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Department Deadline: Thursday, October 22, 2020 by 11:59P
External Deadline: Friday, November 6, 2020

Two Sigma PhD Fellowship

At Two Sigma we understand that diversity drives innovation, and we actively seek to promote the visibility and inclusion of women, LGBTQ people, and those from ethnic and racial backgrounds that remain under-represented in technology. One way we foster greater inclusivity is through the Two Sigma Diversity PhD Fellowship, which supports doctoral students in STEM fields such as Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics and Finance/Econometrics at accredited universities in the U.S. We assess applications based on students’ research proposals, 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.) A Two Sigma Research Mentor will also be assigned to the Fellowship recipient.

Two Sigma is interested in 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 & 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 & forecasting, 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 department can nominate up to 3 PhD students. Their goal is essentially to sponsor outstanding research in STEM fields and therefore establish a long lasting partnership between Faculty, students, and Two Sigma.

2021 Two Sigma PhD Fellowship Page:  https://twosigma.avature.net/eventsignup/eventDetail/New-York-New-York-United-States-20212022-Two-Sigma-PhD-Fellowship/72728906



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titleEligibility
  • 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 2021).
  • 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.

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titleSubmission Details (by 10/22/20 at 11:59P)

Required Materials:

  1. Application Cover Page & Eligibility Verification – download this file to include as the first page in your application. (Student provides)
  2. CV/Resume - include current contact information (email, phone, and mailing address), education, publications, awards, and service. (Student provides)
  3. Research Proposal – listing your main area of focus, relevance to the field and its applicability to Two Sigma (3000 characters/~500 word max) (Student provides)
  4. Transcripts - For Internal Review, unofficial transcripts are fine; however, note that official Academic transcripts (PhD Graduate Degree only, all years) are required if selected for external nomination. (Student provides) Note: Official electronic transcripts can be processed in a single day: https://registrar.illinois.edu/transcripts/.
  5. Letters of Recommendation (2 required) – one must be from your current academic advisor, and the other must be from a professor in the department or related department who is familiar with your research. (Letter writers provide to Michelle Wellens)

Materials should be submitted by 11:59PM on Thursday, October 22, 2020 to Michelle Wellens.

A maximum of three candidates per department may be nominated.

Note: Electronic documents should be submitted as ONE PDF. Letters of recommendation should be sent from the letter writer directly to Michelle Wellens.  Students, your single PDF file should includes items 1-4 and be submitted with the filename as: "Last Name, First Name – Two Sigma Diversity PhD 2021". I recommend that students submit their CVs and statement(s) to their letter writers at least a week prior to the deadline.