Nurturing and maintaining strong relations with the academic community is a top priority at Google. The Google PhD Fellowship Program was created to recognize outstanding graduate students doing exceptional, innovative research in areas relevant to computer science and related fields.
Fellowships support promising PhD candidates of all backgrounds who seek to influence the future of technology. Research teams affect technology used by people all over the world and Google encourages people of a wide range of backgrounds to apply.
In addition to Canada, Google currently offers fellowships in Africa, Australia, East Asia, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and the United States.
Value
US$85,000 per year towards education costs (tuition and fees), living expenses, travel, and personal equipment (effective from 2025 for new recipients)
A fellowship of up to two years
uOttawa internal application deadline
March 12, 2027, at 1 p.m.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must:
- Be full-time graduate students pursuing a PhD in one of the research areas listed below.
- Not be a Google employee, nor the spouse, child or member of the household of one.
Recipients must:
- Have completed all graduate coursework by the time the fellowship begins.
- Remain enrolled full time in the PhD program for the duration of the fellowship or forfeit the award.
- Not currently hold a comparable industry award (government or non-profit organization funding is exempt).
Note: Previous Google PhD Fellowship recipients aren’t eligible to apply.
Research Areas
- Algorithm optimization
- Computer architecture
- Health research
- Human-computer interaction
- Machine learning and ML foundations
- Machine perception
- Natural language processing
- Privacy, safety and security
- Quantum computing
- Software engineering and programming languages
- Systems, networking and cloud computing
Note: Region-specific research areas are listed in the application form during the application period.
Application Process
You must first go through the uOttawa internal process. You can’t apply directly to Google.
Because this is a highly competitive, prestigious international award, meeting the eligibility requirements doesn’t guarantee you’ll move on to the uOttawa-wide competition. Only the strongest applications will be selected to move forward.
Apply through the Online Scholarships portal, accessible via uoZone, and include:
- A cover page signed by your faculty or a designated person confirming that you meet these eligibility requirements:
- Be a full-time uOttawa graduate student pursuing a PhD.
- Have completed or expect to complete graduate coursework by the fall of the award year (fall 2027), when the fellowship begins.
- Not be a Google employee, nor your spouse, child or household member of one.
Not currently hold a comparable industry award (government or non-profit organization funding is exempt).
Note: Your cover page should not include any content other than what is listed above.
- Your CV with links to websites and publications (if available).
- Your primary supervisor’s short (1 page) CV.
- Your research or dissertation proposal (maximum 3 pages, excluding references).
Your research essay responding to the following (maximum 350 words):
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.
Your leadership essay responding to the following (maximum 350 words):
Describe an experience in you acted in a leadership role and positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
Note: A leadership role can mean more than just having a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task or taking the lead role in organizing an event or project.
Think about what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities? Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help resolve an important dispute at your school or church, in your community or in an organization?
Your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help out or take care of your family?
- Transcripts for all your undergraduate and graduate studies to date. Scans of official transcripts are preferred but unofficial and web-based transcripts are accepted.
- Two or three letters of recommendation from those familiar with your work (at least one from your thesis adviser). Letters must be emailed directly by each referee as a PDF attachment to the Financial Aid and Awards Service at [email protected] by the application deadline.
Evaluation Criteria
Applications are evaluated on the strength of your research proposal, research impact, student academic achievements and leadership potential.
Research proposals should contain innovative concepts relevant to Google’s research areas, be solid and have the potential to make an impact on the field. Describe your research, along with its future prospects and directions.
In Canada, as well as in the United States, East Asia and Latin America, essay responses are evaluated in addition to application materials to determine an overall recommendation.
A nominee’s status as a member of a historically marginalized group is not considered in the selection of award recipients.
Research should align with Google’s AI Principles.
Incomplete proposals will not be considered.
Awards results
The University competition results will be shared at the end of April. The results of the international competition will be shared with students when available, likely in late summer 2027.
Website
*The information on this page is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment from the University of Ottawa.
The selection committee’s decisions are final. The dean (or delegate) of the faculty offering the program will hear appeals only on procedural grounds.