Microsoft Research Graduate Women’s Scholarship, USA & Canada

The Microsoft Research Graduate Women’s Scholarship is a one-year scholarship program for outstanding women graduate students and is designed to help increase the number of women pursuing a PhD. This program supports women in the second year of their graduate studies. Women who are interested in this scholarship must apply during first year of graduate studies. Scholarships are granted by Microsoft Research at the discretion of Microsoft.

Current Schedule

• Microsoft began accepting applications: Tuesday, August 16, 2011.


• Due date for all applications: Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 11:59 P.M. Pacific Time.


• Late and incomplete applications will not be considered.


• No notification of incompleteness will be made.


• No exceptions to the deadline will be approved.

Provisions of the Award

• The scholarship recipient award includes US$15,000 for the 2012–2013 academic year.


• A conference and travel allowance of US$2,000 is provided for recipients to attend a conference in their field of study.


• Scholarships are awarded to recipients for one academic year only and are not available for extension or renewal.


• The recipient must remain as active, full-time student, enrolled in graduate programming during the academic year of the award or forfeit the award.

Eligibility Criteria

• Nominees for the Microsoft Research Graduate Women’s Scholarship Program must be nominated by their universities, and their nominations must be confirmed by the office of the chair of the department. Direct applications from students are not accepted.


• Student must attend a U.S. or Canadian university and be enrolled as a full-time graduate student in the Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Mathematics departments (if your department is within the scope of these areas, but is titled differently, you are eligible).


• Students must be enrolled in their first year in a graduate program in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Mathematics for academic year 2011–2012. If a student has already completed graduate-level coursework in any subject area, prior to their first year in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Mathematics, then the student is not eligible for the Scholarship program.


• A maximum of three applicants per department, per university will be accepted. (For example, if you have three separate departments as listed above, you may submit up to three candidates per department or up to nine applicants from your university.)


• Payment of the scholarship awards, as described above, is made directly to the university and is not transferable to another academic institution or department. The recipient must remain enrolled in a graduate program during the 2012–2013 academic year or forfeit the award.

Required Information and Application Process

• Applications must include: Applicant’s curriculum vitae, a copy of the student’s undergraduate transcript, and three (3) letters of reference from established researchers familiar with the applicant’s research. Of these letters, one (1) letter of recommendation should come from the student’s graduate advisor, one (1) letter of recommendation should come from the student’s undergraduate advisor or another academic familiar with the student’s undergraduate work, and one (1) letter should come from another academic within the nominating institution.


• Applications must be submitted online via the application tool in any of the following formats: Word document, text-only file, or PDF. All application materials must be submitted by the person designated as the application contact by the departmental chair’s office and must not be the applicant.


• Applications are accepted only when submitted via the online application tool by eligible university department chairs or their designee (students may not apply directly). Emailed or hard copy applications are not considered.


• Applications submitted to Microsoft will not be returned. Microsoft cannot assume responsibility for the confidentiality of information in submitted applications. Therefore, applications should not contain information that is confidential, restricted, or sensitive. Microsoft reserves the right to make public information from applications that receive awards, except those portions containing budgetary or personally identifiable information.


• Incomplete applications cannot be considered and notification of incompleteness will not be made.


• Due to the volume of submissions, Microsoft Research cannot provide individual feedback on applications that do not receive Scholarship awards.

Selection Criteria

Are non-U.S. citizens eligible to apply?
Yes, if you are a female student in your first year of a graduate program and attending a U.S. or Canadian school, you are eligible.

Are international students eligible to apply?
Yes, if you are a female international student at a U.S. or Canadian school and enrolled in a graduate program, you are eligible.

What if I’m an international student attending a university outside the United States or Canada?
The Microsoft Research Graduate Women’s Scholarship program includes only U.S. and Canadian schools.

If you are an international student attending a school outside the U.S. and Canada, you are not eligible for this program.

What if I am not enrolled in my first year?
Enrollment in your first year is a requirement for application.

Do I have to be nominated by my university or can I apply on my own?
To be considered for the program, you must be nominated by an eligible university.

Which university departments are eligible to participate?
Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Mathematics departments at eligible universities may nominate up to three students per eligible department. If your department falls in the Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Mathematics fields but is called something else, you are eligible.

Application Process

How do I submit my application?
You must be nominated by the computer science, electrical engineering, or math department at your school. Your school contact can find all the necessary information and access the application tool from the Microsoft Research Scholarship website. The departmental chair’s office must upload your application to the online application form.

What format should I use for my CV and reference letters?
All required documents must be submitted as individual documents in Word, PDF, or text-only formats.

Is a thesis proposal required for the scholarship application?
No. A thesis proposal is not required for the scholarship application. If you are interested in the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship Program, please see the requirements on the PhD Fellowship Program page.

Will more than three letters of recommendation be accepted in support of an application?
No. Only three (3) letters of recommendation will be accepted. Of these letters, one (1) letter of recommendation should come from the student’s graduate advisor, one (1) letter of recommendation should come from the student’s undergraduate advisor or another academic familiar with the student’s undergraduate work, and one (1) letter should come from another academic within the nominating institution.

Who actually registers with the online application system and completes the application information–the nominator or the nominee?
All application materials must be submitted by the person designated as the application contact by the departmental chair’s office. The nominator must not be the nominee.

Review Process

Who will review the nominations?
Applications will be reviewed by researchers from Microsoft Research, whose expertise covers a wide range of disciplines. All submissions are assigned to reviewers by members of a scholarship panel, and several reviewers will review each application.

When will I know the outcome of the review process?
All applicants will be notified of award decisions (regardless of outcome) on Friday, February 10, 2012. Due to the volume of submissions, Microsoft Research cannot provide individual feedback on applications that do not receive scholarship awards.

Selection Process

If selected, when will my scholarship begin?
Scholarships awarded in February 2012 will receive their financial awards beginning in August 2012. Microsoft sends payment directly to your university, and your university will disperse funds according to their guidelines.

If selected, am I required to complete an internship at Microsoft Research?
Internships are not included as part of the award.

Are there any tax implications for me if I receive this scholarship?
The tax implications for your award are based on the policy at your university.

Will intellectual property be an issue if I am awarded a scholarship?
The Microsoft Research Graduate Women’s Scholarship program is not subject to any intellectual property (IP) restrictions.

May I simultaneously receive scholarships from other companies?
Yes. If you received a Microsoft Research Graduate Women’s Scholarship you may receive another scholarship from another company or institution for the same academic period.

May I simultaneously apply for a Microsoft Research and PhD Fellowship and a Microsoft Research Graduate Women’s Scholarship?
No. The qualification criteria for the two programs do not coincide.

For more information, please visit official website: research.microsoft.com