The Society For News Design Contest was established to showcase some of the best designs created by college students throughout the nation. The contest is presented in collaboration between the University of Missouri and Michigan State University.

There are a number of beginning student designers who have demonstrated incredible talent, but they do so in the classroom or a part-time job. In much the same way, some of themes talented visual journalists—for a variety of reasons—do not work at their campus newspaper. These students are often ineligible for other college design competitions, where contest rules often limit entries to work done of a student newspaper or magazine. The SSND Contest was established to give those other students a voice in a national competition.