Congressional App Challenge
The official coding competition of the U.S. House of Representatives. Middle and high school students build an original app, individually or in teams of up to four, and submit it to the congressional district where they live or go to school. Winners are announced in December and their apps are showcased in the U.S. Capitol. Free to enter. The 2026 deadline to register and submit is October 26.
The Congressional App Challenge is the most prestigious prize in student computer science.
Participation in the challenge has grown exponentially and has reached underserved, diverse, and rural student populations.
You might also like
Apex High School AI Championship
National AI competition where students solve STEM and AI challenges through interactive experiences. Prizes include $50K+ in scholarships.
NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing
National recognition program celebrating women and gender-expansive students for their computing accomplishments and career aspirations.
NorCalCyber Mayors Cup
Regional competition for students in Greater Sacramento and Far North California. Features team-based learning and digital forensics challenges.
picoCTF by Carnegie Mellon University
The largest free cybersecurity hacking competition globally. Solve capture-the-flag challenges in web exploitation, cryptography, forensics, and reverse engineering.
Space Grand Challenge (California Cybersecurity Institute)
Gamified satellite cybersecurity competition designed by Cal Poly for middle and high schoolers. Features space-themed challenges in a Unity WebGL platform.
Technovation Girls Challenge
Global technology entrepreneurship competition where girls and non-binary students build mobile apps to solve community problems using coding and app development skills.