Applications are invited from eligible candidates for the fully funded Meta Research PhD Fellowship Program 2023.

About Meta Research PhD Fellowship

The Meta Research PhD Fellowship is a global program designed to encourage and support promising doctoral students who are engaged in innovative and relevant research in areas related to computer science and engineering at an accredited university.

The program is open to students in any year of their PhD study. We also encourage people of diverse backgrounds and experiences to apply, especially those from traditionally under-represented minority groups. Applications are evaluated based on the strength of the student’s research statement, publication record, and recommendation letters.

Eligibility Criteria

You are eligible to apply for the program as long as you are:

  • Enrolled in a PhD program at an accredited university in the fall following the application cycle (i.e., Fall 2023)
  • Engaged in research related to computer science and engineering in areas relevant to Meta, as specified in the Available Fellowships section

The program is open to students at all accredited universities around the world.

You would not be eligible if you are:

  • Graduating before the fall following each application cycle
  • Planning on working at another competitor company part-time while participating in the Fellowship
  • A contingent worker at Meta. We cannot pay the CW wage and the stipend concurrently.
  • A Meta AI Resident
  • Planning on doing a part-time internship with a competitor during the academic year (fall/spring). You can do an internship at another company in the summer before Fellowship or in the summer between academic years during Fellowship. This includes internship extensions into the fall.

They will not be offering awards to candidates whose research is outside the specified research areas described in the Available Fellowships section. Please review each Available Fellowship description carefully to ensure you are aligned with the correct research area.

They are currently unable to provide funding for undergrads, graduates in different disciplines, or alternative funding such as small grants.

Benefits

  • The $42,000 stipend cannot be redirected to the university’s lab as gift funding. Stipends must be paid directly to Fellows.
  • Tuition and stipend/travel funds cannot be combined and paid to the university.
  • Fellows do not receive equipment directly from Meta, but they are free to use their stipend to buy themselves a computer or any equipment necessary for conducting their research.
  • Fellows cannot join Meta’s savings account plans (e.g. 401k, Health Savings Account, etc.) since they are not Meta employees.

Available Fellowships

  • AI System HW SW Co-Design
  • Applied Statistics
  • AR/VR Computer Graphics
  • AR/VR Future Technologies
  • AR/VR Human-Computer Interaction
  • AR/VR Human Understanding
  • AR/VR Photonics and Optics
  • AR/VR Wireless
  • Audio Presence
  • Augmented Reality Audio
  • Computational Social Science
  • Database Systems
  • Distributed Systems
  • Economics and Computation
  • Human Computer Interaction – Social Media, People, & Society
  • Networking
  • Privacy and Data Practices
  • Programming Languages
  • Security and Privacy
  • Technology Policy Research

How to Apply?

Applications Must Include:

  1. CV or resume. There is no page limit to the resume or CV. In this case, it may be worthwhile to have a longer CV to complement your achievements or any publications you would like to share.
  2. Research statement. Statements of research should be 500 words or less and should clearly identify your area of focus, its importance to the field, and its applicability to Meta as it pertains to one of the Available Fellowships. Note that references or citations count toward the 500-word limit. To optimize the word count for research statements, references and citations should be added to CVs, which do not have a word or page limit.
  3. Two letters of recommendation. One of the letters of recommendation needs to come from a PhD advisor or a research advisor. The other may come from another professor or an industry contact.

Application Process

  • The 2023 application opens on August 3, 2022, at 9:00am PDT. Applicants may prepare to apply by creating a SurveyMonkey Apply account. During the application process, applicants will be asked to provide references’ contact information. Once the application is submitted, references will receive an email to upload their letters in SurveyMonkey Apply by October 6, 2022. Please visit SurveyMonkey Apply for more information on references and how to apply.
  • Applications close on September 20, 2022. After the application deadline, changes to applications will no longer be accepted. There is no interview associated with the Fellowship review process.
  • Winners are notified in mid-January 2023. Winners will be announced on the Meta Research blog. Due to the volume of submissions, we’re unable to provide individual feedback on proposals.

Application Deadline

September 20, 2022

Click here to view the official notification for the Meta Research PhD Fellowship Program 2023.