Google Africa PhD Fellowship Program for Graduate Students

Eligibility Criteria

• Open to a 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.

Offered Benefits

• Up to 3 year Fellowship
• USD $30K to cover stipend and other research related activities, travel expenses including overseas travel
• Google Research Mentor

Application Process

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)
• Short (1-page) resume of the student’s PhD program advisor
• Available transcripts (mark sheets) starting from first year/semester of Bachelor’s degree to date
• Research proposal (maximum 8 pages)
• 2-3 letters of recommendation from those familiar with the applicant’s work (at least one from the thesis advisor for current PhD students)
• Applicant’s 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