Columbia Scholastic Press Association

The Gold Circle Awards are available to members as part of the Regular Membership, Associate Membership or Basic Membership.

Gold Circle Awards are offered to recognize superior work by student journalists usually as individuals but sometimes as an entire staff working with either print or online media. These media are published in schools or colleges throughout the United States and in overseas schools following an American plan of education.

For the 29th annual Gold Circles, the deadline for Newspapers and Magazines is now June 15, 2011. Eligibility for these categories is June 16, 2010 through June 15, 2011.

Your publication must be have a CSPA membership to enter the Gold Circle Awards. Click here to find out more about the three different types of membership available. 

All Newspaper and Magazine entries must be POSTMARKED by June 15th.

The deadline for the 30th annual Gold Circles, the deadline for Yearbook, Video and Online Media is November 1, 2011. Eligibility for these categories is October 31, 2010 through November 1, 2011.

All Yearbook and Digital Media entries must be POSTMARKED by November 1st.

Presently, 205 different categories of entry are provided with detailed information given here. Recognition is given by various certificates of award. Secondary schools are judged separately from colleges and universities so that each student’s work is evaluated against others produced in similar circumstances. Judges are experienced journalists and educators familiar with the context surrounding student journalism as produced in schools and colleges. In recent years, more than 13,000 entries have been submitted for this annual competition and about 1,000 awards were given in the various categories.

Awards are announced and presented at the Association's annual convention in March in New York City.

Gold Circle Awards were first given in 1984 but follow a long tradition of CSPA awards for individual achievement by student editors.

Download Forms

Judging for Gold Circle entries for Newspapers, Newsmagazines, Magazines and Spring Yearbooks has concluded and the 2011 winners have been announced. The form for the 2012 Gold Circle entries will be available in January 2012 as a PDF file. The deadline for the 2012 entries is June 15, 2012.

Click on the PDF icon to download Gold Circle for Fall Yearbooks and Digital Media form as a PDF file. Deadline is November 1, 2011.