• Up to 2 year Fellowship with a monetary award
• $85K USD per year towards education costs (tuition and fees), living expenses, travel, and personal equipment

Applicants must:

• Be full-time graduate students pursuing a PhD in one of the research areas (see below).
• Not be Google employees, their spouses, children, or members of their household.

Recipients must:

• Have completed all graduate coursework by the time the Fellowship begins.
• Remain enrolled full-time in the PhD program for the duration of the Fellowship or forfeit the award.
• Not be already supported by a comparable industry award (government or non-profit organization funding is exempt).

Note: Past Google PhD Fellowship awardees are not eligible to apply again.

• 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 Language
• Systems, Networking, and Cloud Computing

Complete research area descriptions can be found on their website.

Applications are evaluated on the strength of the research proposal, research impact, student academic achievements, and leadership potential. Research proposals are evaluated for innovative concepts that are relevant to Google’s research areas, as well as aspects of robustness and potential impact to the field. The proposal should include the direction and any plans for where the applicant’s work is going in addition to a comprehensive description of the research they are pursuing.

Essay responses are evaluated in addition to application materials to determine an overall recommendation.

Research should align with Google AI Principles.

McMaster University may submit up to four (4) nominations. Given the extremely competitive and prestigious nature of this international award, SGS reserves to right to forward only those applications that are deemed to be competitive by the review committee.

Applicants must submit an electronic copy of their completed application as a single flat (not portfolio) PDF to the MacDrive application upload link by April 6, 2026, with the file name _Department _APPLICANT LAST NAME _Google 2026.

A complete application package will include the following items in the order listed below:

1. Cover sheet (on letterhead) signed by the Department Chair or designate confirming that the student passes the eligibility requirements, including the research area(s) of focus in order of relevance (to be supplied by the department to the applicant before the deadline).
2. Student CV with links to websites and publications (if available).
3. Short (1-page) CV of the student’s primary supervisor.
4. Research / dissertation proposal (maximum 3 pages, excluding references).
5. Student (research) essay response (maximum 350 words): Describe the desired impact your research will make on the field and society, and why this is important to you. Include any personal, educational and/or professional experiences that have motivated your research interests.
6. Student (leadership) essay response (maximum 350 words): Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time. (A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking the lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities? Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church, in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t unnecessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help or take care of your family?)
7. Official transcripts for all current and previous undergraduate and graduate studies to date.
8. 2-3 letters of recommendation from those familiar with the nominee’s work (at least one must be from the applicant’s thesis advisor). Note: These letters must be signed and on letterhead.

Reference Letters

Letters of recommendation must be submitted by each referee as a PDF directly to the MacDrive Reference Letter upload link with the file name APPLICANT LAST NAME_Google 2026_REFEREE LAST NAME by the application deadline of April 6, 2026.

The University competition results will be communicated by the SGS Graduate Awards Team mid-May. The results of the international competition will be communicated to nominees by August 31, 2026.