Who can apply
Eligibility varies widely: some competitions are open nationally to student teams, while others require affiliation with a specific university, alumni status, or graduate/undergraduate enrollment.
Student founder funding
University Startup Competitions for Student Founders
Find university startup competitions, business-plan contests, pitch competitions, and student venture challenges that award cash, mentorship, and investor visibility.
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Sources include Grants.gov, SAM.gov, SBIR.gov, CareerOneStop, state agencies, universities, and verified organizations.
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Featured funding opportunities
Rice Business Plan Competition
Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship (Rice University)
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
Students only
$200,000Rolling
Verified Aug 12, 2026
MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition
MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
School-affiliated
$100,000Rolling
Verified Aug 12, 2026
Columbia Venture Competition
Columbia Entrepreneurship
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
Students & alumni
$100,000Rolling
Verified Jun 16, 2026
Stanford BASES Challenge
Stanford BASES
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
School-affiliated
$100,000Rolling
Verified Jun 16, 2026
Georgia Tech InVenture Prize
Georgia Institute of Technology
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
Students only
$20,000Rolling
Verified Jun 16, 2026
Carnegie Mellon Swartz Center McGinnis Venture Competition
Carnegie Mellon Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
School-affiliated
$60,000Rolling
Verified Jun 16, 2026
Berkeley LAUNCH Startup Competition
Berkeley LAUNCH (UC Berkeley)
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
School-affiliated
$60,000Rolling
Verified Aug 12, 2026
VentureCat
Northwestern University
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
Students & alumni
$100,000Rolling
Verified Aug 12, 2026
Startup Challenge
Venture Lab (University of Pennsylvania)
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
Students only
$75,000Rolling
Verified Aug 12, 2026
Harvard President's Innovation Challenge
Harvard Innovation Labs (Harvard University)
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
Students & alumni
$75,000Rolling
Verified Aug 12, 2026
Harvard President's Innovation Challenge
Harvard Innovation Labs
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
School-affiliated
$75,000Rolling
Verified Jun 16, 2026
McGinnis Venture Competition
Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship (Carnegie Mellon University)
COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free
Students & alumni
$50,000Rolling
Verified Aug 12, 2026
How to prepare
Strong teams typically need a concise pitch deck, customer validation, clear problem/solution, traction evidence, use-of-funds plan, and a realistic path to revenue or impact.
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