The PhD Scholarship Programme recognises and supports exceptional students who show the potential to make an outstanding contribution to science and computing. This programme supports PhD students in computing and those working at the intersection of computing and other sciences.

• Application deadline: 16 September 2011, 17:00 GMT
• Notification of results: January 2012 

Eligibility Criteria

Only PhD supervisors should apply. If their project is selected, the supervisor has up to one year to find the best possible student for the project.

We usually consider only one application per university department or per laboratory of a national research institution.

Only applications from institutions in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East will be considered.

For an application to be considered, the proposed research must be closely related to the research carried out at Microsoft Research in Cambridge. These research topics are:

• Computational Science
• Computer-Mediated Living
• Constraint Reasoning
• Machine Learning and Perception
• Online Services and Advertising
• Programming Principles and Tools
• Systems and Networking

Application Process

Applications are on a competitive basis and we anticipate a high level of demand for scholarships (the average selection rate is approximately 20 percent).

Applications must be submitted by academic institutions, such as from a PhD supervisor or departmental secretary. We do not accept applications from students directly.

• Applications should contain the following:
  • An online web form that includes contact details of supervisor(s) and possible reviewers.
    Ideally, one of the suggested reviewers should be from Microsoft Research. If no suitable Microsoft researcher can be identified, it may mean that the proposed research project is too far from our areas of interest.
  • A project proposal of maximum six (6) A4 pages in 10-point font, including references.
    Accepted formats: plain text or Microsoft Office Word only.
• The research project proposal should address the following points:
  • Evidence that the research supervisor would be suitable to supervise a PhD student for the proposed research project.
    This may include a short list of the supervisor's recent and relevant publications. Please consider including the URLs of the publications to make it easier for reviewers to find them.
  • Evidence that the department or laboratory offers a suitable environment for research in the proposed area.
  • Basis for the research (motivations and brief state-of-the-art, including key references).
  • Hypothesis under investigation and main aims.
  • Research strategy with significant milestones if identified.
  • Methods of research (for example, main techniques, experiments, and trials).
  • Details of any collaboration with other departments/research bodies.
  • Expected outcomes (for example, software tools).

Applications must be complete, submitted online, and received by the announced deadline to be considered. Proposals received after this deadline will not be considered.

• Access the online PhD Scholarship Application System

Following receipt of the applications, each is carefully reviewed by expert researchers from universities and Microsoft Research. Among the best proposals, those which are most closely related to the research carried out at Microsoft Research in Cambridge are selected. For reference, you may consult the evaluation form sent to reviewers.

Decisions are made solely at the discretion of Microsoft Research and all decisions are final.

Applicants (PhD supervisors) have up to one year (from the date of notification) to propose the best and most suitable student possible to carry out the proposed research project. The student should not have started working toward his or her PhD before September 2011.

After a student is identified, we request a CV and two strong letters of recommendation (in English and preferably not from the supervisor) from professors who are familiar with the student’s work. We may decide to interview the student by telephone.

Each Microsoft scholarship consists of an annual bursary up to a maximum of three years. The amount varies in different countries and may depend on specific arrangement with public research funding agencies. The bursary continues automatically the following years, provided the Scholar meets the requirements of the institution. Payment is made to the institution. The amount of the scholarship is the maximum amount Microsoft Research pays to the institution. For more details, see our terms and conditions. In addition, every Scholar receives a laptop with a selection of software applications.

During the course of their PhD, Scholars are invited to Microsoft Research in Cambridge for an annual Summer School that includes a series of talks of academic interest and posters sessions, which provides the Scholars the opportunity to present their work to Microsoft researchers and a number of Cambridge academics.

Some of the Scholars may also be offered—at the sole discretion of Microsoft Research—an internship in one of the Microsoft Research laboratories. Internships involve working on a project alongside and as part of a team of Microsoft researchers. Scholars are paid during their internship—in addition to their scholarship bursary.