Applications for the NVIDIA 2025-2026 Graduate Fellowship Program are Now Open. This is the 20th year NVIDIA has invited PhD students to submit their research projects for consideration. The graduate fellowship program allows for the demonstration of the commitment to academia in supporting research that spans all areas of computing innovation.
NVIDIA invites applications from students pushing the envelope in artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and related fields. NVIDIA invites applications from students pushing the envelope in artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and related fields.
Scholarship Summary
- Funding Amount: Up to $60,000
- Fellowship Sponsor(s): NVIDIA
- Number of Awards:Â Not specified
- Nationality: All Nationalities
- Fellowship to be taken at: Globally
- Study Level: PhD
NVIDIA Fellowship Graduate Fellowship | Eligibility Criteria
To be considered for the NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Program for Students, applicants are to meet the following criteria:
- Students must be engaged in active research as part of their PhD thesis.
- Students must have completed their first year of PhD level studies (at the time of application).
- Students may not be immediate family of a current NVIDIA employee
- Students must be enrolled as full-time active PhD students during the 2025-2026 academic year (9 months) of the award – this means they should not be expecting to graduate sooner than May/June 2026.
- Students must have majors in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, System Architecture, Electrical Engineering, or a related area.
- Students must be available to complete an in-person summer internship before the start of their Fellowship year at one of NVIDIA’s research offices in the United States, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Israel, and Taiwan.
- Note: The award must be administered through the student’s university; payment will be made to the university, not directly to the student.
Evaluation criteria
Proposals Will be Evaluated for:
Student quality
- Academic performance (GPA) and achievements
- Letters of recommendation
Relevance to NVIDIA
- How your research might influence the design, performance, or use of future GPUs
- How your work connects to NVIDIA’s primary research domains
Research quality
- Research proposal for the fellowship
- Research results to date
- Publication track record
Application Procedures for NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Program
How-to-Apply: Interested applicants are to apply online by visiting the official application website by completing the online application form and uploading the following supporting documents:
- Professor nomination letter (1 letter minimum (thesis advisor), up to 3 letters maximum. OK to have nomination letter(s) from non-professors, as long as you have one from thesis advisor/professor).
- Research summary/thesis proposal- up to 2 pages, plus bibliography
- Confirmation of availability for summer internship
- Resume/Curriculum Vitae including contact information.
The school uses a Submission Portal in which the student manages their application. The student must:
- Complete your application input including research summary thesis proposal and resume (CV)
- Communicate with the recommenders to complete their letter upload on time – it is the student’s responsibility to ensure their letters are received in the system.
- Complete the student profile – start this now; you can go back to the portal repeatedly until you submit the final application
- Add contacts for the letters of recommendation — an email will automatically be sent on your behalf to each recommender you add — be sure to add and notify your professors/recommenders early in the process! Do not wait until close to the deadline!
- Monitor the status of your recommendation letters in the portal — do not click on the final submission until the recommendation status shows “recommendation uploaded” for each recommendation you are expecting — the professor deadline has been set 2 days prior to the student deadline to allow the student to ensure all documents are received before submitting — the deadline for recommendation letters is 3 pm Pacific September 11, 2024.
- Submit the final application when all items are complete, and before the application deadline: 3 pm Pacific September 13, 2024.
Helpful Hints
Helpful Hints for the Graduate Fellowship Submission: The Research Proposal
The main component of our application evaluation is your research proposal. Here are a few tips that we suggest:
What is your vision?
- An in-person summer internship is required as part of the Fellowship. Most of our regular interns don’t fully know what project they will work on until they arrive at NVIDIA; we don’t expect you to have it all mapped out, either, but if you have an idea or a desire for what you would be working on during your 3 to 4-month internship, please share that with us in your proposal.
- Our Fellowship Program is a chance for us to get to know some outstanding candidates for whom NVIDIA might be a rewarding place to launch a research career. Tell us what you envision, not only for your PhD thesis research but what you hope to do with your research once you graduate.
What have you done so far?
- The reason we set the minimum bar for submissions as having completed one year of PhD studies is because we know you need time to achieve some results and accumulate a few publications. We look forward to learning what you have done to date.
Helpful Hints for the Graduate Fellowship Submission: The Recommendation Letter
A heavily weighted component of the application evaluation is the recommendation letter. It is therefore recommended that the candidate afford it the proper attention and effort; here are a few tips that we suggest:
- Pick your recommenders wisely!
- If you are asking a recommender in the industry, such as a former boss from a summer internship, you may need to remind them what you’ve been working on since they last worked with you. It always helps if you can stay in somewhat regular touch with such contacts so that a lot of time doesn’t pass between updates.
- Provide your recommenders with sufficient notice.
- Thank them for their recommendation as soon as you see their letter has been submitted!
Graduate Fellowships FAQs
- Do I need to have accepted publications?
Our prior fellowship recipients have had track records of multiple publications in top-tier venues of their fields. To be competitive, you should have at least one strong publication.
- Is there a limit on how many Graduate Fellowship Awards one PhD student can receive from NVIDIA?
No. At this time there is no limit on the number of times you can be awarded the NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Award. Keep in mind you can only receive one per year!
- Is there a limit to the number of NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Awards granted per University or Research Team?
No. At this time, there is no limit per University nor is there a limit per graduate team provided the research is different and interesting to NVIDIA.
- I am a current Graduate Fellowship Recipient, can I apply again?
Yes. You can apply each year you are enrolled full-time until the year before you complete your PhD. You can follow the same guidelines and application process as any new applicant.
- Can I have more than one Professor Nomination Letter?
Yes, you can have up to three Professor Nomination Letters. It is OK to have nomination letter(s) from non-professors, as long as you have one from your thesis advisor/professor. Two letters total are required.
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