Frequently asked questions

The Faculty Research Awards Program, sometimes referred to as the Research Awards Program, supports academic research in computer science, engineering, and related fields. Through the program, we fund world-class research at top universities, facilitate interaction between Google and academia, and support projects whose output will be made openly available to the research community. Awards are structured as unrestricted gifts to universities and are designed to support roughly the cost of one graduate student for one year of work.

• Google’s Faculty Research Awards program funds work in Computer Science, Engineering, and related fields. Our awards tend to go to projects that are highly technical. The work funded through Faculty Research Awards is very high caliber, and research results are often published at top conferences and in top publications in Computer Science.
• For additional guidance on Research Awards proposals, we strongly encourage all Principal Investigators to read the proposal advice written by a group of Googlers who review proposals at the end of these FAQs.
• We believe strongly in open access and in supporting projects whose output will be made available to the public and to other researchers. For this reason, we ask Principal Investigators (professors submitting proposals) to include a brief statement about what they intend to do with the output of their work, and we strongly prefer projects where the Principal Investigator intends to publish data sets, publish code via open source licenses, or otherwise contribute to the academic community.
• Google is committed to making accessibility a reality for everyone, including people with disabilities. We realize that projects in a number of different research areas can have an impact on users with disabilities, so our application form includes a checkbox that allows Principal Investigators to select whether their project is related to assistive technology in addition to selecting a primary and secondary topic area. We do not provide preference to these research projects, but having this information allows us to solicit reviews from relevant people at Google.
• The Faculty Research Awards team will not be able to respond to questions pre-submission asking if a specific topic is of interest to Google. Principal Investigators who have contacts at Google are welcome to ask them about Google’s interest in certain topics and to discuss relevance to Google. The best way to find Google contacts who may be working in relevant research areas is through professional interactions that typically occur at conferences, workshops, paper publications, and personal networking. Principal Investigators who do not have professional contacts at Google should focus on reviewing the resources listed above. Due to the high volume of requests we receive, the Faculty Research Awards program team will not be able to connect Principal Investigators with contacts or others at Google who might be interested in the research.

1. Institutions

   • We accept applications from permanent faculty at universities around the world. Our funding is focused on supporting PhD students, so we do allow applications from faculty at research institutions that award research degrees to PhD students. We do not allow applications from professors, researchers, or faculty members at non-degree-granting research institutes. Researchers at such institutes who are also faculty at a degree-granting university may apply through that university.

   • Our funding is structured as unrestricted gifts to universities. We cannot process awards to other institutions (e.g. not-for-profits institutions, hospitals, non-degree-granting research institutes, etc) even if they are affiliated with a university. A Principal Investigator must apply in his or her capacity as a university professor and must be able to accept an award through that university.

2. Principal Investigators

   • An applicant may only serve as Principal Investigator or co-Principal Investigator on one proposal per round.

   • Each Principal Investigator on a proposal must be a permanent faculty at a university or a degree-granting research institution.

   • We allow assistant professors, associate professors, and full professors to apply. We do not allow applications from professors on behalf of students, postdocs, or others who are not eligible to apply themselves--the research must be directed primarily by a permanent faculty member.

   • We understand that titles may differ globally. In order for someone without the title of professor to apply, he or she must be a permanent faculty member at an eligible institution and serve as a formal advisor to masters or PhD students. We may, at our discretion, provide funding for Principal Investigators who advise undergraduate students at colleges that do not award advanced degrees.

   • The same eligibility requirements apply to both the primary Principal Investigator and any co-Principal Investigators. We do not allow students, postdocs, or non-professor researchers who do not meet the criteria above to serve as Principal Investigators or co-Principal Investigators.

   • The primary Principal Investigator on a proposal is the point person for all communications regarding the proposal, including funding decisions. All emails regarding the application will go to the primary Principal Investigator, who is responsible for notifying any co-Principal Investigators and university administrators if needed.

   • There are no limits on the number of proposals that can be submitted by different Principal Investigators (or co-Principal Investigators) from the same university.

3. Past Applicants

   • If an applicant’s proposal was not selected for funding the previous round, they are welcome to apply with a new proposal (or substantively revised proposal) the following round.

   • We ask that Principal Investigators not submit the same proposal to multiple rounds of the Research Awards. If a proposal is not selected for funding and the Principal Investigator resubmits it the following round without substantive revisions, we will not fund it. If a Principal Investigator is submitting a revised proposal, he or she should check the appropriate box on the application form to let us know.

   • Research Awards are designed to support one year of work. We may on occasion choose to fund a second year for a project that has seen great success in year one. Recipients who would like to apply for another year of support for a funded project should submit a new application using the regular process. The proposal title should in some way reference that it is an extension (e.g. using the same or a similar title followed by “extension” or “year 2”). When evaluating proposal extension requests, we look at results and outcomes from the initial project as well as the proposed future work. Proposal extension requests are evaluated alongside new proposals and are not given preference in the selection process.

4. Restrictions

   • All award payments and recipients will be reviewed for compliance with relevant US and international laws, regulations and policies. Google reserves the right to withhold funding that may violate laws, regulations or our policies.

To apply for a Google research award, faculty members should use the following general guidelines:

• Permanent faculty members from universities worldwide are eligible to serve as Principal Investigators (PIs) or co-PIs on proposals. Faculty members may submit one proposal per funding cycle as a Principal Investigator or a co-Principal Investigator. More details, including the definition of a Principal Investigator and our eligibility criteria can be found later in the FAQs.

• The advice on crafting a strong proposal at the end of these FAQs was written by a group of Google researchers and engineers involved in the review and selection process and is an excellent place to start as you prepare an application.

• The application process includes filling out an online form requesting basic information and uploading a PDF proposal via the form. As part of the online form, you will be asked to select a topic area from approximately 20 areas. Please select carefully, as this will help us in ensuring your proposal is read by the appropriate reviewers. Do not send any confidential or proprietary information in your proposal. Any information you send us as part of your application will be considered not confidential regardless of any markings or designations on it.

We select Google Faculty Research Award recipients through a thorough internal review process. All proposals go through a process that includes reviews from subject-matter experts across the company and committees led by some of Google’s top researchers. For details on our internal process, please see this post on the Google Research Blog from our VP of Education & University Relations.

Decisions will be announced approximately 4 months after the submission deadline. Decisions will be communicated to the primary Principal Investigator listed on each proposal as well as announced on the Google Research blog. It is the primary Principal Investigator’s responsibility to notify co-Principal Investigators about funding decisions.

• If a project was selected for funding, the primary Principal Investigator will receive an email notification of the details of the award. A follow-up email a few days later will contain information on how to begin the payment process. All payments will be made in US dollars either electronically or by wire.
• Due to the large number of submissions we receive, we cannot provide individual feedback on proposals not selected for funding.

• Please see the main Research Awards webpage for a breakdown of what elements to include in a proposal. Below is an example of what a proposal may look like (though the relative length of each section may differ by proposal). The diagram below does not include the 2-page CV of the primary Principal Investigator, which is required for all applications (a 2-page CV for each co-Principal Investigator is optional). We additionally request a Google Scholar profile link as part of the online application form. Our reviewers find it helpful to be able to easily reference a Principal Investigator's publication history to see how the current proposal relates to past work the Principal Investigator has done in relevant fields. The Google Scholar profile complements, but does not replace, the Principal Investigator's 2-page CV.
• We do not have strong feelings on formatting (margins, font, etc), so we just ask that you use your best judgment. We would prefer for proposals to respect a minimum 10pt font size and 1-inch (2.5-cm) margins. Our reviewers value readability.
• Do not send any confidential or proprietary information in your proposal. Any information you send us as part of your application will be considered not confidential regardless of any markings or designations on it.
• Budget: Faculty Research Awards generally support basic expenses for one student for one year. We no longer request a budget breakdown and instead ask that you provide the cost of one graduate student at your University in the application. We will not accept any changes to this amount once the proposal is submitted. This will be used as the amount granted if accepted. Please see below FAQs for more details on allowable budget items.

Proposal Format

The main proposal section is comprised of 3 parts: An overview, a proposal body, and a data policy. The maximum length of the entire proposal section, including references, is 3 pages. In addition to the 3-page proposal, we require a CV from the primary Principal Investigator and allow the inclusion of CVs from co-Principal Investigators. The maximum length for each CV is 2 pages. For Principal Investigators (and co-Principal Investigators) who have been funded by Google in the past, in addition to the 3 parts listed above, we also require a brief (1/2 page maximum) summary of the results of past projects funded by Google. This section does not count toward the three-page proposal limit.

1. Overview
   • Proposal Title
   • Principal Investigator full name, contact information (postal address, email address, phone), affiliation (university, school, college and/or department)
   • [Optional] The name(s) of up to two potential Google sponsors. Potential sponsors are defined as people at Google with whom you have already discussed the specific proposal. Providing potential sponsors as part of the application is optional; Google will assign sponsors to each funded proposal.
2. Proposal Body
   • Abstract
   • Research goals, including a problem statement.
   • Description of the work you'd like to do, as well as the expected outcomes and results.
   • How this relates to prior work in the area (including your own, if relevant)
   • References, where applicable.
   • Please carefully review the advice located at the end of these FAQs before crafting your proposal.
3. Data policy
   • Our goal is to support work where the output will be made available to the broader research community. To that end, we ask that you provide us with a few sentences sharing what you intend to do with the output of your project (e.g. open sourcing code, making data sets public, etc.). Please note that Faculty Research Awards are structured as unrestricted gifts, so there are no legal requirements once a project is selected for funding. This is simply a statement of your current intentions.
4. Results from past projects [For previously-funded Principal Investigators only]
   • If you have received Google funding in the past (in any form or through any program), we'd like a brief description of the outcomes of the work. We are most interested in concrete output (publications, software artifacts, data sets, awards, press, etc.) and interactions with Google (visits, talks, involvement with the Googlers, student interactions, etc.). We require this information from all past funding recipients, even if the current application is unrelated to the project we previously funded. If you faced setbacks that prevented you from carrying out the work you initially laid out, please take a moment to explain what happened and how things turned out.

CV format for the principal investigators

• The maximum length of a Principal Investigator CV is two pages. Any submitted CV that is longer than 2 pages may be cut off at two pages before the proposal review process begins.
• We require a CV for at least the primary Principal Investigator on the proposal. We will accept CVs from each of the Principal Investigators listed on the proposal (up to three are allowed). Each CV must be limited to two pages.

Potential Google sponsors:

• Principal Investigators are allowed to suggest one or more potential Google sponsors for the project being proposed. A potential Google sponsor is a colleague at Google who knows about the proposal being submitted and has expressed interest in serving as a point of contact for the project being proposed. A Google sponsor is responsible for facilitating the two-way flow of information between Google and the Principal Investigator. The Google Research Awards team is unable to help Principal Investigators find potential sponsors for their projects prior to proposal submission, but all funded projects will be assigned a Google sponsor by the review committee during the selection process.

• If the project is selected for funding, a sponsor is expected to do the following:

  1. Provide input at the Principal Investigator’s request on research project direction.

  2. Serve as the point person for communication between the Principal Investigator and Google, and participate in any check-ins instigated by the Principal Investigator and project team.

  3. Act as point of contact for Principal Investigator for questions related to Google or the project.

  4. Receive and share with Google colleagues copies of papers produced by the research that the Principal Investigator may choose to share.

  5. Invite the Principal Investigator and student(s) to visit Google to give a talk on research results.

  6. Answer questions related to faculty referrals for affiliated students interested in internships or permanent positions.

1. Standard award amounts

   • Faculty Research Awards are designed to be in an amount approximately equivalent to the amount necessary to support one graduate student for one year. We expect that most budgets for the Research Awards will be limited to the cost of one PhD student for one year (defined as salary plus tuition, or research salary in regions where PhD tuition is covered through other means) as well as modest conference travel for the student (1,500 USD for US universities, 3,000 USD for universities outside the US).

   • The application requests the cost of one PhD student at your University. This will be the final amount awarded if the proposal is approved and no changes can be made to the amount. We do not support overhead or indirect costs in this amount.

   • We trust Principal Investigators to provide accurate accounting of the costs of PhD students in their departments at their universities, but we do reserve the right to verify those costs during the proposal review process.

2. Alternative or additional budget items

   • While funds are intended to support one PhD student, PIs may split the award to partially fund multiple students. We will also consider support for masters or undergraduate students when appropriate. We may occasionally provide a professor with funding for a postdoc through the Faculty Research Awards program, but we have a strong preference for funding proposals that will directly support students.

   • When two universities are collaborating on a project, typically the team will request funding to support a student at one university. However, we understand that some of these collaborative projects may require funding for one student at each school. Due to the budget of the program, please provide the cost of one standard graduate student at the University the project is most aligned with.

3. Expenses not considered by the Research Awards

   • Principal Investigator salaries are not considered. Salaries for permanent researchers, non-student, or non-postdoc researchers employed by the university are also not considered.

   • It is Google’s policy not to pay for overhead on unrestricted gifts. Indirect costs, administrative costs, and overhead will not be considered in Faculty Research Awards budgets.

Research Awards are designed to support one year of work. We may on occasion choose to fund a second year for a project that has seen great success in year one. Recipients who would like to apply for another year of support for a funded project should submit a new application using the regular process. The proposal title should in some way reference that it is an extension (e.g. using the same or a similar title followed by “extension” or “year 2”). When evaluating proposal extension requests, we look at results and outcomes from the initial project as well as the proposed future work. Proposal extension requests are evaluated alongside new proposals and are not given preference in the selection process.

You can view your application status on the main application page. If it says “Submitted”, then we have received it. Please expect to hear from us in the months following your submission.

We will be providing limited email support via research-awards@google.com. Due to the volume of emails we receive, we may not be able to respond to questions where the answer is available on the website.

As a part of the group of engineers that review proposals for this program, we read a lot of proposals. We'd like to read more good proposals. Here's some advice on how you can improve the content of your short proposal and make reviewing it easier.

A good research grant proposal:

• Clearly specifies a problem. Good research is driven by a great problem or question, and a good proposal starts with a clearly specified one.
• Describes a specific, credible, relevant outcome. Try to identify a specific and appropriately sized outcome, to give us a clear notion of what the research award would be enabling. What will likely come to be that might otherwise not happen? While this outcome should be a decisive step towards achieving your vision, it generally won't be adequate to completely achieve it. It often helps to describe both the minimum that is likely to be accomplished and a potential best-case. Since picking the right datasets and test cases is often important, tell us which ones you plan to use.
• Crisply differentiates the proposed contribution from prior work. Please apply normal practices (citations, etc.) for documenting how your work will materially advance the state of the art. Make it clear how your work will be changing the state of the art, and not simply trying to match it.
• Tells us how the research challenge(s) will be addressed. Successful research projects combine a great problem with ideas for solutions, too. We recognize that all the answers won't be known yet, but we'd like to feel that the direction has been established, and a plausible path has been identified. (Try to avoid proposals of the form "We want to look at problem X".) It's hard to have a big impact without taking risks, but please identify what the difficulties are likely to be and how you plan to mitigate them. It may help to explain how you succeeded in addressing analogous problems in other projects.
• Puts the proposed work in context. Most projects we fund also have support from other sources. To help us understand the expected impact of Google support, please explain what funding you already have for this area of research and how the proposed work relates to your existing plans. Do you plan to build a capability for other research, provide a tool, reproduce a prior result, collaborate with others to try something out, follow up on a promising idea, or explore a new one? All are potentially of interest; we just want to know.
• Makes the case to a non-expert. While we try to have your proposal reviewed by a Google expert in your field, it will also be read by non-experts, so please make at least the motivation and outcomes broadly accessible.

As a final note, please try to find a sponsor inside Google and ask them to provide feedback on your proposal before you submit it. While having a strong internal sponsor is not a requirement for funding, it can definitely help. With or without a sponsor, following the recommendations above will likely improve the quality of your proposal. For more details on how to identify and approach potential sponsors, please see our program FAQs. The Faculty Research Awards program team will not be able to help connect you to potential sponsors before you submit a proposal, but all funded projects will be assigned a sponsor by the review committee.

Thanks for reading. We're looking forward to your proposal!

Google’s Focused Research Awards program supports a small number of high-impact, multi-year research projects in areas of key interest to Google. A list of our past and current Focused Award recipients is available here.

Unlike our Faculty Research Awards program, we do not accept unsolicited applications for Focused Research Awards. As Google's areas of interest continue to grow and evolve, we will provide awards to support exciting research and faculty in these key areas.

Students receive named Fellowships which include a monetary award. The funds are given directly to the university to be distributed to cover the student’s expenses and stipend as appropriate. The funds are given as an unrestricted gift, and it is Google’s policy not to pay for overhead on unrestricted gifts. In addition, the student will be matched with a Google Research Mentor who we hope will become a valuable resource to the student. There is no employee relationship between the student and Google as a result of receiving the fellowship. Fellowship recipients are not subject to intellectual property restrictions unless they complete an internship at Google. Fellowship recipients serving an internship are subject to the same intellectual property and other contractual obligations as any other Google intern. If a Fellowship student is interested, an internship at Google is encouraged, but not guaranteed or required.

Africa

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

Australia and New Zealand

• 1 year Fellowship
• AUD $10K to cover stipend and other research related activities, travel expenses including overseas travel
• Google Research Mentor

East Asia

• 1 year Fellowship
• US $10K to cover stipend and other research related activities, travel expenses including overseas travel
• Google Research Mentor

Europe

• Up to 3 year Fellowship
• Yearly bursary towards stipend / salary, health care, social benefits, tuition and fees, conference travel and personal computing equipment. The bursary varies by country.
• Google Research Mentor

India

• Up to 4 year Fellowship
• US $50K to cover stipend and other research related activities, travel expenses including overseas travel
• Google Research Mentor

United States and Canada

• Up to 3 year Fellowship
• Full tuition and fees (enrollment fees, health insurance, books) plus a stipend to be used for living expenses, travel and personal equipment
• Google Research Mentor

*Google Cloud Platform credits are provided upon request in eligible countries.

In the United States, Canada, Europe, and East Asia, universities must be an accredited research institution that awards research degrees to PhD students in Computer Science or related field to be eligible.

In Australia and New Zealand, direct invitations for nominations are sent to the Computer Science departments and/or Graduate Funding offices of eligible universities.

In India and Africa, applications are open to students in Computer Science and related fields from any Indian or African university, respectively.

Restrictions: All award payments and recipients will be reviewed for compliance with relevant US and international laws, regulations and policies. Google reserves the right to withhold funding that may violate laws, regulations or our policies.

Nominated students in Australia and New Zealand, East Asia, Europe, the United States and Canada

Universities should only nominate students that meet the following requirements:

• Full-time graduate students pursuing a PhD and enrolled in an institution in one of the regions listed above.
• Completed graduate coursework by the Fall of the award year, when the Fellowship begins. This is usually the 3rd year for US and Canadian students.
• 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.

Direct applicant students in Africa and India

• Full-time graduate students pursuing a PhD and enrolled in an African or Indian institution.
  • Early-stage PhD students enrolled one year or less.
  • Applicants who are currently in their first year of a part-time PhD program and transferring to full-time positions.
• Current undergraduate or masters students and professionals may apply. The Google Fellowship award shall be contingent on the awardee registering for a full-time PhD program of an African or Indian university in Computer Science or related fields within the calendar year of the fellowship, or the award shall be forfeited.
  • Applicants enrolled in an undergraduate or masters program must be current, full-time students at an African or Indian university.
  • Professionals must be employed/affiliated with an organization registered in Africa or India, and receipt of the award is contingent on them joining a full-time PhD program at an African or Indian university within the calendar year of the award.
  • Grant of the Google 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 he/she wishes to register for a PhD.
  • Grant of the Google 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.

Australia and New Zealand, East Asia

For each student nomination, the university will be asked to submit the following material in a single PDF file:

1. Student CV with links to website and publications (if available)
2. Short (1-page) CV of the student's primary advisor
3. Transcripts of current and previous academic records
4. 2-3 letters of recommendation from those familiar with the nominee's work (at least one from the thesis advisor)
5. Research / dissertation proposal including references (maximum 8 pages)

Europe, the United States and Canada

For each student nomination, the university will be asked to submit the following material in a single PDF file:

1. Student CV with links to website and publications (if available)
2. Short (1-page) CV of the student's primary advisor
3. Transcripts of current and previous academic records
4. 2-3 letters of recommendation from those familiar with the nominee's work (at least one from the thesis advisor)
5. Research / dissertation proposal including references (maximum 8 pages)
6. Student 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.

7. Student essay response (350-word limit) to: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.

   • A leadership role can mean more than just 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 to resolve an important dispute at your school, church, in your community or an organization? And 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?

Africa and India

You’ll need the following in order to complete an application:

1. Student applicant’s resume with links to website and publications (if available)
2. Available transcripts (mark sheets) starting from first year/semester of Bachelor's degree to date
3. Research proposal including references (min 2 pages; max 8 pages)
4. 2-3 letters of recommendation from those familiar with the applicant's work (at least one from the thesis advisor for current PhD students)
5. Short (1-page) resume of the student's PhD program advisor (Africa only)
6. Student 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

Check the eligibility for your university and eligibility for student nominations in your region before applying. The submission forms will become available on the main Google PhD Fellowship Program page when the application period begins. See application details for what to include in our FAQ above.

In Australia and New Zealand, East Asia, Europe, the United States and Canada, students cannot apply directly to the program; they must be nominated by an eligible university. Universities may nominate eligible students from Computer Science or related field during the respective application period for each region. Check eligibility, student nomination, and application time period FAQs for details.

In India and Africa, students may apply directly during the application period, which opens each February in India and November in Africa.

Universities in the United States and Canada may nominate up to four eligible students from Computer Science or related fields. If more than two are nominated, then in order to increase opportunities for students who are underrepresented in the field of computing, additional nominees must self-identify as a woman, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Hispanic/Latinx, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and/or person with a disability. In other words, if a university chooses to nominate more than 2 students, then the 3rd and 4th student nomination should self-identify with the underrepresented group mentioned above.

Universities in Australia, New Zealand, East Asia, and Europe may nominate up to two eligible students.

In India and Africa, applications are open and we do not have a limit to the number of students that can apply from a university.

Materials must be submitted by chairs of the department from eligible universities, or their designated contact.

In India and Africa, students may apply directly during the application window.

Applications are evaluated on the strength of the research proposal, research impact, student academic achievements, and leadership potential. Research proposals are evaluated for innovative concepts that are relevant to Google’s research areas, as well as aspects of robustness and potential impact to the field. Proposals should include the direction and any plans of where your work is going in addition to a comprehensive description of the research you are pursuing.

In the United States, Canada, and Europe, essay responses are evaluated in addition to application materials to determine an overall recommendation.

Research should align with Google AI Principles.

Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

All documents should be submitted in English.

Students must be nominated by an eligible university in order to be considered, except in India and Africa where students may apply directly.

Any monetary awards will be paid directly to the Fellow's university for distribution. No overhead should be assessed against them.

The funds are given as an unrestricted gift. Fellowship recipients are not subject to intellectual property restrictions unless they complete an internship at Google. If that is the case, they are subject to the same intellectual property restrictions as any other Google intern.

No, there will not be any employee relationship (except as an intern) between Fellowship recipients and Google.

Yes, Fellowship recipients are eligible for these scholarships. For more information, please see the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship or the Google Europe Scholarship for Students with Disabilities.

After Google PhD Fellowship recipients are notified, the Fellowship is effective starting the following school year.

Africa

Fellowship applications are received January-February each year. Awardees are notified by April.

Australia, New Zealand, and East Asia

Fellowship nominations are received March-May each year. Awardees are notified by July.

India

Fellowship applications are received February-April each year. Awardees are notified by July.

United States, Canada, and Europe

Fellowship nominations are received in November each year. Awardees are notified by March.

A global awards announcement will be made in September on the Google Research Blog publicly announcing all award recipients.

If your question has not been answered by a FAQ, email:

phdfellowship@google.com for United States, Canada, and Europe

research-programs-in@google.com for India

eastasia-ur@google.com for East Asia

google-eng-outreach@google.com for Australia and New Zealand

research-africa@google.com for Africa

Academic researchers cannot apply directly for the program. An engineering host at Google typically identifies researchers that would be suitable to collaborate with and submits an application for the program on their behalf. Connections with Google Researchers can be made on the ground at conferences and workshops.

We encourage Googlers to stay connected to the external academic community through the support of CS programs and collaboration with academics on research and publications. These efforts also help us tap into the knowledge and culture of academic labs, internal resources, and ways of thinking through complex problems.

You can find information on our programs for students on the Student Page of Google’s job site.

You can visit our student site at google.com/students.

For information on philanthropic initiatives at Google, visit the Google.org site.

If a professor needs phones, tablets, or Chromebooks for research purposes, he or she can submit an application to our Faculty Research Awards program requesting the budget needed to purchase the devices. Google does not currently have a program to provide Android phones or other hardware to be used for teaching or classroom purposes.

Please look through the entire FAQ above before writing in; we will not be able to respond to questions whose answers are contained in this document. For questions related to university research, please email university-relations@google.com. For questions about students, recruiting, on-campus events, or other non-research topics regarding universities in North America, please email campusevents@google.com. If you have questions specific to your region, you may send questions to emea-eng-campus@google.com for universities in Europe, Africa, or the Middle East, or to china-ur@google.com for universities in China. Please note that due to the high volume of emails we receive, we may not be able to respond to questions or requests that don't fall into one of the categories listed above.

Latin America refers to territories in the Americas where the Spanish or Portuguese languages prevail: Mexico, most of Central and South America, and in the Caribbean; the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico – in summary, Hispanic America and Brazil.

Faculty members should use the following general guidelines for proposal submission:

• Permanent faculty members from universities in Latin America are eligible to apply.
• The advice on crafting a strong proposal at the end of these FAQs was written by a group of Google researchers and engineers involved in the review and selection process and is an excellent place to start as you prepare an application.
• To apply for the Google Research Awards in Latin American program, please complete the online application form and upload your proposal no later than May 25th 2018.
• As part of the online form, you will be asked to select a topic area from among the ones listed below. Please select carefully, as this will determine which of our review committees will review your proposal. We may, at our discretion, move proposals between areas. Please note that Google cannot accept any proposal containing confidential or proprietary information.
  1. Geo/maps
  2. Human-computer interaction
  3. Information retrieval, extraction & organization (including semantic graphs)
  4. Internet of things (including smart cities)
  5. Machine learning and data mining
  6. Mobile
  7. Natural language processing
  8. Physical interfaces and immersive experiences
  9. Privacy
  10. Other topics related to web research
• Your project proposal should be organized as follows:
  1. Proposal
  2. The main proposal section is comprised of 3 parts: An overview, a proposal body and a data policy. The maximum length of the entire proposal section, including references, is 3 pages. In addition to the 3-page proposal, we require a CV from the faculty. The maximum length for each CV is 2 pages.
  3. Overview
     • Proposal Title.
     • Faculty full name, contact information (postal address, email address, phone), affiliation (university, school, college and/or department).
     • [Optional] The name(s) of up to two Google contacts. Contacts are defined as people at Google who are familiar with your professional work.
  4. Proposal Body
     • Abstract
     • Research goals, including a problem statement
     • Description of the work you'd like to do, as well as the expected outcomes and results
     • How this relates to prior work in the area (including your own, if relevant)
     • References, where applicable
     • Please carefully review the advice located at the end of these FAQs before crafting your proposal
  5. Data Policy
     • Google's Research Awards program is designed to support work whose output will be made available to the public and to the research community. To that end, we ask that you provide us with a few sentences sharing what you intend to do with the output of your project (e.g. open sourcing code, making data sets public, etc). Please note that Research Awards are structured as unrestricted gifts, so there are no legal requirements once a project is selected for funding. This is simply a statement of your current intentions.
  6. CV of the Faculty
  7. The maximum length of a Faculty CV is two pages. Any submitted CV that is longer than 2 pages may be cut off at two pages before the proposal review process begins.