Aim and Benefits of Microsoft Research Fellowship for Academic Scholars

• The Microsoft Research Fellowship is designed to create meaningful opportunities for collaboration between academic researchers and Microsoft Research. These opportunities will vary by research challenge and may include working sessions, regular check-ins, asynchronous collaboration, workshops, and other formats tailored to the nature of the research.

  All funds are distributed as unrestricted gifts as a one-time payment made directly to the institution/university and disbursed according to the institution/ university policies. Direct payments to individuals are not made by the program.

  Funding amounts vary by the region a fellows’ organization/institution of employment is located in.

  • Africa – $17,000 (USD)
  • Australia & New Zealand – $17,000 (USD)
  • Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico – $17,000 (USD)
  • Canada – $47,000 (USD)
  • Europe – $27,000 (USD)
  • India – $17,000 (USD)
  • Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan – $17,000 (USD)
  • United States – $47,000 (USD)

  These stipend amounts include travel funding to support in-person collaboration. Fellows may use this funding to visit Microsoft Research principal investigators and collaborators at a Microsoft Research lab or office.

  All payments will be distributed in March/April 2026. If selected, Microsoft will work with respective departmental finance liaisons to transfer funds.

  *Stipend rates are reviewed annually and benchmarked against comparable fellowship programs in each geography to ensure competitive alignment. 

Requirements for Microsoft Research Fellowship for Academic Scholars Qualification

Student Eligibility

• Students may submit proposals on their own behalf. See “How to Apply” for more details
• Students must be actively pursuing a PhD at an accredited institution
• Students must be enrolled at a degree-granting university in one of the following regions: Africa; Australia & New Zealand; Canada; Europe; India; Hong Kong; Japan; Korea; Singapore; Taiwan; Argentina; Brazil; Chile; Colombi; Mexico; Puerto Rico; or the United States

Interview date, Process and Venue for Microsoft Research Fellowship for Academic Scholars

Key dates:

• Call for proposals: Tuesday, November 4, 2025
• Proposal submission deadline: Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET
• Proposal notifications sent by: Tuesday, February 10, 2026