Doctorate ACS

Ph.D. Award Contests and Fellowships

Several international organizations and top companies in the “Computers and IT” (CIT) and “System Engineering and Automatic Control” (SE) domains offer scholarships and fellowships of (non-degree) doctoral student research on a yearly basis:

The Fulbright Ph.D. Student Award to the United States 2021-2022

The Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission announces the 2021-2022 Fulbright Student Award competition for research in the United States. Applicants can be Romanian graduates – BA, MA or PhD students – from the University Politehnica of Bucharest.

The Fulbright Student Award provides: international travel, tuition and university fees within established budget limits, books and supplies allowance, accident/sickness insurance and a living stipend for one academic year.

The applicants will be selected through open, merit-based competition to participate in quality graduate level programs in any academic field except the clinical ones (i.e. that include patient contact).

Grant duration: one academic year (9 months, starting August 2021)

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • have Romanian citizenship; green card holders and persons with dual (Romanian and U.S.) citizenship are ineligible;
  • hold at least a Bachelor’s degree;
  • have English proficiency;

Each applicant will be required to submit:

  1. a complete online application: https://apply.iie.org/ffsp2021
  2. three letters of recommendation from university professors and/or other acknowledged Romanian or foreign professionals, submitted directly in the online application by referees or mailed as signed official paper copies (by May 11, 2020, postmarked); the letters of recommendations are also accepted via email (office@fulbright.ro) if they are sent directly by the recommenders as scanned signed documents by May 11, 2020
  3. academic transcripts and diplomas for all undergraduate and graduate levels, accompanied by translations, scanned and uploaded to the online application by May 11, 2020; official paper transcripts should be sent at a later date, only by those who are selected for interview; high-school transcripts and diplomas are not required.

Application deadline: May 11, 2020

Please refer to the COMPLETE ONLINE APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

The standard format of the letter of recommendation is accessible in editable word version here

Note: Only online applications will be accepted. Applicants are also expected to:

  • be representative and responsible citizens, with a demonstrable potential to contribute to the mutual understanding of culture and values in Romania and the U.S;
  • share the acquired professional experience or disseminate results of the research upon return, contributing to their specific area of knowledge;
  • show motivation and flexibility necessary to adapt effectively to life in the United States;

The selection process:

  • applications are subject to pre-screening;
  • the assessment of study/research projects is performed by Fulbright alumni and leading Romanian and U.S. scholars in particular fields of knowledge;
  • the applicants recommended by reviewers will be invited to an interview conducted by a bi-national selection committee, in September 2020;
  • the nominated finalists are subject to final approval by the Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB).

NOTES:

Applicants interested in research programs are expected to be early stage PhD students enrolled in a Romanian or European PhD program by the time of the application.

Candidates who are interested in research scholarships but already have a PhD degree are invited to apply in the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Award competition which opens late May each year.

More details: http://www.fulbright.ro/fulbright-grants/for-romanian-citizens/fulbright-student-award

For further information, please send your inquiries to: office@fulbright.ro

The IBM Two-Year Worldwide PhD Fellowship for the academic years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020

Nominations for IBM PhD Fellowship program (https://www.research.ibm.com/university/awards/fellowships.html)

for the academic year 2021-2022 begin the 3rd week of September 2020 and are accepted for 5 weeks. Notification of the results will take place in March of 2021.

Strong collaboration with faculty, students and universities is vital to IBM. The IBM PhD Fellowship Program advances this collaboration by recognizing and supporting exceptional PhD students who want to make their mark in promising and disruptive technologies. Focus areas include the following topics of particular interest:

  • AI / Cognitive Computing
  • Blockchain
  • Cloud Computing
  • Data Science / Big Data / Analytics
  • Internet of things
  • Quantum Computing
  • Security

Two-year IBM PhD Fellowships are awarded worldwide. A fellowship includes a stipend for two academic years (2021-2022 and 2022-2023). Outside the US, fellowship recipients while in school will receive a competitive stipend for living expenses, travel, and to attend conferences for the two academic years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. Fellowship stipends vary by country.

All IBM PhD Fellowship awardees will be mentored by an IBMer in order to collaborate on a research or technology project for the duration of the award period and are strongly encouraged to do an internship during the first or second year of their award.

Eligibility: Students must be nominated by a doctoral faculty member and must be a full-time student in a PhD program over the two consecutive academic years of the award or forfeit their fellowship. Students should have three years remaining in their graduate program at the time of nomination. For example, nominees that are enrolled in a four year graduate program should have completed two years of their graduate program as of summer 2020 in order to benefit the most. Award recipients will be selected based on their overall potential for research excellence, the degree to which their technical interests align with those of IBM, and their academic progress to – date, as evidenced by publications and endorsements from their faculty advisor and department head. Students receiving a comparable fellowship or internship from another company or institution (does not include academic scholarships) during the same IBM funded academic period may not be eligible for an IBM PhD Fellowship.