Meta Research PhD Fellowship

Meta Research PhD Fellowship Cohort

Offers a research fellowship stream for doctoral candidates in virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and systems research.

The Meta Research PhD Fellowship is an annual competitive fellowship program that funds outstanding doctoral students pursuing research aligned with Meta's technology priorities. For the 2026–27 cohort, the fellowship provides winners with a $42,000 annual stipend to cover living expenses and conference travel, two full years of tuition and fees paid directly to the student's university, a paid visit to Meta headquarters for the Fellowship Summit, and structured engagement and mentorship opportunities with Meta researchers. The fellowship is a two-year award, with funding paid annually over the duration.

Eligibility is open to PhD students at any stage of their doctoral program at institutions worldwide — there is no restriction to US universities or US citizenship. Research must align with one of 24 published topic areas spanning AR/VR hardware and software (including battery, wireless, HCI, computer graphics, photonics, and audio), AI systems hardware/software co-design, database systems, distributed systems, privacy and security, networking, programming languages, applied statistics, computational social science, economics and computation, technology policy, and HCI focused on social media and society. Applicants who cannot directly map their work to one of these 24 areas are advised to wait for future cycles. The program strongly encourages applications from candidates belonging to underrepresented minority groups. Two recommendation letters are required, including one from the doctoral advisor.

Applications open August 3 each year and close September 20, with reference letters due October 6 and winners notified January 18. Proposals are evaluated on strength of the research statement, potential research impact, and quality of recommendation letters. The annual cycle repeats each year; the next cohort cycle opens August 2026 for the 2027 cohort. Successful applicants should apply early in the window to ensure recommenders have adequate time to submit letters before the October 6 deadline.