Award amount$20,000 plus travel expenses for the winner
Last checkedJun 24, 2026
Application
ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award Nominations
Official nomination guidelines and eligibility requirements for the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award, which recognizes superior research by doctoral candidates in computer science and engineering.
Must be a doctoral candidate in computer science and engineering; Dissertation must have been filed with the writer's institution during the eligibility cycle (October 1st to September 30th); Only the writer's Ph.D. advisor may nominate; Dissertation may be nominated only once; Limit of one nomination per institution per cycle, unless the institution granted more than 10 PhDs in computing-related fields, then two are allowed; Dissertation must be in English
Requirements
Nomination must be submitted by the student's thesis advisor; Must adhere to ACM conflict-of-interest guidelines; Nominators and endorsers must indicate awareness of any actions violating the ACM Code of Ethics
Application materials
Online nomination form; Nominator contact information; Candidate contact information and affiliation; Suggested citation (max 25 words); Nomination statement (200-300 words); Copy of the dissertation
How to apply
Submit via the online nomination form; Select 'Doctoral Dissertation Award' in the dropdown menu; Bundle endorsement and supporting letters into a single PDF file for upload
Important dates
October 1: Eligibility cycle opens; September 30: Eligibility cycle ends; October 31, 2026: Standard nomination deadline; November 30, 2026: Deadline for dissertations requiring translation to English
