NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Program for Students 2017

Do you have a specific research field requirement in EE, CE, or CS?
No. There are many ways that Engineering fields can touch NVIDIA, and we are open to considering them.

I am just starting my Ph.D. this Fall 2013.  Am I eligible to apply?
You should have completed your first year of your Ph.D. program at the time of application.  The requirement is not black and white, but the idea is that after one year, there is a track record of research and experience.  After zero years, there is very little to judge the student's research on.  So, it's certainly fine to apply, but very unlikely to be awarded.  Of course, in special situations, there may be enough history to make a compelling application.  We suggest you look at the list of past recipients and see whether your application is comparable.  If so, then go ahead and apply and see where your application falls in the review process compared to all the other applications.

What are my chances of being awarded a Graduate Fellowship?
The Graduate Fellowship Awards are very competitive.  Many qualified candidates will not receive Graduate Fellowships, as the competition is of very high quality.  We received over 250 applicants in 2013 and were only able to award 11 Graduate Fellowships.  The finalists include students with multiple papers in top venues showcasing their results in GPU computing, or absolutely fascinating and exciting research proposals, or both. In all cases, they have outstanding letters of recommendation with many details and facts to back up their advisor's stated high opinion.

Are there any stipulations on how the Graduate Fellowship Award can be spent?
The Graduate Fellowship Award must be used to further your research. This can be in the form of tuition, books, living stipend, salary and travel to NVIDIA Research Summit, SIGGRAPH, or relevant conferences.  The award is an unrestricted gift to be used to further the student’s research over the academic year. We ask that no overhead or indirect costs are charged to the award. Awards are not transferrable to another student. Whether it is OK to combine the NVIDIA fellowship with another fellowship depends on several factors -- please contact the NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship for details on this matter.

Is there a limit on how many Graduate Fellowship Awards one Ph.D. 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 per 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 in your research project until you get your Ph.D. You can follow the same guidelines and application process as any new applicant.

Are International Ph.D. students eligible?
Yes. International students are eligible to apply. However, the Graduate Fellowship Award amount may vary by country, region or location.

Can I have more than one Professor Nomination?
Yes, you can have up to three Professor Nominations.  However, you can only list one professor on your online application.  You will need to work directly with your additional professors to follow the instructions for Professors/Advisors above to submit the additional nomination forms. It is OK to have nomination letter(s) from non-professors, as long as you have one from your thesis advisor/professor.

What if my professor/advisor doesn’t submit the Professor Nomination Form?
We do require a Professor Nomination Form, which can be filled out by either an advisor or professor of your designation. Once you submit your online Graduate Fellowship Application, the advisor or professor you designated will receive an email with instructions on how to submit the Professor Nomination Form. If they do not submit by the deadline, then your application will not be considered complete and as such will not be considered.Please remember it is the student's responsibility to ensure the professor nominations are turned in on time, which means notifying the professor(s) with sufficient time in advance of the deadline for them to write and submit their review(s), and following up with them prior to the deadline if they haven't heard from them that your nomination letter was submitted.

How are the Graduate Fellowship Recipients selected?
NVIDIA's Graduate Fellowship Program has a committee of engineers headed by our Chief Scientist, Bill Dally. The committee is comprised of 25-30 senior technical staff and managers from research and development groups across the company. This committee reviews all applicants competitively in several review sessions. This is a very intensive process. This review process usually takes 4-6 weeks.  Unfortunately, many qualified candidates will not be selected due to the high quality of proposals and limited number of awards available.

I already submitted a Professor Nomination form, but received another email requesting to submit. What does this mean?
If you submitted your Professor Nomination form prior to your student submitting their Graduate Fellowship Application, you will receive an auto-generated email to submit a Nomination Form. If you have already submitted this form and received a confirmation, then you do not need to re-submit.