Students may enter to earn special plaques, such as the Sonatina or Sonata plaque, Early Bach plaque and Advanced Bach plaque. Students can work toward Guild Diplomas and Scholarships, such as the “High School Diploma” for high school seniors. Memorization is mandatory for the above programs. However, students may choose to play with music as a “hobbyist.” The auditions are held in May.

The organization also offers the Annual Composition contest and the International Piano Composition contest which encourages student composers to submit their original compositions for evaluation and criticism as well as a monetary award.

The National Guild of Piano Teachers, a division of American College of Musicians was founded in 1929 by Dr. Irl Allison. Forty-six entrants participated in the first audition (then called a "tournament") at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. Since then, student/teacher membership has grown to over 118,000 participating internationally in the Guild goals and awards each year.