Call for WSDM Doctoral Consortium

All deadlines are 11:59 pm Anywhere on Earth.

The WSDM 2026 Doctoral Consortium will provide doctoral students with a unique opportunity to have substantive interaction with experienced researchers regarding their proposed dissertation research. 

The Consortium is designed to:

• Foster mentorship by pairing students with experienced researchers from the Consortium Committee, serving as mentors from both academia and industry.
• Facilitate community-building by enabling students to network with fellow doctoral students working in similar research areas or at a comparable stage of their dissertation.
• Support scholarly growth through presentations, feedback sessions, panel discussions, and informal interactions.

Submissions are invited on all topics related to Web Search and Data Mining. Please see the  Call for Full Papers for a comprehensive list of relevant areas.

The Doctoral Consortium will take place on February 22, 2026. The format will include student presentations with plenary discussions, individual meetings with experienced researchers, peer feedback, panel discussions, and informal interactions over breaks.  

Applicants will be evaluated on the clarity and completeness of the submission packet, their research’s potential impact of their research in Web Search and Data Mining, as well as the potential benefits the student will gain from participating in the Consortium. Eligible candidates should have completed a thesis proposal (or equivalent) or be making significant progress toward it. While late-stage students will be considered, the Consortium is most beneficial for those in the earlier stages of their dissertation. 

Submissions must be singly authored by the student. Content may include published material as well as ongoing work. Students may also submit other papers or posters to WSDM and affiliated workshops. Students accepted to the Consortium will have the option of publishing a 3-page extended abstract summarizing their research in the full conference proceedings.  

Presenting students will be eligible to apply for travel support through sponsoring organizations such as ACM SIGIR. Application details will be provided upon acceptance.

• Submissions deadline: October 27, 2025
• Notification: December 1, 2025
• Camera-ready: December 18, 2025
• Doctoral Consortium: February 22, 2026

All deadlines are 11:59 pm anywhere on earth.

The submission has three parts. 

Part 1: Research statement (up to three (3) pages, including references). It will be the basis for detailed discussions at the Consortium and should include: 

• Motivation and research questions. The driving motivation for your dissertation research and the main research questions you aim to address. 
• Background and related work. A concise summary of prior work, including key references.
• Research direction. An overview of your research direction, which may include previously presented work and ongoing or proposed research. 
• Methodology and evaluation. Planned research methodology, proposed experiments (if applicable), and evaluation strategies. 

You may also include specific perspectives or questions you’d like to receive feedback on or raise for discussion at the Consortium.

Part 2: Benefits statement (up to one (1) page). It should be added as an appendix to the research statement and must include: 

• Student statement. It explains why you wish to attend the Consortium and how you expect to benefit.
• Advisor statement (1 paragraph). A short paragraph describing how the student would benefit from attending the Consortium. The advisor should also indicate whether the student has written, or is close to completing, a thesis proposal (or equivalent), and when they expect the student will defend their dissertation if they progress at a typical rate.

Part 3: CV (up to two (2) pages). It should also be added as an appendix.