Dates

Event Dates:

  • Check-in: Friday, January 16, 2026 at 5:00 PM PST
  • Hacking Period: Friday, January 16, 2026 (evening) - Sunday, January 18, 2026 (morning)
  • Submission Deadline: Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 9:00 AM PST via Devpost
  • Judging Period: Sunday, January 18, 2026 from 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM PST
  • Winner Announcement: Sunday, January 18, 2026 during Closing Ceremony

All times are in Pacific Standard Time (PST).

Eligibility

Who Can Participate:

  • Current college/university students from any institution
  • Recent graduates (within 1 year of graduation)
  • Participants must be 18 years of age or older, or have parental consent if under 18

Team Requirements:

  • Teams may consist of 1-4 members maximum
  • All team members must be registered CruzHacks 2026 participants
  • Teams can be formed before or during the event (use #team-formation on Discord)
  • Each participant may only be on one team

General Requirements:

  • Participants must check in at the event with valid identification
  • Participants must follow the MLH Code of Conduct
  • Participants must adhere to the CruzHacks Code of Conduct (see below)

Project and Submission Requirements

Project Requirements:

  1. Timing: All code must be written during the hackathon period (January 16-18, 2026). You may use:
    • Pre-existing libraries, frameworks, and APIs
    • Starter code provided by CruzHacks or sponsors
    • Code from previous projects as a foundation, but significant new work must be completed during the event
  2. Original Work: Projects must represent original work created by the team during the hackathon
  3. Functioning Project: Projects should demonstrate core functionality, though they do not need to be completely polished or production-ready
  4. Open Source: All projects must be open source with an appropriate license

Submission Requirements:

All submissions must be made via the official CruzHacks 2026 Devpost by 9:00 AM PST on Sunday, January 18, 2026.

Required Submission Elements:

  • Project name and description (clearly explain what your project does and what problem it solves)
  • Which prize track(s) you're competing for
  • Link to source code repository (GitHub, GitLab, etc.)
  • Demo video (recommended but not required - max 3 minutes)
  • Any technologies, APIs, or tools used
  • Instructions for running/testing your project
  • Team member information (must match registered participants)

Optional Elements:

  • Screenshots or images
  • Live demo link (if applicable)
  • Presentation slides

Important Notes:

  • You must sign up for Devpost using the same email address you used to register for CruzHacks
  • Using a different email may result in disqualification
  • Incomplete submissions or submissions missing required elements will be disqualified
  • Submissions received after the deadline will not be accepted

Prizes

Main "Tech Cares" Prize Tracks:

  1. Sustainability Hacks - Apple AirPods (4th Gen) per team member
  2. Health Hacks - PHILIPS Monitor per team member
  3. Justice Hacks - AULA F75 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard per team member
  4. Education Hacks - Minolta MND23 48MP Digital Camera per team member

Category Prizes:

  1. Best Beginner Hack - Amazon Echo Spot per team member
    • Eligibility: All team members must be first-time hackathon participants
  2. Best AI Hack - Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet per team member
  3. Best UI/UX Hack - Wacom Drawing Tablet per team member
  4. Best SlugHacks - Mini Projector per team member
    • Must benefit the UC Santa Cruz campus community

Sponsored Prizes:

  • Opennote: Best UX Edutech - Up to $2,000 in cash/merchandise
  • Vercel: Best Use of Vercel - Up to $600 cash
  • StartUp Club: Most Start-up Potential - Up to $500
  • IF Magic: Best Use of IF Magic - Hardware and credits up to $500 total
  • Autodesk: Best Use of Autodesk - Merch and awards up to $500 total
  • n8n: Best Use of n8n - One-year subscription to n8n cloud-pro per team member
  • Framer: Best Use of Framer - $300-$500
  • Mobbin: Best Use of Mobbin - $500
  • GenAI: Best Use of GenAI/LLMs - $100 gift card per member + Tensorpool credits (up to $1000)
  • Hardware: Best Hardware Hack
  • Unwrap: Best Insights Extracted from Reddit and/or Twitter Data

MLH Prizes:

  • MongoDB: Best Use of MongoDB Atlas - M5GO IoT Starter Kit per team member
  • Auth0: Best Use of Auth0 - Wireless Headphones & Battery Pack per team member
  • Digi-Key: Best Hardware Hack - Grove Beginner Kit per team member

Prize Notes:

  • Teams may win multiple prizes across different categories
  • Prizes will be distributed during or after the Closing Ceremony
  • Some prizes may be distributed post-event by sponsors
  • CruzHacks reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Judging Format:

  • In-person judging expo on Sunday, January 18 from 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM PST
  • Teams will present at assigned tables (check Devpost for table assignments)
  • Presentation time: 4.5 minutes maximum
    • 3 minutes for demo
    • 1.5 minutes for Q&A with judges

Judging Criteria:

Projects will be evaluated on the following criteria (weightings may vary by prize category):

  1. Innovation & Creativity  - How original and creative is the solution?
  2. Technical Complexity - What is the technical skill and difficulty involved?
  3. Impact & Usefulness - Does it solve a real problem? What's the potential impact?
  4. Design & User Experience - How intuitive and polished is the interface?
  5. Completion & Functionality - How much was accomplished during the hackathon?

Winner Selection:

  • Judges will evaluate projects based on the criteria above
  • Winners will be selected by a panel of judges from CruzHacks, sponsors, and industry professionals
  • Sponsor prize winners will be selected by respective sponsor representatives
  • MLH prize winners will be selected by event organizers based on tool usage
  • Decisions made by judges are final
  • Winners will be announced during the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, January 18

Disqualification:

Teams may be disqualified for:

  • Submitting after the deadline
  • Missing required submission elements
  • Violating the Code of Conduct
  • Submitting work that is not original or not created during the hackathon
  • Using a different email for Devpost than registered with
  • Team composition that doesn't match registered participants
  • Failing to present during judging period


Code of Conduct

CruzHacks is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or political views.

Unacceptable Behavior:

Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or political views, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, photography or audio/video recording against reasonable consent, sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, and unwelcome sexual attention.

Photography Policy:

Photography is encouraged, but other participants must be given a reasonable chance to opt out from being photographed. If they object to the taking of their photograph, comply with their request. It is inappropriate to take photographs in contexts where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy (in bathrooms or where participants are sleeping).

Hacks Subject to Policy:

As this is a hackathon, we explicitly note that the hacks created at our hackathon are equally subject to the anti-harassment policy.

Sponsors and Partners:

Sponsors and partners are also subject to the anti-harassment policy. In particular, sponsors should not use sexualized images, activities, or other material. Sponsor representatives (including volunteers) should not use sexualized clothing/uniforms/costumes, or otherwise create a sexualized environment.

Reporting and Enforcement:

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of CruzHacks staff immediately. Staff members can be identified by their organizer badges and blue verified checkmarks on Discord.

Hackathon staff will be happy to help participants contact any local security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the hackathon. We value your attendance.

If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the hackathon organizers may take any action they deem appropriate. This includes warning the offender, expulsion from the hackathon, or reporting their behavior to local law enforcement.

Scope:

We expect participants to follow these rules at all hackathon and workshop venues and hackathon-related social events.

MLH Code of Conduct:

All participants must also follow the MLH Code of Conduct.

Badge Requirement:

Participants must keep their event badge visible at all times while at CruzHacks venues.