Key details
Applications for the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship 2021 for Europe, Middle East, and Africa Students are currently ongoing.
About the Microsoft Research Ph.D. Fellowship
The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship is a worldwide initiative that seeks out and supports the next generation of outstanding computing researchers.
Microsoft understands the importance of diversity in computing and is working to expand the pipeline of talent getting graduate degrees in computing-related subjects in order to create a more diverse and inclusive computing research community.
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The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowships are currently available in Asia-Pacific, Canada, and the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Latin America.
Over 700 fellows have been funded by the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship program over the previous two decades, many of whom have gone on to work for Microsoft. Others have gone on to do groundbreaking research in other fields of technology or become professors at prestigious colleges.
Eligibility Criteria
- PhD students must be enrolled at a university in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, or Africa).
- Proposed research must be closely related to one of the themes at Microsoft Research Cambridge:
- Cloud Infrastructure
- Confidential Computing
- Future of Work
- Health Intelligence
- Machine Intelligence
- Students must be entering their third year or beyond of their PhD program sometime between August 2021 – July 2022 having taken into account transfers, approved leaves of absence, etc.
- Ph.D. students must continue to be enrolled at the university at the beginning of the academic year 2022 or forfeit the award. Fellowships are not available for extension. If you require time away for family or medical leave, this will be accommodated. If you are unsure if a particular need for time away will affect the award, you can contact Microsoft Research Fellowships at msfellow@microsoft.com
- Payment of the award will be made directly to the university and dispersed according to the university’s policies. Microsoft will have discretion as to how any remaining funds will be used if the student is no longer qualified to receive funding (e.g., if the student unenrolls from the program, graduates, or transfers to a different university).
- Funding is for use only during the recipient’s time in the PhD program; it cannot be used for support in a role past graduation, such as a postdoc or faculty position. Those interested in receiving this fellowship will need to confirm their Ph.D. program starting month and year, as well as their expected graduation month and year.
- A recipient of the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship subject to disciplinary proceedings for inappropriate behavior, including but not limited to discrimination, harassment (including sexual harassment), or plagiarism will forfeit their funding.
- Ph.D. students submitting a proposal should be able to communicate about their research (both in writing and verbally) in English.
Benefit
- $15,000 USD is provided to help complete research as part of their doctoral thesis work for academic year 2022–23.
- Eligible recipients will be offered a 12-week paid internship with Microsoft Research’s Cambridge, UK lab, or the Microsoft Africa Research Institute (MARI).
- Opportunities will be provided to build relationships with research teams at Microsoft and receive mentorship.
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Application Procedure
Applicants interested in the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship need to provide the following in order to complete their application
- Name, email, country, university, and department
- Primary area of research (from those listed below)
- Cloud Infrastructure
- Confidential Computing
- Future of Work
- Health Intelligence
- Machine Intelligence
- Thesis proposal or research statement title
- Thesis proposal or research statement (short and concise is recommended—no more than two pages including references with font no smaller than 10-point) – file name: thesis
- Summary of the above thesis proposal or research statement (no more than 150 words; font no smaller than 10-point) – file name: summary
- Month and year entered the Ph.D. program and expected graduation date
- One to three academic conferences you are most likely to attend
- Self-assessment of the Statement of Good Standing
- Curriculum vitae – file name: cv
- Two letters of Recommendation
NOTE: Incomplete proposals will not be considered.
For more information visit the official website of Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship