanderous, obscene, threatening, hateful, or otherwise offensive photos are also prohibited. The Office of Internationalization determines eligibility of entries and reserves the right to refuse submissions for any reason.

Entries must be received no later than 11:59pm, Monday, April 1, 2024.

Judging

Entries will undergo an initial review by a panel of judges based on how they capture the category description, as well as their artistic expression, creativity, originality, and image quality. Finalists from each category will be displayed in the Community Commons Gallery April 8-19 and highlighted as part of the Internationalization Summit on April 12th. Voting will occur April 8 – 12, 2024, and the DU community and Internationalization Summit attendees will be encouraged to vote.

Winners will be officially announced April 15, 2024.

Cultural Sensitivity

Photography is a useful tool to help convey an experience or a memory, but it is important to recognize the power photos can have and to share them ethically. Photos must be culturally appropriate and sensitive.

Please avoid submitting images that:

  • Stereotype
  • Exploit
  • Disrespect
  • Make false generalizations
  • Lead to inaccuracy or misrepresentations of the host country, people, or setting.

When submitting photos of people, think less like a tourist and more like a local who is communicating what it is like to experience day-to-day events and activities.

Prizes

  • KODAK Step Wireless Mobile Photo Mini Color Printer

or

  • Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera

Terms and Conditions

By entering the contest, you are giving the Office of Internationalization, Office of International Education, and Office of International Student & Scholar Services permission to use your photo(s) and other information/comments submitted in various marketing activities, publications and/or the web for the purpose of promoting study abroad and the international student experince at DU. All photos, not just winning photos, may be used by the Office of Internationalization, Office of International Education, and Office of International Student & Scholar Services for the purposes noted above.

Drone photo of DU campus

Photo submission deadline is Monday, April 1, 2024

Submit Photos