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Home > Microsoft Research Connections > Collaboration Opportunities > Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship Program
Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship Program

The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship is a two-year fellowship program for outstanding PhD students nominated by their universities. This program supports men and women in their third and fourth years of PhD graduate studies. To be eligible for this fellowship, you must apply during your second or third year of PhD studies. Fellowships are granted by Microsoft Research at the discretion of Microsoft.

2012 PhD Fellowship Recipients

Recipient

University

Ashish Patro

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Bangpeng Yao

Stanford University

Franziska Roesner

University of Washington, Seattle

Gabriel Cohn

University of Washington, Seattle

George Dahl

University of Toronto

Julia Schwarz

Carnegie Mellon University

Michael Rubinstein

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Richard Socher

Stanford University

Rishabh A. Singh

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Russell Power

New York University

Sigal Oren

Cornell University

Utku Ozan Candogan

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 

Current Schedule

  • Microsoft is no longer accepting applications. The submission deadline was Thursday, October 6, 2011.

Provisions of the Award

  • The fellowship recipient award will cover 100 percent of the tuition and fees for two academic years (2012–13 and 2013–14).
  • A stipend is provided to cover living expenses while in school (US$28,000 for 2012–13 and 2013–14).
  • A conference and travel allowance is provided for recipients to attend professional conferences or seminars (US$4,000 for 2012–13 and 2013–14).
  • All recipients will be offered the opportunity to complete one salaried internship over the duration of the year following the award.
  • Fellowships are awarded to recipients for two consecutive academic years only and are not available for extension.
  • The recipient must remain an active, full-time student in a PhD program over the two consecutive academic years of the award or forfeit the award.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Applicants for the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship Program must be nominated by their universities, and their nominations must be confirmed by the office of the chair of the eligible department. Direct applications from students are not accepted.
  • Student must attend a United States or Canadian university and be enrolled in the Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Mathematics department (if your department is within the scope of these areas, but is titled differently, you are eligible).
  • Students must be starting their second or third year in an eligible PhD program in the fall (August/September) semester or quarter of 2011. The nominating university will be asked to confirm the student’s PhD program start date (month/year).
  • A maximum of three applicants per eligible department, per eligible university, will be accepted.
  • Payment of the fellowship awards, as described above, will be made directly to the university and is not transferable to another academic institution or department. The recipient must remain enrolled in a PhD program during the period of the award or forfeit the award.
  • The recipient must remain an active, full-time student in a PhD program over the two consecutive academic years of the award or forfeit the award.
  • A recipient of a Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship may not receive another fellowship from another company or institution for the same academic period. Fellows accepting multiple fellowships will become ineligible to receive continued funding from Microsoft.

How to Apply

  • Applications must include: Nominee's thesis proposal, nominee's curriculum vitae, and three (3) letters of reference from established researchers familiar with the nominee’s research. Of these, one (1) letter should come from the student's advisor.
  • Applications must be submitted online via the application tool in any of the following formats: Word document, text-only file, PDF. All application materials must be submitted by the person designated as the application contact by the departmental chair's office and must not be the applicant.
  • Applications will be accepted only when submitted via the Microsoft designated online application tool by eligible university department chairs or their designee (students may not apply directly). Emailed or hard-copy applications will not be considered.
  • Applications submitted to Microsoft will not be returned. Microsoft cannot assume responsibility for the confidentiality of information in submitted applications. Therefore, applications should not contain information that is confidential, restricted, or sensitive. Microsoft reserves the right to make public information from applications that receive awards, except those portions containing budgetary or personally identifiable information.
  • Incomplete applications cannot be considered, and notification of incompleteness will not be made. Applications must be received no later than 5:00 P.M. PT (Pacific Time) on Thursday, October 6, 2011. The online application system will no longer be active after the application deadline. Late applications will not be accepted.
  • Due to the volume of submissions, Microsoft Research cannot provide individual feedback on applications that do not receive Fellowship awards.
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