ACM SIGACCESS Travel Scholarship 
Next Deadline: July 20th, 2026

The ACM SIGACCESS Travel Scholarship Award aims to provide support for practitioners, researchers, members of advocacy groups, and individuals with disabilities who are interested in the field of computers and accessibility to attend in person and actively participate in the ASSETS conference. Scholarship funds can only be used to cover the cost of participating in the ASSETS 2026 conference.

Award amounts will be based on need and available funding but have historically been around $2000 USD. Applicants are encouraged to apply for other sources. To aid your budgeting and planning, you may wish to consult the budget estimates offered by the ASSETS 2026 Doctoral Consortium organizers.

Who is Eligible?

  • Practitioners, members of advocacy groups, and individuals with disabilities who apply must have demonstrated a commitment to or interest in the field of accessible computing. Researchers should have completed an academic degree and should be actively engaged in research and/or practice in the general domain of computers and accessibility.

Other Considerations

  • Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously attended ASSETS.
  • Preference will be given to applicants presenting at the conference. 
  • Applicants should have a demonstrated financial need and a sincere interest in expanding their knowledge in the area of computers and accessibility.

Application Requirements

To apply for a SIGACCESS scholarship award, you must complete this application to:

  • Provide information on your background and interests to assess your eligibility and other considerations for the award. 
  • Describe your background and interests, and the benefits you expect to gain from participating in the ASSETS conference.
  • Outline your financial needs and other sources of funding.

You will also need to submit by email: 

  • A 2-page resume (prepared in PDF);
  • For students: a statement from your advisor describing expected benefits, addressing NSF eligibility, and confirming that insufficient funding is available through your institution (See instructions below).

All applicants must commit to:

  1. Attending the ASSETS conference in person and actively participating in the complete ASSETS event.
  2. Developing a poster, highlighting their experience and interests in the areas of computers and accessibility. The poster will be presented during the ASSETS poster session. Note that this only applies to those not otherwise presenting at the conference. Travel award recipients who are already presenting peer-reviewed content (Technical Papers, Experience Reports, and Posters and Demonstrations) will not present a separate poster.
  3. Developing a 2-page report, to be submitted within 1 month from the end of the ASSETS conference, summarizing the benefits gained through participation in the ASSETS conference. Reports received by the deadline will be published in the January edition of the SIGACCESS newsletter.

The deadline for application is July 20th, 2026; applicants will be notified of the decision by August 7th, 2026.

To apply:

  • Applications should be submitted using this Google form.
  • In addition, supporting documents (resume, advisor’s statement) should be submitted by email (in PDF) to treasurer_sigaccess@acm.org with the subject line, “Application for the ACM SIGACCESS Travel Scholarship — Applicant’s Name”.

Additional Instructions for the Supervisor’s Letter of Recommendation (student applicants)
Please arrange for a letter on official letterhead from your primary thesis advisor/supervisor. The letter must be sent directly by the advisor to treasurer_sigaccess@acm.org by July 20th, 2026, and should include the following:

  1. Expected benefits: how attending the conference will benefit the student
  2. NSF eligibility: whether the student is eligible to be supported by NSF travel funds, which includes:
    • Enrolled at a U.S. institution
    • At least 18 years old
    • Not supported on US Federal grants
    Please state plainly “eligible” / “not eligible” / “unsure,” with a one-line reason.
  3. 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.

Note: We are currently seeking NSF funding to support eligible students at US-based institutions. This is why we require confirmation for eligibility. Applicants ineligible for NSF funding will be equally considered for a SIGACCESS Travel Scholarship, drawing from other sources of funding we have available.