Doctoral Consortium
Last updated: June 13, 2026
The ASSETS 2026 Doctoral Consortium (DC) is expected to be held on Sunday, October 25, 2026, as a primarily in-person event.
The overarching goal of the consortium is to encourage and prepare a group of promising student researchers dedicated to accessibility and assistive technology by:
- Providing PhD students with a supportive forum to submit and receive high-quality feedback about their accessibility-related dissertation work from researchers outside their own institution, including student peers, faculty, and industry professionals.
- Providing opportunities for participants to network with one another and with senior members of the ASSETS community.
- Enabling student participants to attend the ASSETS 2026 conference, to contribute to the conference goals through interaction with other researchers and conference events, and to learn of potential career paths within academia and industry.
Who Should Apply
We encourage early-to-mid stage doctoral candidates to apply rather than students who have already made substantial progress toward their dissertations. The DC focuses on earlier-stage students because the goal is to provide feedback that can help guide and shape dissertation research agendas.
Applicants may also submit to the Student Research Competition, but the work described must be different.
Relevant Topics
Relevant topics for the Consortium are the same as for the conference. Read the call for papers.
Important Dates and How to Apply
All deadlines are 11:59 P.M. Anywhere on Earth (UTC -12:00).
Each Doctoral Consortium applicant must submit a package of application materials and also request a letter of recommendation from their advisor.
- The student’s Cover Letter, the Research Project Summary, CV, and other sources of funding available to the student along with the total expected from these sources, should be submitted to PCS as a combined PDF document by Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
- The Advisor’s Letter of Recommendation should be received by Wednesday, July 8, 2026, and sent directly from the advisor to dc-chairs-assets26@acm.org.
- Notification of Acceptance: Wednesday, August 5, 2026.
Applicant’s Materials
Submissions are not anonymous; the applicant’s name must appear on the documents.
Cover Letter
The cover letter should contain the following information:
- A statement of interest in participating in the Doctoral Consortium
- The full name of the University and Department where the candidate is earning their doctorate degree
- The name of the primary supervisor
- Full contact information, including address, telephone number, and email address
- The title of the research and keywords pertinent to the research
- The URL of the candidate’s web page (if any)
- What the candidate hopes and expects to experience at the Doctoral Consortium
Research Project Summary
The Research Project Summary should be 4,000 to 5,000 words. The Summary should include: title, author information, abstract, keywords, thesis research summary, and references. Document format should be: single column, 1.5 spaced, 12pt sans serif font. References do not count toward word count. This extended abstract must clearly address:
- The problem that the proposed research is addressing
- The motivation behind this research, including a broad comparison with the related literature
- The proposed solution, including a brief description of the proposed methodology to the solution
- The stage of the candidate’s program of study, including the status of the research (i.e., what has been done to date, and what still needs to be done)
- The envisioned contributions to the accessibility field
- Bibliographical references
The Candidate’s CV
The candidate is required to submit a CV (maximum of 2 pages) that relates to their background, relevant experience, and research accomplishments.
Travel Funding
The Doctoral Consortium has limited funding for travel support. If your travel is fully funded by your institution or other sources, please indicate that. If you are in need of travel funding, please estimate your costs below and tell us what your institution/advisor/other funding source can contribute, so we can fund as many students as possible. Use the suggested defaults where they apply; adjust line items to your situation. List costs in their native currency.
| Item | Suggested estimate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Conference registration (student rate) | $841.32 USD | Fixed DC/student registration rate |
| Lodging — shared hotel room | €76 / night × 5 nights = €380 | Half of the €152/night conference rate, double occupancy |
| Airport transfer (Porto OPO ↔ hotel) | ~€30 each way (~€60 round trip) | Taxi/Uber, ~15–20 min from OPO; rough estimate |
| Airfare | applicant to provide quote | Varies widely by origin |
| Meals / incidentals not covered by the conference | applicant to estimate |
Please indicate what sources of funding there are available to the student and an estimate of the amount these sources will cover.
Supervisor’s Letter of Recommendation
A letter on official letterhead from the primary thesis advisor/supervisor that briefly states what the advisor/supervisor expects the student to gain from and contribute to the consortium. Part of our funding comes from an NSF grant and we need confirmation from the advisor for eligibility for support from that grant. The letter should be sent directly from the advisor to dc-chairs-assets26@acm.org. Please include:
- NSF eligibility: whether the student is eligible to be supported by NSF travel funds (e.g., is the student enrolled at a U.S. institution, is at least 18 years old, and is not supported on US Federal grants). State plainly “eligible” / “not eligible” / “unsure,” with a one-line reason.
- Institutional contribution: how much, if anything, the advisor’s grant and/or the student’s university or department or other source of funding can contribute toward the student’s attendance.
Student Participant Selection Process
The Doctoral Consortium applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- The originality of the work
- The importance of the work and potential impacts on the accessibility field
- The soundness and correctness of the proposed approach to address the problem
- Balance overall in terms of geographic areas and topics covered
Travel and Hotel Expenses
We have secured limited funding and anticipate that some travel and hotel expenses will be covered for the DC participants. Participants should seek additional funding through their institutions or external funding sources. (Please see above for submission requirements regarding funding.)
If you anticipate you are going to have difficulties with travel, please contact the Doctoral Consortium Chairs, Kathryn Ringland and Kathy McCoy at dc-chairs-assets26@acm.org to discuss accommodations.
Publication
Following the Doctoral Consortium, participants may be invited to submit revised and updated papers for publication in a 2026 issue of the SIGACCESS Newsletter.
Posters
Doctoral Consortium participants are invited to share their work as a poster, to be presented during the poster sessions at the conference. Presenters should follow the poster presentation accessibility guidelines outlined in the Posters and Demos category.
Sign Language Interpreting or Captioning
Upon request, sign language interpreting or captioning will be provided for the Doctoral Consortium and all other ASSETS events. Requests for an interpreter or captioner must be indicated on the conference registration form when registering for ASSETS 2026.
Schedule
The main event is expected to start on Sunday, October 25, 2026. The specifics of the schedule will be announced closer to the event.
Further Information
For further information or questions regarding the event or submissions, please contact the Doctoral Consortium Chairs, Kathryn Ringland and Kathy McCoy, at dc-chairs-assets26@acm.org.
Mentors
Please check back for information about the mentors.