Doctoral Consortium

Call for Submissions

What is the RESPECT Doctoral Consortium (DC)? 

The SIGCSE 2026 Doctoral Consortium (DC) at ACM RESPECT is an in-person event on Monday, June 8th. This DC will provide doctoral students working at the intersections of computing education and broadening participation with the opportunity to grow as researchers alongside like-minded peers and faculty mentors. 

Students will have the opportunity to cultivate valuable relationships and community among their cohorts. Students will see their project ideas bloom as they gain skills, feedback, and advice from established researchers and mentors in the field. This DC is a chance to bring your questions and work-in-progress (from tiny seeds to those nearing harvest) into a setting with peers, organizers, and mentors committed to seeing the work of this community (including you!) flourish and thrive. 

Ready to Apply? Applications are Due April 8th!  

Submit Your Doctoral Consortium Application through HotCRP:   https://respect26.hotcrp.com/ 

If you have never used HotCRP before, create an account. Then select “Author > New Submission”. You should see the Doctoral Consortium as a submission area here.

Organizers

• Briana Bettin (senior chair), Michigan Technological University
  • BCBettin at mtu dot edu 

Questions or concerns about the DC? Please do not hesitate to reach out to us using the email addresses listed above, or doctoral2026@respect.acm.org 

Faculty Discussants

To be announced, please stay tuned for more information!

Key Details and Schedule for the ACM RESPECT 2026 DC 

When and Where is the DC? 

This Doctoral Consortium will be held in person in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, June 8th – the day before the ACM RESPECT 2026 conference proceedings formally start. 

The DC will be an all-day event, kicking off around 9 am and ending about 5:30 pm (local time). 

Am I (Or My Student) Eligible to Attend the DC? 

Students at any stage of their doctoral studies are welcome and encouraged to apply, provided they have not defended their dissertation prior to the DC event. 

Students from across disciplines are also welcome if their research is focused in and around the intersection of computing education and broadening participation. Related disciplines may include Human Factors, Cognitive Psychology, Learning Sciences, Software Engineering, and more. This list is by no means exhaustive – if the research areas of the ACM RESPECT conference relate well to the research activities, the DC is likely to be a fit! 

Why Should I (Or My Student) Apply to Attend the DC? 

Attending a DC can be an invaluable experience for doctoral students at any stage of their studies. Students attending a DC can expect to gain:

• Feedback on their research direction, goals, and process in a growth-focused and supportive environment. 
• Opportunities to support the scholarship of others through providing feedback, peer mentorship, and building collaborative bridges.
• Perspectives on their work from peers and mentors beyond their institution. 
• A chance to expand their network and build a meaningful community with scholars in their field. 
• Advice and insights for their journey toward academic and research careers. 
• Guidance, ideas, advice, and new colleagues that can help foster meaningful conference experiences and interactions. 

The DC at ACM RESPECT is expected to have space for fifteen (15) students to attend.

All applicants who are selected to attend the DC will receive free registration to the ACM RESPECT conference, as well as a fixed travel stipend to help support their attendance. 

What Will the Program and Activities for the DC Look Like?

The schedule and activities for this year’s DC are still in the works – stay tuned!
Here is a look at what the 2025 schedule had in store as a frame of reference: 

Session Content	Time
#1 Introductions and Beginning Discussions	9:00 – 10:35 am
First Break	10:35 – 10:55 am
#2 Communication and Community Building	10:55 – 12:30 pm
Lunch Break	12:30 – 2:00 pm
#3 Moving Forward in Developing Research	2:00 – 3:30 pm
Second Break	3:30 – 3:50 pm
#4 Connections, Considerations, and Conclusions	3:50 – 5:30 pm

Applying to the ACM RESPECT 2026 DC 

What Do I (Or My Student) Need to Do to Apply?

Students will need to prepare the following items to apply for the DC.
The following two documents (formatting details will follow) should each be prepared and submitted to HotCRP (the submission portal will allow you to upload multiple documents):  

• A one (1) page “attendee” document, to be published in the conference proceedings
  • One additional page is allowed for references.
• A two to four (2-4) research description, to be shared internally at the DC only
  • With one additional page allowed for references.

What Should Be Included in the Required Documents? 

One-page “Attendee” Document Details

All DC participants will have the opportunity to publish a 1-page document within the ACM RESPECT proceedings. The content of this 1-page document can vary between students. This document allows the student to showcase the “best representation” of their work at present on one page to the conference community.  Please use this one-page accessible template.

For example, a student early in their PhD program may describe their current research interests, their motivation, and a request for resources that would help them get started.
In contrast, a student near the end of their PhD may describe their completed work, their broader career goals/vision, and a request for resources to help them finalize their work. 

All “one-pager” documents should include the following:

• Title of Your Research Project and Author Details.
  • Your submission does not need to be anonymized! 
• A 200–500-word abstract describing your dissertation research.
  This section should be labeled “Abstract.”
  • The goal is for a reader to learn about your current and proposed work.
  • Note: HotCRP may ask you for a 100-word abstract. You can leave that field in the submission form blank. We will only review your submitted document.
• A 200–500-word section describing key goals, questions, and connections you’d like the DC to be able to assist you with at this stage of your doctoral studies.
  This section should be labeled “Questions and Connections”.
  • Conference attendees and ACM library reviewers can review your one-pager in the proceedings. This section is your space to share open questions you’re still exploring, ideas you’re seeking advice or perspectives on, and connections you want to foster.
• The remaining space after completing the above requirements can be used to showcase any portion of your completed work that you would like to share with conference attendees.
  • This is any additional text (up to one page total with the above sections included) that you would like to present as part of your doctoral work thus far. 
  • This may be a portion of your literature review, the motivation for your work, research questions, key ideas of your methodology – whatever! Choose what you would most like to showcase that fits onto that single page. 
  • Since these documents will vary in the sections presented, we encourage you to add section headers to help readers understand the structure and content.
• An additional one page is allowed for references if needed.
  • This page may only contain references. 

Your goals for the “Questions and Connections” section may vary from those of other attendees. Here are some ideas to help you get started if you aren’t sure what you might find valuable: 

• Colleagues interested in cross-institute collaborations
• Recommendations for literature on a specific topic 
• Advice for recruiting participants
• Perspectives on Research Methodology 
• Preparing for a job talk or on-campus visit

2-4 Page Research Description Document Details

A 2 to 4-page research description will be used during the DC to share with fellow participants. You can directly reuse text from your one-pager in this document. This document will not be shared or published publicly. Please use this multi-page accessible template.

You will have an opportunity to update this document based on feedback from the chairs.
Your revised version will then be shared with all of the DC participants. 

• The 2 to 4-page description should include:
  • Motivation driving your dissertation research
  • Literature Review of key works framing your research
  • Hypothesis, thesis, and/or key ideas
  • Your research Approach and Methods
  • Progress on your research
  • Your anticipated Timeline to finish your PhD
  • A paragraph or some questions describing what Guidance you are seeking  during the DC (such as a feedback request or ideation on a certain segment)
  • An additional one page is allowed for References if needed.
    • This page may only contain references. 

How Should the Documents Be Formatted and Submitted? 

Your submission to the DC does not need to be anonymized for review.
Please include your author details in your submission. 

Your 1-page Attendee document should utilize the ACM primary template in a 2-column format. It is likely easiest, as a result, to use this template for your 2 to 4-page description as well. Additional details for using this template and following accessibility guidelines are provided below. 

• ACM RESPECT requires that all documents be accessible and provides guidance for how to achieve this.
  Please refer to these resources and use one of the following templates:
  • One-Page Attendee Template
  • 2-4 Page Research Description Template
  • General ACM RESPECT ’26 Template
  • LaTeX Authors: The Accessibility Committee has determined that LaTeX users overwhelmingly did NOT get good results for accessibility compliance when exporting their papers. Since papers must meet accessibility requirements as a condition of acceptance, ACM RESPECT has moved to the use of the MS Word template to finalize papers for peer review and for camera-ready. 

Your “one-pager” and its references page (if needed), as well as your 2 to 4 page research description and its reference page (if needed), should be prepared as two separate files. Multiple files can be submitted to HotCRP. This will allow you to prepare the documents and revise for camera-ready on your one-pager more effectively. 

Your finalized submission should be uploaded to HotCRP once completed. 

Deadlines, Review, and Publishing for the ACM RESPECT 2026 DC 

What is the Timeline for the DC Application Review? 

The expected timelines have been updated based on the extended application deadline. 

• Submission deadline: April 1st
• Notification of acceptance decisions: April 13th
• Invited participants’ deadline to RSVP: April 16th
• Final Camera-ready “one-pager” document due for all participants: April 27th

What Does the Review Process Look Like for the DC?

When reviewing applications for the DC, we will be balancing and considering several factors to ensure an engaging and meaningful cohort experience across the doctoral student progression. We will look at factors such as: 

• Student research topic 
• Student doctoral program status 
• Range of applicant topics, program statuses, and backgrounds 
• Student institutional affiliation
  • To ensure students get a broad range of perspectives and networking, and given the small cohort size, it is less likely that multiple students from a single institution will be selected.

All submissions to the DC will be kept confidential, and all rejected submissions will be kept confidential in perpetuity. 

What Will Be Published for Accepted Applicants in the Proceedings? 

Accepted applicants (hereafter, authors) will have their one-page “attendee” document and its references published in the conference proceedings. Authors will also receive feedback from the organizers before publication to ensure they can present the best form of their document. 

The authors of accepted submissions will receive detailed instructions on how to submit a publication-ready copy of their one-pager. These submissions will not be published without a release of copyright to the ACM, which will require a signed form (this is detailed in the instructions). Any required permission for proprietary content, identifiable images of people, or audio/video will be the responsibility of the authors, not the ACM RESPECT conference or the ACM. 

The one-page publications will be made available publicly on the date the proceedings are available within the ACM Digital Library. Usually, proceedings are available one week prior to the first day of the conference. This may be important for some authors, as the official publication date may affect timelines for any patent filings that are related to published works.

ACM’s Publications Policies

1. “By submitting your article to an ACM Publication, you are hereby acknowledging that you and your co-authors are subject to all ACM Publications Policies, including ACM’s new Publications Policy on Research Involving Human Participants and Subjects. Alleged violations of this policy or any ACM Publications Policy will be investigated by ACM and may result in a full retraction of your paper, in addition to other potential penalties, as per ACM Publications Policy.” https://www.acm.org/publications/policies/research-involving-human-participants-and-subjects

2. “Please ensure that you and your co-authors obtain an ORCID ID, so you can complete the publishing process for your accepted paper. ACM has been involved in ORCID from the start, and we have recently made a commitment to collect ORCID IDs from all of our published authors. The collection process has started and will roll out as a requirement throughout 2022. We are committed to improving author discoverability, ensuring proper attribution, and contributing to ongoing community efforts around name normalization; your ORCID ID will help in these efforts.”