Microsoft Research AI & Society Fellows

How to apply

The call for proposals has now closed. Recipients will be notified of their acceptance by January 23, 2024.

Please carefully review and consider the below as it relates to the proposal process for the Microsoft Research AI & Society Fellows program. When you are ready to submit a proposal, click on the link below.

Proposal criteria

All proposals should be submitted via the submission portal (see above). Proposals will not be accepted by email.

Each submission will include:

• Candidate information (region, institution, research/work focus, etc.)
• “Statement of Interest” title (80 characters or less)
• Submission of a “Statement of Interest” document.
  • This document should be 3 pages (or less) in length, which may include appendix and citations if applicable. You may include a fourth page with citations and references as part of your Statement of Interest. The total length of this document should not exceed 4 pages total, assuming the fourth page is dedicated to citations/references only.
  • See additional instructions and guidance in the “Statement of Interest Requirements” section below.
• Candidate CV/resume to be uploaded in the submission portal.

A strong submission will:

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the research challenge and its aims for societal impact.
• Describe relevant work/accomplishments, demonstrate the alignment one’s motivation to the research challenge, and outline the potential impact achieve through collaboration.
• Be clearly written, in alignment with program guidelines.
• Consider that readability and clarity are valued in the review process.

Statement of Interest guidelines

• Describe the motivation, or “why”, behind candidate’s interest in research exploration in this research challenge. We are specifically looking for candidates to describe how their research goals and aspirations align to this challenge.
• Description of relevant qualifications, expertise and perspectives the candidate would bring to the research challenge and how this experience would impact the outcomes of this collaboration.
• Detail any relevant areas that you would like to collaborate on with the Microsoft researchers and applied scientists listed as involved in the research challenge and how collaboration could create impact in those areas. 
• Where applicable, include details of any relevant, preliminary research or work that shows progress and investment in this space.

Requirements

• All submissions should be submitted by the candidate (self-submission).
• Please do not add additional requests for budget, as these will not be considered under the guidelines of this fellowship.
• Statement of Interest documents should be a minimum 10-point font with a maximum of 3 pages. You may include a fourth page with citations and references as part of your Statement of Interest. The total length of this document should not exceed 4 pages total, assuming the fourth page is dedicated to citations/references only. Margins should be 1” or wider to ensure readability. Option to submit as word document or PDF file.
• All proposals should be submitted in English.

Additional guidelines

• Applications submitted to Microsoft will not be returned. Microsoft cannot assume responsibility for the confidentiality of information in submitted applications. Therefore, applications should not contain information that is confidential, restricted, or sensitive.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.
• Due to the volume of submissions, Microsoft Research cannot provide individual feedback on applications that do not receive fellowship awards.