Google PhD Fellowship Program

Internal Deadline: April 24, 2025

Purpose

The Google PhD Fellowship Program directly supports graduate students as they pursue their PhD and connects them to a Google Research Mentor. It 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.

Research Areas of Focus

The Fellowships are awarded to students who represent the future of research in the fields listed below. Please see the website for further descriptions of each area. Note that region-specific research areas will be listed in application forms during the application window (April 10, 2025 - May 15, 2025).

  • Computer Architecture
  • Algorithms and Optimization
  • Health Research
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Machine Learning and ML Foundations
  • Machine Perception
  • Natural Language Processing
  • Privacy, Safety, and Security
  • Quantum Computing
  • Software Engineering and Programming Languages
  • Systems, Networking, and Cloud Computing

 Fellowship Award Includes

  • Up to 2-year Fellowship
  • $85K per year: $70K Cost of Education allowance towards tuition and fees and $15K stipend to be used for living expenses, travel, and personal equipment (effective from 2025 for new recipients)
  • Google Research Mentor

 Eligibility Requirements

  • All students who have completed graduate coursework in their PhD by the academic award year when the Fellowship begins are eligible to apply.
  • 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 who are already supported by a comparable industry award are not eligible. Government or non-profit organization funding is exempt.
  • Past awardees from the PhD Fellowship program are not eligible to apply again.

 Required Nomination Materials

  • Cover sheet signed by the Department Chair confirming the student passes eligibility requirements. (see above).
  • Short (1-page) CV of the student's primary advisor
  • Student CV with links to website and publications (if available)
  • Transcripts of current and previous academic records
  • Research/dissertation proposal (maximum 3 pages, excluding references)
  • Student essay response (350-word limit) to: "Describe the desired impact your research will make on the field and society, and why this is important to you. Include any personal, educational, and/or professional experiences that have motivated your research interests."
  • Student essay response (350-word limit) to: "Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. (A leadership role can mean more than just a title...)"
  • 2-3 letters of recommendation from those familiar with the nominee's work (at least one from the thesis advisor);
    • Advisors will upload their letters separately in InfoReady, student just needs to provide email addresses.

How to Apply

PhD students must be nominated by their university to apply for the Google PhD Fellowship. Direct student applications are not accepted. UNM may nominate up to four eligible students. Should Graduate Studies receive more then four applications, the packets will be reviewed by the Graduate Studies Award Committee and ranked for submission to Google.

Doctoral students, please work with your advisor before submitting your packet on InfoReady. When your packet is ready submit upload the documents on InfoReady by April 24, 2025. If you are selected, UNM will submit your application before the national deadline of May 15, 2025.

If you have any questions please reach out to grad@unm.edu.