NVIDIA opens applications for $60,000 graduate fellowships in AI and accelerated computing

NVIDIA has announced that its Graduate Fellowship Program is now accepting applications for the 2026-2027 academic year. The initiative offers grants of up to $60,000 per student alongside mentorship and technical support. Open to doctoral candidates worldwide, the program prioritizes research in AI, machine learning, autonomous vehicles, computer graphics, robotics, healthcare, and high-performance computing.

Applicants must have completed at least their first year of Ph.D.-level study and commit to a mandatory in-person internship at an NVIDIA research office during summer 2026. The application deadline is September 15, 2025, according to the company's blog post from August 13, 2025.

Since launching in 2002, the program has awarded over 200 grants totaling more than $7.3 million. The internship requirement suggests the program functions partly as a recruitment and evaluation mechanism, allowing NVIDIA to engage early-career researchers before the fellowship year begins.