2025

NPR College Podcast Challenge 

NPR is inviting college students around the country to create a podcast -- about anything you want - and compete for a chance to win a $5,000 cash prize and have your work featured on NPR. 

No prior knowledge or experience is necessary. 
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Calling all college students and educators! 

NPR's College Podcast Challenge is back and now open for entries!

NPR is inviting college students around the country to create a podcast — about anything you want! — and compete for a chance to win a $5,000 cash prize and have your work featured on NPR. 

No prior knowledge or experience is necessary. Many of our contest finalists or even winners have had ZERO PRIOR PODCASTING EXPERIENCE before they made the piece that won them the grand prize!

Key Dates

  • September 19, 2025: Challenge Opens

  • January 16, 2026: Entry Deadline

What to know about NPR's College Podcast Challenge (Video)

Join AIR and the team behind NPR’s College Podcast Challenge to learn about NPR's national podcasting contest.

In the video below, we go over the basics,and share tips for students on how you can take home the $5,000 grand prize.

In this information session video recording you'll..
  • learn the basics of the College Podcast Challenge: what it is, key dates, how to enter and prize information.
  • get advice on how we evaluate entries and what we are looking for in a winner.
  • hear some of our favorite entries from previous years.
  • recieve general advice on teaching podcasting in the classroom and how you can incorporate the College Podcast Challenge into your curriculum.

This video is best for any college students, educators or audio producers who work with students across all ages. We also have the Student Podcast Challenge for students in grades four through 12, and can answer any questions on that as well!

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Login or create a free SoundPath account to watch the information session video. 

Who is this video for? 

This session is best suited for college students, recent grads, educators or audio producers who work with students across all ages.

We also have the Student Podcast Challenge for students in grades four through 12, and can answer any questions on that as well. 

A Conversation with Past Winners

With limited early career opportunities available in the industry right now, how are recent college grads and early career folks getting their name out there? 

In this video, three former winners of NPR’s College Podcast Challenge discuss their experience entering the national podcasting contest – and everything that came out of it.

This conversation is moderated by NPR Education Producer Janet Woojeong Lee and joined by:

⦿ Anya Steinberg, 2021 contest winner & staff producer of NPR podcast “Throughline”
⦿ Michael Vargas Arango, 2023 contest winner
⦿ Jo Strogatz, 2024 contest winner

They reflect on their winning podcasts and share advice on how you or your student can take home the $5,000 grand prize. No prior knowledge or experience is necessary. Many of our contest finalists or even winners have had ZERO PRIOR PODCASTING EXPERIENCE before they made the piece that won them the grand prize!

Write your awesome label here.

Login or create a free SoundPath account to watch the information session video. 

2021 Contest Winner

Anya Steinberg

Staff producer at NPR podcast "Throughline"
 



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2024 Contest winner

Jo Strogatz

 



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2023 contest winner

Michael Vargas Arango 



   



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Meet the MODERATOR

Janet Woojeong Lee

Janet Woojeong Lee (she/her) is a Producer for NPR's education desk. She manages the Student Podcast Challenge, an award-winning podcasting contest for middle, high school and college students. She works closely with students all around the country, and has produced and edited youth-reported stories for the radio and for NPR podcasts like "Up First" and "Code Switch." 

Janet previously taught audio journalism at Columbia Journalism School, and teaches an audio workshop for the Asian American Journalists Association's high school summer camp. 

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