Google PhD Fellowships directly support graduate students as they pursue their PhD, as well as connect them to a Google Research Mentor.
Nurturing and maintaining strong relations with the academic community is a top priority at Google. The Google PhD Fellowship Program was created to recognize outstanding graduate students doing exceptional and innovative research in areas relevant to computer science and related fields.
Fellowships support promising PhD candidates of all backgrounds who seek to influence the future of technology. Google’s mission is to foster inclusive research communities and encourages people of diverse backgrounds to apply.
Google Africa PhD Fellowship Program Fields of Interest
Google PhD Fellowship students are a select group recognized by Google researchers and their institutions as some of the most promising young academics in the world. The Fellowships are awarded to students who represent the future of research in the following fields:
- Algorithms, Optimizations and Markets
- Computational Neuroscience
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Machine Learning
- Machine Perception, Speech Technology and Computer Vision
- Mobile Computing
- Natural Language Processing (including Information Retrieval and Extraction)
- Privacy and Security
- Programming Languages and Software Engineering
- Quantum Computing
- Structured Data and Database Management
- Systems and Networking
Google Africa PhD Fellowship Program Eligibility
- Full-time graduate students pursuing a PhD and enrolled in an African institution.
- Undergraduate or Master’s students and professionals may apply.
- Undergraduate and Master’s student applicants must be currently enrolled, full-time students at an African university.
- Professionals must be employed/affiliated with an organization registered in Africa.
- For these applicants, the Fellowship award shall be contingent on the awardee registering for a full-time PhD program of an African university in computer science (or an adjacent field) within the calendar year of the Fellowship award, or the award shall be forfeited.
- Grant of the Fellowship does not mean admission to the PhD program of a university. The awardee must also complete the PhD admission process of the respective institute/university where they wish to register for a PhD.
- Grant of the Fellowship will be subject to the rules and guidelines applicable in the institute/university where the awardee registers for the PhD program.
- Students must remain enrolled full-time in the PhD program for the duration of the Fellowship or forfeit the award.
- Google employees, and their spouses, children, and members of their household are not eligible.
- Students that are already supported by a comparable industry award are not eligible. Government or non-profit organization funding is exempt.
Google PhD Fellowship Program Benefits
- Up to 3 year Fellowship
- US $30K to cover stipend and other research related activities, travel expenses including overseas travel
- Google Research Mentor
Google PhD Fellowship Program Evaluation Criteria
- Applications are evaluated on the strength of the research proposal, research impact, student academic achievements, and leadership potential.
- Research proposals are evaluated for innovative concepts that are relevant to Google’s research areas, as well as aspects of robustness and potential impact to the field.
- Proposals should include the direction and any plans of where your work is going in addition to a comprehensive description of the research you are pursuing.
How to Apply for Google PhD Fellowship Program
You’ll need the following documents in order to complete an application (in English only):
- Student applicant’s resume with links to website and publications (if available)
- Available transcripts (mark sheets) starting from first year/semester of Bachelor’s degree to date
- Research proposal (maximum 3 pages, excluding references)
- 2-3 letters of recommendation from those familiar with the applicant’s work (at least one from the thesis advisor for current PhD students)
- Short (one-page) resume of the student’s PhD program advisor
- Applicant’s essay response (350-word limit) to: What impact would receiving this scholarship have on your education? Describe any circumstances affecting your need for a scholarship and what educational goals this scholarship will enable you to accomplish.
