Eligibility

All nominees

• Must be nominated by a doctoral faculty member; students cannot nominate themselves.
• Must be enrolled full-time in a PhD program over the academic year of the award or forfeit the fellowship.
• Should be within two years of their estimated graduation date at the time of the nomination.
• That are from U.S. embargoed countries or attending institutions located in U.S. embargoed countries are not eligible for the program.
• There is a limit of three nominations per department. Four nominations are allowed from each university. Faculty should coordinate their nomination(s) with their department chair. IBM encourages that Faculty will consider a diverse slate of candidates for nominating to the program.
• Receiving a comparable fellowship, internship, or support from another company or institution (except for academic scholarships) during the IBM PhD Fellowship funding period are ineligible for this award. IBM reserves the right to revoke nominee’s eligibility and withdraw the funding of the PhD award upon knowledge of such award.
• Must stay in the same program for the duration of the award —no transferring of departments or schools.

Awardees will be selected based upon

• Their potential for research excellence. All awardees will have an IBM mentor for the duration of the award period and are strongly encouraged to intern during the year of their award. The internship is not guaranteed or mandatory. All student visas must align with terms of the internship.
• The degree to which the nomineesʼ research aligns with IBM focus areas.
• Academic standing, publications, and endorsements from faculty advisors and department heads.

Nominating faculty must submit thoroughly developed proposals, remain engaged during the vetting and due diligence process, and use the university domain email address for all correspondence.

Questions? Please review the frequently asked questions before applying at the
IBM Fellowship Awards nomination portal or contacting phdfellow@us.ibm.com.