Dates

January 24-25, 2026. Check-in starts 8:00 AM, January 24th, at Bytes Cafe, Winston Chung Hall.

Hacking starts on January 25th, 10:00 AM. GitHub commits may not be dated before the hackathon period has started.

You'll have until January 26th, 10:00 AM to continue hacking and editing your submission, but the project must be submitted on devpost and hacker portal by 9:00 AM, and make sure to add your teammates.

Eligibility

RoseHack is open to all undergrad and graduate students across the country. Must be registered at rosehack.com.

Project and Submission Requirements

  • Prize track(s) that submission is aimed to satisfy must be tagged in submission description.
  • Team member limit of up to 4.
  • Must be a project conceptualized and built at RoseHack.
  • We will not be considering projects that are submitted to multiple hackathons for ANY prize category.
  • A GitHub (and/or) Figma is required for submission.

 

Prizes

1st Place Overall

  • Logitech M705 WL Laser Mouse
  • JBL Go 4 Wireless Speaker- Black
  • Xbox Wireless Controller Xbox Series X
  • Logitech Wave Keys Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard

2nd Place Overall

  • Logitech POP Icon Keys Keyboard
  • Candies Hearts Smart LED String Lights, 20Ft
  • Dormify Charging Catchall Lamp
  • iHome Powerclock Glow Bluetooth Color Changing FM Alarm Clock Radio

3rd Place Overall

  • Assorted Hydro Flask 32 oz. Wide Mouth Bottles & Tumblers

Best Female Hacker

  • Original SnackBOX Care Package (40 Snacks)

Women's Issues Track

  • JBL Vibe Beam True Wireless Earbuds- Black
  • iHome PowerLight Flex Foldable LED Lamp with USB Charging & Alarm Clock
  • iHome Alarm Clock with Qi Wireless Charging and USB Charging
  • Lasko Breeze Machine

Social Impact Track (Partner: UCR Engineers for Good)

  • Engineers for Good Internship (to be introduced in the opening ceremony)
  • Alternative prizes

Fast-Launch Track

  • UCR Donkey Adjustable Baseball Cap

Cash-Cow Track (Partner: UCR School of Business)

  • School of Business prize package

UI/UX Track

  • Univ of California - Riverside Julia Gash Weekend Tote

Most Innovative Track

  • UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS Lil Stubbies Elephant Plush
  • OnHand Portable Power Pack 10,000 mAh w/LED Indicator, Black
  • LED 25ft RGB LED Peel & Stick Light Strip w/ Remote
  • Multiport Charging Wall Adapter

Beginner Track

  • Assorted Warmies plushies

 

*Prize track(s) that submission is aimed to satisfy must be tagged in submission description.

 

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

We are honored to be joined by industry professionals from companies such as Meta, Google, Amazon, General Atomics, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to judge each team on Day 2, starting at 10:00 AM (project hard deadline).

Winners will be announced in the closing ceremony starting at 3:00 PM.