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The Two Sigma PhD Fellowship supports doctoral students pursuing a PhD in a STEM field such as Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics and Finance/Econometrics at an accredited university in the United States. Applications are assessed based on the student’s research proposal, publications and recommendation letters.

Tuition and fees plus a stipend for living expenses are covered for 2 consecutive academic years in the form of an unrestricted gift paid directly to the university. (The total award will not exceed $75,000 USD per Academic year.) Fellowship recipients will also receive a one-time award of $10,000 USD paid to the Fellowship recipient directly which, as a condition of the fellowship, may only be used for tuition, fees required to enroll at or attend their university, and/or books, supplies, equipment, and course-related fees for courses at their university. Runners-up will receive a one-time award of $10,000 USD paid to the Fellowship recipient directly which, as a condition of the fellowship, may only be used for tuition, fees required to enroll at or attend their university, and/or books, supplies, equipment, and course-related fees for courses at their university. A Two Sigma Research Mentor will also be assigned to the Fellowship recipient and Runner-ups. 

Two Sigma is interested in students studying the following disciplines:

• Statistics – Topics of interest include: statistical learning, statistical inference, Bayesian statistics, optimization, time series analysis, high dimensional statistics, non-parametric statistics.
• Computer Science – Topics of interest include: machine learning & artificial intelligence, deep learning, reinforcement learning, natural language processing, computer vision, robotics, computational biology
• Physics –Topics of interest include: applications of machine learning, simulation and big data techniques to physics, including particle physics, astrophysics, condensed matter.
• Applied Mathematics – Topics of interest include: linear / nonlinear optimization, numerical analysis, financial mathematics, operations research, probability,  differential equations, signal processing.
• Finance/Econometrics – Topics of interest include: machine learning & empirical asset pricing, game theory, market microstructures, agent based models, behavioral finance, quantitative finance, volatility modeling and forecast, optimal execution, portfolio optimization, derivatives modeling, high frequency econometrics, theoretical asset pricing dynamic equilibrium models, stochastic models, option pricing, credit risk modeling, asset covariance estimation, inference, high-dimensional data, financial optimization-optimal execution, portfolio optimization, optimal hedging.

The Siebel School can nominate up to 6 PhD students. One of the goals of the Two Sigma PhD Fellowship is to increase opportunities for students underrepresented in technology; they strongly encourage that nominations include women, LGBTQIA+ people, and those from ethnic and racial backgrounds that remain under-represented in technology.

For more information, please read the 2024 Two Sigma PhD Fellowship Page: https://www.twosigma.com/community/academic-partnerships/graduate-students/phd-fellowships/ 

ELIGIBILITY

• Full-time students currently pursuing a PhD at an accredited university in the United States.
• At least their 3rd year of a PhD program when the Fellowship begins (Fall semester or quarter 2025).
• Research must be relevant to one of the disciplines listed above.

• Two Sigma employees, contractors/consultants and relatives are not eligible.

• Students that are already supported by another industry fellowship are not eligible. Government or non-profit organization funding is exempt. 

REQUIRED MATERIALS

Required Materials:

1. Application Cover Page & Eligibility Verification – download this file to include as the first page in your application. 
2. Current Resume - must include current contact information (email, phone, and mailing address). Please submit as a .PDF file with the title: “Student Last Name, Student First Name Resume”. 
3. Research Proposal – listing your main area of focus, relevance to the field and its applicability to Two Sigma (500 word max). This word count does not include resources/listed references. Please submit as a .PDF file with the title: “Student Last Name, Student First Name Research Proposal”. 
4. Transcripts - academic transcripts from your PhD graduate degree only for all years. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. Please ensure the transcript you submit is not password protected. Note: Transcripts can be found here: https://registrar.illinois.edu/transcripts/. Please submit as a .PDF file with the title: “Student Last Name, Student First Name Transcript”. 
5. Letters of Recommendation (2 required) – one must be from your current academic advisor, and the other must be from a past advisor or other academic reference (for example, a professor in the Siebel School or a related department who is familiar with your research). Letter writers provide letters directly to awardsinfo@cs.illinois.edu.

Materials All materials, including letters of recommendation, should be submitted by TBD Sunday, October 20th at 11:59PM CT to awardsinfo@cs.illinois.edu.

A maximum of six candidates per department may be nominated.

Note: Letters of recommendation should be sent from the letter writer directly to awardsinfo@cs.illinois.edu. Students, your single application email should include items 1-4. We recommend that students submit their resumes and statement(s) to their letter writers at least a week prior to the deadline.