Virtual & Online Arts Programs for High School Students

These arts programs are fully online, so students in any town — not just near a major university — can participate.

Virtual programs remove geography from the equation; selectivity and follow-through are all that separate you from applicants in Boston or the Bay Area.

77 verified programs match this page; 25 of the featured listings are completely free.

Featured programs

Browse 30+ curated programs for high school students:

• Davidson Fellows Scholarship - Music Category — Davidson Institute: Prestigious music scholarship recognizing high school students with exceptional compositions. Boost your college applications and showcase your creati
• Adobe Design Achievement Awards — Adobe: Design competition using Adobe software. Multiple categories.
• NYT Personal Narrative Essay Contest — New York Times: Enter a national writing competition for high schoolers to craft 600-word personal narratives. Perfect for honing storytelling skills and boosting col
• Sony World Photography Awards Youth Competition — World Photography Organisation: Showcase your creativity in this free international photography competition for grades 7-12. Build your portfolio, gain recognition, and strengthen co
• National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) — National Novel Writing Month: A global challenge each November to draft a 50,000-word novel in 30 days, with special programs supporting teen writers.
• Polyphony Lit Magazine — Polyphony Lit: International literary magazine for high school students featuring fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction from emerging writers worldwide.
• Canadian Short Screenplay Competition — Canadian Short Screenplay Competition Inc.: An international contest recognizing outstanding short film screenplays, with prizes, promotion, and industry exposure.
• National PTA Reflections Program National Award — National PTA: National arts recognition through PTA in visual arts, music, literature, photography, film, and dance.
• Commonwealth Short Film Competition — The Royal Commonwealth Society: An international short film competition for young Commonwealth citizens to explore democracy and civic engagement through filmmaking.
• Scholastic Art & Writing Awards - Gold Medal Portfolio — Alliance for Young Artists & Writers: Highest honor in Scholastic Awards for exceptional art or writing portfolios. Past winners include Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath.
• NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing — National Council of Teachers of English: National writing competition for high school juniors and seniors to showcase creativity and earn recognition. Build skills for college applications an
• Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship — The Adroit Journal: Highly competitive writing mentorship. Work 1-on-1 with published authors. ~10% acceptance.
• Teen Ink Magazine Submissions — Teen Ink: Submit your creative writing or art to Teen Ink's free online publication. Gain recognition, enhance your portfolio, and stand out on college applicat
• Ayn Rand Institute Anthem Essay Contest — Ayn Rand Institute: Essay contest on Ayn Rand's Anthem. $2,000 first prize for 9th-10th graders.
• National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) — Maureen Thorson / NaPoWriMo.net: A month‑long, online poetry writing challenge each April inviting writers worldwide to draft a poem a day.
• FAA High School Competition — University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts: Engage in a dynamic arts competition for high schoolers in grades 9-11. Explore architecture, music, and design while boosting college applications. F
• The World in 2050 Writing Competition — Brookings Institution & Financial Times: Global student essay contest on how today’s choices will shape the world in 2050, run by Brookings and the Financial Times.
• Richard Wilbur Poetry Award — University of Maine at Farmington: An annual poetry award honoring Richard Wilbur, recognizing outstanding unpublished poems submitted for consideration.
• Interactive Fiction Competition (IFComp) — Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation: An annual global competition for creating and playing new works of interactive fiction and text-based games.
• National Student Playwriting Competition — Kennedy Center: National playwriting competition for high school students. Develop theater skills, boost college applications, and see your work produced at the Kenne
• Slamdance Screenplay Competition (Student Division) — Slamdance Film Festival: Screenplay competition at filmmaker-run festival known for discovering new talent. Winners receive industry recognition and festival access. Alternati
• Why Mom Deserves a Diamond Writing Contest — Why Mom Deserves a Diamond, Inc.: A national writing contest where students write a short essay honoring their mothers for a chance to win a garnet or amethyst gemstone.
• Lincoln Forum Scholarship Essay Contest — The Lincoln Forum: Essay contest on Abraham Lincoln and Civil War era. Cash prizes and attendance at annual symposium. Shows historical research and writing excellence.
• Doodle for Google Competition — Google: Showcase your creativity in this national arts competition! Design a Google Doodle for a chance to be featured on Google.com. Perfect for building you
• National Student Production Awards — Broadcast Education Association: Showcase your talent in broadcasting and video production with this national competition for high school students. Build creative skills and boost you
• NSLI-Y Creative Content Fellowship — U.S. Department of State: State Department program combining critical language learning with creative content production. Unique blend of language skills and creativity.
• National English Honor Society Writing Contests — NEHS: Writing competitions for NEHS members. Poetry, prose, creative nonfiction.
• The Concord Review Published Author — The Concord Review: The only quarterly journal in the world to publish academic history papers by high school students. Publication is extremely prestigious and valued by
• Lune Spark Young Writers' Short Story Contest — Lune Spark: Annual short story contest for young writers with cash prizes and publication opportunities.
• Commonwealth Jubilee Playwriting Competition — The Royal Commonwealth Society: A youth playwriting competition celebrating the Commonwealth’s Jubilee, inviting short plays from young writers across member countries.

Frequently asked questions