Global Photo Contest

The 2026 Global Photo Contest is now open!

Any student who studied abroad during the year 2025 is eligible to submit for the Center for Education Abroad side, and any current international or exchange student is eligible for the International Service Office side of the contest. Each student is limited to 3 photos in total for submissions. The deadline for submissions is Friday, February 27th.

How the contest works

You can enter the contest by using our online submission form. After the submission deadline, our panel of judges will vote on finalists of each category. Images will also be posted to social media where users can vote on their favorites. Awards will be presented to the winners in each category.

Submission categories

Education Abroad categories

Let Me Take A Selfie:  Show off your selfies or solo pictures embodying your adventures abroad!
Live Like A Local:  Show us how you connected with the local culture, whether through homestays, roommates, or locals you met. Share fairs, festivals, celebrations, and everyday life from study abroad.
Nature’s Canvas:  Capture a photo of the stunning natural scenery and a glimpse into your surroundings.
Putting the Study in Study Abroad: Show us your experiences in the classroom, study tours, field trips, and academic fun!
Skyline Scenes: Show off the your everyday life with photos of beautiful buildings and architecture of the places you’ve been.

Disclaimer: The University of Rochester does not encourage dangerous activities that would put your health and safety at risk. Please refer to the Standards of Student Conduct.

International Student experiences

Campus & Connections: A moment captured on campus, highlighting the friendships, experiences, and personal connections that have shaped your US college journey.
Experiential Learning: A captured moment highlighting learning beyond the classroom, including internships, research, campus jobs, student organizations, community engagement, creative projects, or other experiences that have shaped you.
Home Culture:  A photo you took at home showing us the culture and country that you are proud of.
Rochester Community:  Places you’ve visited off-campus that have left a mark on your memory and experiences you’ve had in the Greater Rochester area.
US Sightseeing:  Wonders of the US (outside of Rochester) including unique landscapes, cityscapes, and monuments.

Disclaimer: The University of Rochester does not encourage dangerous activities that would put your health and safety at risk. Please refer to the Standards of Student Conduct.

2025 Education Abroad winners

A student takes a selfie in front of the Eifel Tower

Smiling at the Seine

First place winner: Sarina Trivedi, Finance and Economics major
Location: Paris, France
Study abroad term: CEA CAPA Barcelona – International Business

A student posting a Be Real photo in front of a mountain range while hiking

Peak of the Pinnacles Range

Second place winner: Leo Critchfield, Mechanical Engineering major
Location: Coromandel, New Zealand
Study abroad term: IES Abroad Auckland

A student takes a selfie in front a mountain range while hiking

Getting Close to the Gods

Third place winner: Kavira Musongera, Marketing and Psychology major
Location: Montserrat, Spain
Study abroad term: IES Barcelona Business

A group of musicians perform in a bustling town square

El Rastro Cumbia

First place winner: Matthew Hook, Mechanical Engineering major
Location: Madrid, Spain
Study abroad term: IES Abroad

A student looks down excitedly at a plate of food

Ooo…Raclette!

Second place winner: Willow Nagai, Environmental Studies and Political Science major
Location: Vienna, Austria
Study abroad term: DIS Copenhagen

A student holding a cup of coffee in front of a narrow historic Italian street

Waking up in Color

Third place winner: Kathryn Lambright, Biomedical Engineering major
Location: Riomaggiore, Italy
Study abroad term: UR Italian Studies Program

A yak in the vast landscapes of Ladakh, standing peacefully near Pangong Lake.

Woolly Wanderer of the Himalayas

First place winner: Pratikshya Karki, Environmental Health major
Location: Ladakh, India
Study abroad term: Public Health Field Study

A student scuba diving with a sea turtle

I Love Making New Friends

Second place winner: Veena Laks, Data Science major
Location: Cook Islands (Rarotonga)
Study abroad term: Christchurch, New Zealand

Two students gazing out at the sunset in the desert

Sahara Sunrise

Third place winner: Valeria Avalos, Computer Science major
Location: Sahara Desert, Morocco
Study abroad term: IES Madrid

A student walking across a tightrope between two cliffs while hiking

Fine Line between Flowing Water and Frozen Fear

First place winner: Caelan Clayton, Data Science major
Location: Wanaka, New Zealand
Study abroad term: IES Abroad Christchurch

Walking down a multicolored hallway high above the city skyline

Rainbow Panorama

Second place winner: Alex Holly, Brain and Cognitive Sciences major
Location: Aarhus, DK
Study abroad term: DIS Copenhagen

A group of workers overtop of a vat of cheese in a factory

Field Trip: Making Gouda Cheese

Third place winner: Salvika Rayamajhi, Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Psychology major
Location: 1 hour outside of Amsterdam (countryside)
Study abroad term: IES Amsterdam

London’s Icons

First place winner: Jordyn Kowalkowski, Psychology major
Location: London, England
Study abroad term: ISI Florence

A rainy historic Japanese street at night

Rainy Night in Kyoto

Second place winner: Dingxiang Lin, Business: Entrepreneurship and Japanese major
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Study abroad term: Conversational Japanese in Tokyo

Through the Olive Trees

Third place winner: Leen Khankan, Psychology major
Location: Athens, Greece
Study abroad term: IES Barcelona

2025 International Student winners

Two students splashing each other with colored powder during a campus event

“Splash of Color”

First place winner: Shivanshi Tiwari, Physics graduate student
Location: University of Rochester
Full caption: It was my Holi in Rochester with my friends and every splash of color felt like a hug from home.

A dark Eastman Quad and lit up Rush Rhees Library during the eclipse

“Beacon of Knowledge”

Second place winner: Aabha Pandit, Data Science major
Location: University of Rochester
Full caption: The eclipse casts its shadow, but the beacon of knowledge remains bright.

Two students studying on the Eastman Quad

“Unhurried and Infinite”

Third place winner: Abhay Hegde, Physics graduate student
Location: University of Rochester
Full caption: Beneath the towering wisdom of Rush Rhees Library, they craft a story of their own—unhurried and infinite in its quiet joy.

A group of camera men at an ornate event surrounded by flowers smiling for the camera

Cameramen Smiling at the Camera

First place winner: Timothy Amanga, Digital Media Studies major
Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Two students smiling and posing in front of Rush Rhees Library

Onto the Next Chapter

Second place winner: Anna Lisa Gromann, Business graduate student
Location: University of Rochester

Las Plumas del Colibrí

Third place winner: QIKE LI, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology major
Location: Mache Chindul, Ecuador

“Through the Endless Dunes”

First place winner: Amel Rouabhia, Mechanical Engineering major
Location: Sahara Desert, Douz, Tunisia
Full caption: Riding camels through the endless dunes of the Tunisian desert with my dad, discovering the beauty and tranquility of the south of the country. A journey I’ll never forget.

A small Chinese town street lit up at night

“Small but vibrant”

Second place winner: Julianne Zhu, Music: Organ graduate student
Location: Suzhou, China
Full caption: Last summer, I went home for the first time in five years and decided to explore my home country. I went to Suzhou, a small but vibrant city that has preserved a lot of the historical cityscape. This photo was taken at a market that made me feel like I had time-traveled.