Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship

Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship is sponsored by Microsoft Research. The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship is a two-year fellowship for PhD students at North American universities pursuing research aligned with the research topics carried out by Microsoft Research.

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The Microsoft Research Fellowship supports academic scholars (faculty, PhD students, and postdocs) in advancing open research challenges, enabling meaningful intellectual exchange, and empowering the next generation of scientific leaders. Microsoft is seeking scholars in academia who are pursuing research and instruction in academic venues across a range of disciplines. Eligibility guidelines vary by research challenge.

Some challenges accept proposals from students, others from faculty, and some from both. Please refer to the “Research Challenges” tab and the eligibility details below to understand the criteria for each challenge.

This program accepts proposals from individuals based in the following regions: Africa, Australia & New Zealand, Canada, Europe, India, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Microsoft actively seeks to foster greater levels of diversity in our workforce and in our pipeline of future researchers and collaborators.

We are always looking for the best and brightest talent and celebrating individuality. We invite candidates to come as they are and do what they love. Fellows selected to be a part of the Microsoft Research Fellowship program are subject to disciplinary proceedings for inappropriate behavior, including but not limited to discrimination, harassment (including sexual harassment), or plagiarism will forfeit their funding.

If accepted, a standard background screen will be conducted. Though Microsoft is not hiring you for employment, a successful screen is required as a stipulation to transfer funds under this fellowship. Students may submit proposals on their own behalf.

See “How to Apply” for more details Students must be actively pursuing a PhD at a degree-granting, accredited institution Students must be enrolled at a degree-granting university in one of the following regions: Africa; Australia & New Zealand; Canada; Europe; India; Hong Kong; Japan; Korea; Singapore; Taiwan; Argentina; Brazil; Chile; Colombia; Mexico; Puerto Rico; or the United States.

Professors, Assistant Professors, or Associate Professors from a degree-granting, accredited institution may submit a proposal on their behalf. See “How to Apply” for more details Proposals submitted by eligible faculty should also identify a student (actively pursuing a PhD or relevant terminal degree) to be involved in the collaboration. If selected, both the faculty member and student will be named as Fellows.

Faculty must have received their terminal degree (e.g., PhD, DSc). A terminal degree is defined as the highest-level college degree that can be achieved within your academic discipline or professional field.

All faculty members and students listed in the proposal must be employed or enrolled at a degree-granting university located in one of the following regions: Africa; Australia & New Zealand; Canada; Europe; India; Hong Kong; Japan; Korea; Singapore; Taiwan; Argentina; Brazil; Chile; Colombi; Mexico; Puerto Rico; or the United States. Postdocs may submit a proposal on their behalf.

See “How to Apply” for more details Proposals submitted by eligible postdocs should attest to support from a faculty advisor or department chair supporting postdoc’s participation in this collaboration with Microsoft through the Fellowship program.

Postdocs must be employed or enrolled at a degree-granting university located in one of the following regions: Africa; Australia & New Zealand; Canada; Europe; India; Hong Kong; Japan; Korea; Singapore; Taiwan; Argentina; Brazil; Chile; Colombi; Mexico; Puerto Rico; or the United States. The Microsoft Research Fellowship is designed to create meaningful opportunities for collaboration between academic researchers and Microsoft Research.

These opportunities will vary by research challenge and may include working sessions, regular check-ins, asynchronous collaboration, workshops, and other formats tailored to the nature of the research. All funds are distributed as unrestricted gifts as a one-time payment made directly to the institution/university and disbursed according to the institution/ university policies. Direct payments to individuals are not made by the program.

Funding amounts vary by the region a fellows’ organization/institution of employment is located in. Australia & New Zealand – $17,000 (USD) Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico – $17,000 (USD) Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan – $17,000 (USD) United States – $47,000 (USD) These stipend amounts include travel funding to support in-person collaboration.

Fellows may use this funding to visit Microsoft Research principal investigators and collaborators at a Microsoft Research lab or office. All payments will be distributed in March/April 2026. If selected, Microsoft will work with respective departmental finance liaisons to transfer funds.

*Stipend rates are reviewed annually and benchmarked against comparable fellowship programs in each geography to ensure competitive alignment. Surface RTX Spark Dev Box Copilot for organizations Explore Microsoft products Microsoft Teams for Education How to buy for your school Educator training and development Deals for students and parents Support for AI marketplace apps