PhD Fellowships

Supporting Future Leaders in STEM

PhD Fellowship

Two Sigma’s PhD Fellowship is open to all doctoral students who are expanding frontiers in a STEM field such as statistics, applied mathematics, computer science, and physics.
Partnered Fellowship

We offer partnered fellowship opportunities to accredited universities and colleges in the United States to foster greater inclusivity in academia. We are actively seeking partnerships with institutions to establish fellowships for doctoral students who are members of historically underrepresented groups.

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Provisions of the Award

Fellowship recipients will receive an award for two consecutive Academic years (not to exceed $75,000 USD per Academic year) to cover tuition and fees plus a stipend for living expenses, paid directly to the university.
Fellowship recipients will also receive a one-time award of $10,000 USD paid to the Fellowship recipient directly which, as a condition of the fellowship, may only be used for tuition, fees required to enroll at or attend their university, and/or books, supplies, equipment, and course-related fees for courses at their university.
A Two Sigma Research Mentor will be assigned to the Fellowship recipient.

Eligibility

Applications must be on behalf of full-time students currently pursuing a PhD at an accredited university in the United States.
Students must be in at least their 3rd year of a PhD program when the Fellowship begins (fall semester or quarter 2024).
Students’ research must be relevant to one of the disciplines listed below:
- Statistics – Topics of interest include: statistical learning, statistical inference, Bayesian statistics, optimization, time series analysis, high dimensional statistics, non-parametric statistics.
- Computer Science – Topics of interest include: machine learning & artificial intelligence, deep learning, reinforcement learning, natural language processing, computer vision, robotics, computational biology
- Physics –Topics of interest include: applications of machine learning, simulation and big data techniques to physics, including particle physics, astrophysics, condensed matter.
- Applied Mathematics – Topics of interest include: linear / nonlinear optimization, numerical analysis, financial mathematics, operations research, probability, differential equations, signal processing.
- Finance/Econometrics – Topics of interest include: machine learning & empirical asset pricing, game theory, market microstructures, agent based models, behavioral finance, quantitative finance, volatility modeling and forecast, optimal execution, portfolio optimization, derivatives modeling, high frequency econometrics, theoretical asset pricing dynamic equilibrium models, stochastic models, option pricing, credit risk modeling, asset covariance estimation, inference, high-dimensional data, financial optimization-optimal execution, portfolio optimization, optimal hedging.
- Two Sigma employees, contractors/consultants, and relatives are not eligible.
- Students that are already supported by another industry fellowship are not eligible. Government or non-profit organization funding is exempt.

Application

Students must be nominated by the Chair of their department or a designated doctoral faculty member.
All application materials, aside from letters of recommendation, must be submitted on behalf of the nominated student by a faculty or staff member from their department.
Applicants must submit their student’s 500 word (max) research proposal, listing the student’s main area of focus, relevance to the field and its applicability to Two Sigma. This word count does not include resources/listed references. Please submit as a .PDF file with the title: “Student Last Name, Student First Name Research Proposal”.
Applicants must include a current version of the student’s resume, ensuring that a current email, phone number and mailing address are included. Please submit as a .PDF file with the title: “Student Last Name, Student First Name Resume”.
Two letters of recommendation are required for each student– one must be from their current academic advisor, and the other must be from a professor in the department or related department who is familiar with their research.
Applicants must submit their student’s Academic transcripts (PhD Graduate degree only-all years). Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. Please ensure the transcript you submit is not password protected. Please submit as a .PDF file with the title: “Student Last Name, Student First Name Transcript”.
After submitting your application, an email from Two Sigma will automatically be sent to your two provided referrals requesting they submit their letter of recommendation through a separate link and portal. Ask your referrals to check their spam and/or junk inboxes as our emails requesting their letter of recommendation may be flagged as spam. Please notify your referrals to expect this email prior to submitting your application. Your referrals can submit their letters of recommendation until 11:59pm ET on November 17, 2023.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
All nominations and application materials for the Two Sigma PhD Fellowship must be submitted electronically via online application. This link will be available on the website until 11:59pm ET on November 3, 2023. Applications are now closed.

Research Proposal
Experience
Letters of Recommendation
Academic Performance

Applications Open

Applications for the fellowship will become available on the Academic Partnership website on September 1.

Faculty, staff, or the department chair will be able to upload their student’s research proposal, resume, letters of recommendation, and academic transcripts through 11:59pm ET on November 3. References have until 11:59pm ET on November 17 to submit their letters of recommendation.

Applications Close

Applications will close 11:59pm ET on November 3. Reference have until 11:59pm ET on November 17 to submit their letters of recommendation. At that time all inputted information will be considered final and no further changes will be permitted.

Finalists Interviewed

Finalists will be notified of their selection for interview in early February.

Candidates Notified

Following careful evaluation by a panel, winners will be notified of their selection in March.

Recipients Announced

Recipients will be announced on the Two Sigma website and social channels in mid-April.

FAQ

The faculty nomination process and online application period begins on September 1, 2023 and remains open until 11:59pm ET on November 3, 2023. Referrals have until 11:59pm ET on November 17, 2023 to submit their letters of recommendation. Fellowship awards will be decided by March 2024. Fellowship recipients and their universities will receive an email and a letter of congratulations in March/April 2024. Applications are now closed.

All nominations for the Two Sigma PhD Fellowship must be submitted by the designated faculty member or staff member electronically via this link in order to be considered for the Fellowship. The application link will be available on the website until 11:59pm ET on November 3, 2023. Applications are now closed.

A maximum of six nominations per department will be accepted. As one of the goals of the Two Sigma PhD Fellowship is to increase opportunities for students underrepresented in technology, we strongly encourage that nominations include dimensions of diversity that remain under-represented in technology.

Two letters of recommendation are required for each student– one must be from their current academic advisor, and the other must be from a professor in the department or related department who is familiar with their research. The second letter may come from a professor at a different university from the student, but this university must be located in the United States.

Payment of the Fellowship award is made as follows: (i) an award for two consecutive Academic years (not to exceed $75,000 USD per Academic year) will be paid directly to the university per university guidelines and policies; and (ii) a one-time award of $10,000 USD will be paid directly to the Fellowship recipient, subject to the conditions specified above. If the Fellowship recipient is no longer eligible to receive funding pursuant to their university’s guidelines and policies, for example if they transfer to a different university or graduate program, the Fellowship award may cease. The Fellowship award will also be subject to agreement between Two Sigma and the university, and Two Sigma and the recipient, regarding the terms of the Fellowship award, and any applicable university guidelines and legal and compliance restrictions.

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Applications Open

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Finalists Interviewed

Candidates Notified

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PhD Fellowship Recipients

FAQ

PhD Fellowships

The Future of STEM

PhD Fellowship

Partnered Fellowship

Program Details

Evaluation Process

Research Proposal

Experience

Letters of Recommendation

Academic Performance

Timeline

Applications Open

Applications Close

Finalists Interviewed

Candidates Notified

Recipients Announced

FAQ

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