Think you have what it takes to be a theme park designer? Ringling College of Art and Design is holding a theme park design competition, offering U.S. high school students the chance to win scholarships and Universal VIP experiences by coming up with the most creative theme park designs.
The first opportunity for many new themed entertainment professionals is designing a cart that not only needs to enhance its location—which may represent a specific period of time or storytelling theme—but also needs to serve an operational purpose like selling food or merchandise or providing location-based information.
The Universal and Ringling theme park design competition offers a unique opportunity for high school juniors and seniors to design their original themed cart for imagined use in Universal Studios theme parks. This means designs can’t be based on intellectual property from any existing Disney or Universal parks, giving aspiring theme park designs the chance to create something completely new.
The theme park design competition is open to all U.S. high school students enrolled in grades 11 and 12 during the 2025-26 school year.
Winners will be determined by a panel of entertainment design professionals and Ringling faculty who will evaluate entries based on how well the cart serves its operational purpose, whether the design will work in a theme park setting, the originality and creativity of the design, visual appeal, and how well the design fits with the Universal brand.
Judges:
Submitted work from all finalists will be included in an exhibition at Universal Creative and/or a Universal Studios-owned facility.
Up to three top winners will receiveexclusive VIP “behind-the-scenes” experiences with Universal Studios, including complimentary travel and accommodations, plus the winners will receive the following prizes from Ringling College:
*Value of PreCollege tuition scholarships can be applied to the undergraduate program if desired (full tuition equates to $5,000 tuition scholarship, and half tuition equates to $2,500 tuition scholarship).
All remaining finalists will receive a Ringling College/Universal Studios merchandise prize package.
To enter the Universal and Ringling theme park design competition, eligible high school students must submit their design using the process specified in the project brief.
Submissions open on Sept. 1, 2025.
Important Dates & Deadlines:
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Last Updated on July 29, 2025 by Blake Taylor
