Columbia Scholastic Press Association

What can CSPA do for you?

Only CSPA members can participate in our contests. Membership is per publication, not by school.

High school, middle school and collegiate publications can now choose one of three (3) different types of CSPA membership levels:

• Regular Membership: includes detailed critique, Crown judging, 50 free Gold Circle entries, Special Edition Crown Awards DVD. [Hybrid $249, Digital $209, Print $209]

• Associate Membership: includes Crown judging, 50 free Gold Circle entries, Special Edition Crown Awards DVD. NO critique included. [$169]

• Basic Membership: includes 50 free Gold Circle entries, Special Edition Crown Awards DVD. NO critique, NO Crown Awards entry included. [$149]
  
  HYBRID – print publication that provides live coverage via website between print editions. Can include expanded content for stories already covered in print. Could also include updates or completely new coverage via website.
  
  DIGITAL – Online news reporting only; no print component.  If a print edition co-exists with the digital news site, then it’s a hybrid publication.
  
  PRINT - News reporting in print only; no digital (online) component.  If a digital edition co-exists with the print component, then it’s a hybrid publication.
  

Deadlines

June 15, 2012
Regular Membership or Basic Membership for print newspapers, digital media, hybrid news media & all magazines.

October 15, 2012
Regular Memberships or Basic Memberships for yearbooks, all Associate Memberships.

Who's eligible?

• One membership per print publication or digital media. (College newspapers, fall and spring semester are considered two separate memberships.)
  
• Memberships for student media are offered for print publications or digital media.
  
• CSPA accepts newspapers, yearbooks, magazines and digital media edited and produced by students in middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities for membership.
• Schools and colleges may be public, private or church-affiliated institutions located in the United States, Canada, or overseas schools following an American plan of education.
  
• All CSPA memberships run from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. Memberships are for one year only and must be renewed.
  
• A note about digital (online) sites: To be critiqued/evaluated as an digital publication and/or site, your website must include material adding web features. Sites offering only PDFs of the existing print publications do not qualify for digital or hybrid news site critique consideration.

How to join

Download our new, fillable PDF Membership Form, available on this page.

You can complete the form on your screen using Adobe's free Reader software and return the form to CSPA via e-mail. Once you've completed the form, you can submit the data using Reader's built-in "Submit form" function OR by saving the form (with a new filename) and sending the file as an attachment to cspa-critiques@columbia.edu.

We suggest you print two copies of your completed form: one for your records and one to send with your physical entries and/or payment.

CSPA Membership

Membership Overview

Membership Types Available

Professional Membership

What to submit

Membership FAQ

Download forms

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