Computer Science Research Conference Scholarships
ACM-W provides support for women undergraduate and graduate students in computer science and related programs to attend computer science research conferences.
This exposure to computing research can inspire a student to continue onto the next level of their academic or industry career.
Scholarship Awards
ACM-W scholarships are divided between scholarships of up to $600 for intra-continental conference travel, and scholarships of up to $1200 for intercontinental conference travel.
Scholarship applications are evaluated in 6 groups each year, in order to distribute awards across a range of conferences.
ACM-W encourages the student’s home department to match the scholarship award and recognize the student’s achievement locally within their department.
Which research conferences are eligible for the ACM-W scholarship?
Applicants may apply to attend any computer science research conferences, including those that are not ACM-affiliated.
We do not provide scholarships to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing or the Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing.
If the award is for attendance at one of several ACM special interest group conferences*, the SIG may provide complementary conference registration and a mentor during the conference. The number of free registrations available varies from SIG to SIG.
The student does not have to present a paper at the conference she attends to be eligible for the scholarship.
* ACM special interest group conferences: SIGACCESS, SIGACT, SIGARCH, SIGCOMM, SIGCHI, SIGCSE, SIGDA, SIGECOM, SIGEVO, SIGGRAPH, SIGHPC, SIGIR, SIGITE, SIGMM, SIGMOBILE, SIGOPS, SIGPLAN, and SIGSOFT
Application Deadlines
| Conference Dates | Deadline | Notification By |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 1 – May 31 | Feb 15 | Feb 28 |
| June 1 – July 31 | Apr 15 | Apr 30 |
| Aug 1 – Sept 31 | June 15 | June 30 |
| Oct 1 – Nov 30 | Aug 15 | Aug 30 |
| Dec 1 – Jan 30 | Oct 15 | Oct 30 |
| Feb 1 – Mar 31 | Dec 15 | Dec 30 |
What if I receive a scholarship for a conference that gets postponed or cancelled?
If a conference is postponed or cancelled, the scholar will retain their scholarship for the same conference or for another later conference.
In both cases, the scholar must inform the ACM-W scholarship committee. Moreover, in the latter case, the ACM-W committee will decide if the new conference is equally suitable. In any case, the scholarship will not be lost.
Frequently-Asked Questions
Before applying, please visit our Scholarships FAQs page for additional information on our scholarship program.
How to Apply
Please create an ACM web account and complete the scholarship application with the following:
- Your personal information
- Details of the conference you want to attend
- A statement of why you would like to attend the conference
- A support letter from your advisor
Students who are not from a traditional CS/CE/SE department but working on computer science-related projects are encouraged to apply.
It is necessary that all sections be completed in your application on-time, along with your support letter submission.
Please ensure with your advisor that your support letter is uploaded within the deadline. Otherwise, your application will not be considered even if submitted in time.
Note: ACM-W scholarships are a one-time award. Students who have already received this scholarship in the past are no longer eligible to apply.
If you have any questions on the ACM-W scholarship program that are not addressed here or in our Scholarships FAQs, please contact our Scholarship Committee at acm-w-scholarship[at]acm.org.