What is HackCMU?

HackCMU is Carnegie Mellon's premier hackathon, a 24-hour beginner-friendly challenge where creativity, code, and caffeine collide. Rally your crew and turn bold ideas into reality! Here is our official website: https://www.acmatcmu.com/hackcmu2026/

September 11th, 2026  
  1. 5:00 – 6:00 pm   Boarding Tepper Simmons Auditorium

    Check in with organizers and find your team members.

  2. 6:00 – 6:30 pm   Departure Tepper Simmons Auditorium

    Join us for the opening ceremony of HackCMU 2026!

  3. 7:00 – 9:00 pm   Dinner + Sponsor Expo Tepper Simmons Auditorium

    Meet our amazing event sponsors!

  4. 12:00 – 1:00 am   Midnight Cafe Halte Tepper Simmons Auditorium

    Fuel up with late-night snacks!

September 12th, 2026  
  1. 12:00 – 1:00 pm   Lunch Tepper Simmons Auditorium

    Grab a bite before submitting your final project.

  2. 4:00 pm   Baggage Check Google Form

    Submit your project description and track selection.

  3. 4:00 – 6:30 pm   Platform Showcase Tepper Simmons Auditorium

    Show off your amazing project to everyone!

  4. 6:30 – 7:00 pm   Dinner Tepper Simmons Auditorium

    Relax and enjoy dinner with fellow hackers.

  5. 7:00 – 8:00 pm   Arrival Tepper Simmons Auditorium

    We hope you continue to reach for the stars!

Requirements

What to Build

When you submit your project, you'll choose a track that best fits your idea, along with a short (50-word) explanation of why it belongs in that track. We will distribute prizes for each track based on the number of people who select it. For instance, if most people choose track 1, then we will have first, second, and third place prizes for that track. If only a few people choose track 2, then we will only have a first place prize for that track.

What to Submit

Projects will be judged based on: real-life usefulness, technological complexity, originality, and presentation/demo quality.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

1 non-cash prize
Overall Winner
1 winner

We will have prizes for each tracks. In addition, we will select an overall grand prize across all projects. We will also have sponsor-specific prizes that aren't restricted to any track.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Katie Wang

Katie Wang

Judging Criteria

  • Real-life usefulness
  • Technological complexity
  • Originality
  • Presentation/demo quality

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Invite others to compete

Hackathon sponsors

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