IBM - IBM PhD Fellowship Awards Program

IBM PhD Fellowship

If you are studying at a US university, you will receive a one-off grant of about 37,000 EUR (40,000 USD) for one academic year. For universities in other countries, the amount is lower, ranging from approximately 5,500 EUR to 23,000 EUR (6,000 to 25,000 USD), depending on the country. The money is paid to your university, not directly to you. In addition to the funding, each award recipient is assigned an IBM mentor (an IBM researcher who will advise you) for the entire funding year. You are also encouraged – though not obliged – to undertake an internship at IBM. IBM Research has been running this global programme since 1951 to support PhD students working on technologies that are relevant to the company.

Who can apply

• Level: You will be working as a full-time PhD student throughout the funding year.
• Timing: If you are nominated, you must be within two years of your expected graduation date.
• Research topic: Your role falls within one of IBM’s key focus areas: semiconductor technology, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, multi-cloud and hybrid cloud platforms for AI, security or responsible computing.
• Nationality: Applicants of all nationalities are welcome to apply, and you do not need to be a national of the country in which you are studying. You are not eligible to apply if you are from, or are studying in, a country against which the USA has imposed an embargo.
• No double funding: You may not receive a comparable scholarship or corporate grant during the same period. However, a standard academic scholarship is permitted.
• Stay put: You must remain on the same PhD programme for the entire duration of the funding. It is not possible to change department or faculty.
• Not for IBM staff: IBM employees and contractors are not eligible to apply.

How to apply

You cannot apply yourself. A PhD supervisor invited by IBM must nominate you via the IBM nomination portal. Each department may nominate a maximum of three students, and each university a maximum of four. In the last documented cycle, the nomination deadline was 30 August. The winners will be selected and notified in the final quarter of the year.

How realistic are your chances?

It is a highly coveted award worldwide. You cannot apply for it yourself; you can only be considered if a professor is asked to nominate you and chooses you over the other candidates in their department. Outstanding publications and a research topic that clearly aligns with IBM’s key focus areas set the winners apart from the rest. If your supervisor supports you and your work closely aligns with one of these areas, you stand a real chance. Without both, your prospects are very slim.