Google PhD Fellowships
- Enrolment status
- Current UQ student
- Student type
- Domestic, International
- Study level
- Postgraduate research (HDR)
- Study area
- Business and economics, Computer science and IT, Engineering, Health and medicine, Science and mathematics
- Scholarship focus
- Academic excellence
- Funding type
- Financial award, Travel
- Scholarship value
- $20,000
- Scholarship duration
- 12 months
- Number awarded
- May vary
- Applications open
- 16 March 2026
- Applications close
- 19 April 2026
About this scholarship
Nurturing and maintaining strong relations with the academic community is a top priority at Google. Fellowships support promising PhD candidates of all backgrounds who seek to influence the future of technology. Google PhD Fellowships directly support graduate research students as they pursue their PhD, as well as connect them to a Google Research Mentor.
Google PhD Fellowship students are a select group recognised by Google researchers and their institutions as some of the most promising young academics in the world.
Participating universities in Australia may nominate up to three eligible students from the following fields:
- Computer Architecture
- Algorithms and Optimization
- 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
Further information on the research areas of focus can be found on the Google PhD fellowship webpage.
Objectives
The Google PhD Fellowship Program was created to recognise outstanding graduate students doing exceptional and innovative research in areas relevant to computer science and related fields.
Google’s mission is to foster inclusive research communities and encourages people of diverse backgrounds to apply.
Eligibility
You cannot apply directly to the program; you must be nominated by UQ. Please also review the eligibility requirements for students found on the Google Website and below. You're eligible if you:
- are a full-time UQ PhD candidate, enrolled in the first or second year of your PhD. To be eligible for the 2026 round, you must not have exceeded 24 months (FTE) of your PhD by 31 March 2026. Applicants who have exceeded 24 months (FTE) by this date will not be eligible to apply.
- remain enrolled full-time in the PhD program for the duration of the Fellowship.
You're not eligible if you:
- are a Google employee, or are a spouse, child, or member of a Google employee's household.
- are already supported by a comparable industry award. Government or non-profit organisation funding is exempt.
- are a previous Google Fellowship awardee.
- have exceeded 24 months (FTE) in your PhD by 31 March 2026.
Additional benefits
In addition to the funding, you also would receive a Google Research Mentor.
How to apply
Applications for nomination to Google by UQ close at 11:59pm on Sunday 19 April 2026.
Applicants to provide in one PDF file a copy of the following documents in the following order:
- Academic CV with links to website and publications (if available)
- Transcripts of current and previous academic records
- 1-2 letters of recommendation from those familiar with your work (one must be from your Principal Advisor)
- Research / dissertation proposal including references (maximum 3 pages, excluding references). Research should align with Google AI Principles (see Google PhD Fellowship FAQs for more information on how applications are evaluated).
- Our closing date of 19 April is based on the requirement to review all applications received and nominate two applicants to Google by the scheme’s closing date of 30 April.