{"id":465912,"date":"2018-02-15T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2018-02-15T20:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/?p=465912"},"modified":"2018-02-15T12:04:43","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T20:04:43","slug":"give-dissertation-boost-grant-microsoft-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/blog\/give-dissertation-boost-grant-microsoft-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Give your dissertation a boost with a grant from Microsoft Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Need funding to clear a hurdle in the final stages of your dissertation research? Microsoft Research is offering grants of up to US $25,000 to help a select group of doctoral students cross the finish line and enter the workforce.<\/p>\n

The Microsoft Research Dissertation Grant<\/a> is for PhD students at U.S. and Canadian universities from underrepresented groups in computing, including women, African-Americans\/Blacks, Latinos, American Indians\/Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians\/Pacific Islanders and\/or people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

The program is rooted in organizational management research that shows diverse teams come up with ideas and solutions to problems that more homogenous teams miss, which translates to benefits for industry as well as society. In addition, the technology industry has a shortage of computer scientists. The dissertation grant aims to help deepen and diversify the technology talent pool.<\/p>\n

The grant program targets doctoral students in at least the fourth year of their studies. Students at this later stage of their doctoral work have a sufficiently concrete research plan to articulate specific funding needs. Earlier stage doctoral students should consider the Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship Program<\/a>. I\u2019m also pleased to announced that Microsoft Research is increasing the amount of the research grants up to $25,000 (the limit was up to $20,000 per grant in the program\u2019s first year). We hope that this increase allows the award to have a greater impact on recipients\u2019 research and career development.<\/p>\n

In addition to the requested funds, we provide the dissertation grant recipients travel and lodging support to attend a two-day workshop at Microsoft\u2019s research lab in Redmond, Washington, in the autumn. During the workshop, the students will meet with researchers in their area of expertise and with the lab\u2019s senior leadership. The recipients also have an opportunity to present their findings to a panel of Microsoft researchers who provide feedback on the research and how to talk about it most effectively during their post-PhD job search process.<\/p>\n

Students interested in applying for the Microsoft Research Dissertation Grant<\/a> should submit a description of their dissertation research as well as a budget that details the amount and purpose of the requested funds. Examples from 2017 grant recipients include:<\/p>\n