Microsoft Research Fellowship
Table of Contents
The Microsoft Research Fellowship creates opportunities for academic scholars (faculty, PhD students and postdocs) to collaborate with Microsoft Research on open research challenges that advance scientific understanding, drive innovation and deliver societal benefit.
In an era of rapid innovation, this fellowship brings together academia and industrial researchers across disciplines to shape the future through open research collaborations. Academic collaboration is foundational to advancing scientific discovery, and today, it’s more critical than ever. Academic institutions contribute deep domain expertise, novel perspectives and a culture of exploration. Microsoft Research’s global labs offer deep technical expertise, cutting-edge academic inquiry and real-world application. By working together, we can accelerate innovation, promote responsible development and address complex challenges that can best be solved through interdisciplinary exploration.
Visit the Microsoft Research Fellowship website for more information.
This program is currently closed. The details below reflect the previous call and are for general information purposes only.
Value and Duration
A one-time gift of USD $47,000 is available for projects that align with specific research challenges.
Each research challenge has different eligibility rules (e.g., faculty, post-doc or PhD applicants, or a combination thereof). Please check the individual challenges for more details.
Eligibility
- Professors, assistant professors and associate professors may submit a proposal on their own behalf.
- Proposals submitted by eligible faculty should also identify a student to be involved in the collaboration. If selected, both the faculty member and student will be named as Fellows.
- Faculty must have received their terminal degree (e.g., PhD, DSc). A terminal degree is defined as the highest-level college degree that can be achieved within your academic discipline or professional field.
- All faculty members and students listed in the proposal must be employed or enrolled at a degree-granting university located in one of the following regions: Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Europe, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico or the United States.
Deadlines
- Applicants are encouraged to discuss this funding opportunity with their Faculty Research Facilitator.
- Office of the Vice-President (Research, Innovation and International) (OVPRII) Approval Form and application deadline: November 24, 2025
- Submission to sponsor: December 2, 2025 by 11:59 p.m. (ET)
- Proposal notifications sent by: February 10, 2026
Special Considerations
- All submissions should be submitted in English by the candidate (self-submission). Incomplete applications will not be considered.
- Please do not add additional requests for budget, as these will not be considered under the guidelines of this fellowship.
- Proposals submitted to Microsoft will not be returned. Microsoft cannot assume responsibility for the confidentiality of information in submitted applications. Therefore, proposals should not contain information that is confidential, restricted or sensitive.
Submitting Your Application
- Submit an internal Approval Form through our central awards management database cuResearch.
- All components of the application must be submitted online through the Microsoft Portal, where additional documents and details regarding the application process, including the Letter of Intent and list of required components, can be found.
Contact Us
Heloise Emdon: Heloise.Emdon@carleton.ca