Snapshot Contest

Have you studied or interned abroad with us yet? If not, you’ll need to first apply to one of our 140+ study and intern abroad programs and complete your semester abroad. After you finish your study abroad adventure you’ll be able to participate in our Snapshot Contest!

• A Day in the Life – We want to see study abroad from your point of view; show us where you could be regularly spotted during your time abroad! Photo(s) submitted should be of you or your peers in your housing accommodations, with your roommates or host family, at your favorite café or study space, or visiting your IES Abroad Center.
• Being Real – It’s impossible to stage the best parts of study abroad. We want to see the real moments; the ones where nobody but the photographer knew there was a camera around. Photo(s) submitted could be of you or your peers gazing at your host city’s indescribable architecture, dancing the night away, or being authentically caught in the moment of life in your new playground. 
• Pics or it Didn’t Happen – Every study abroad experience has moments you will never forget. Photo(s) submitted could be of you or your peers tasting your new favorite local cuisine, seeing a famous landmark for the first time, or visiting a city you've always wanted to go to. What moments were most memorable to you? Show us you were there! 
• Putting the ‘Study’ in Study Abroad – The school part; Study abroad is all about learning and being immersed in your host country! Photo(s) submitted should be of IES Abroad students learning and enforcing our Global Good Commitment abroad; in their classrooms, internships, community-based learning placements, on field trips, with their instructors or faculty, or at cultural events and activities. 

*Listed categories are from our most recently-run Snapshot Contest and are subject to change.

We run the Snapshot Contest twice per year, for IES Abroad alumni of specific terms.*

• Spring: We typically run the spring term Snapshot Contest during the summer months of that same calendar year.* (e.g. if you studied abroad in Spring 2025, we will run the Snapshot Contest for your term in summer 2025.)
• Summer & Fall Term:  We typically run the summer & fall term Snapshot Contest during February (or later in the spring) of the following calendar year.* (e.g. if you studied abroad in Summer or Fall 2025, we will run the Snapshot Contest for your term in February 2026.)

*Snapshot Contest dates, terms, and quantity per year are based on past contests and are subject to change.

Every study abroad experience has moments you will never forget—many of which are captured as a photo. We want to see them!

• Each student is invited to submit up to five of their best snapshots from their time abroad. (You can submit to multiple categories, too. For example, you can make two submissions to the Pics or it Didn't Happen category and three to the A Day in the Life category, etc.)
• Photo quality must be at least 1200 x 1600 pixels.
• Photos must be named in the following format: Center_Photo Location_Photo Name_Your Name (Example: London_London_Big Ben_Sarah Jones)
• Submissions from an IES Abroad Center or our field trip locations are highly preferred. Submissions from personal trips to locations where IES Abroad does not operate are not likely to be selected.
• Instagram photos and other highly-edited photography will not be accepted.

Enter Now

Out of a pool of Semi-Finalists, we will select the top five submissions from each category, based on the best composition and/or aesthetic response. These submissions will then be posted on the IES Abroad Instagram for public voting.

The most-"liked" submission from each category at the end of the voting period will be awarded a cash prize!