UIDP Industry-Integrated PhD Scholars

* The program puts no limit on the number of applications, but it must be submitted by a university official, so this is being treated as a limited submission. In addition, we will need to negotiate an agreement (including IP terms) in advance and so will need to limit the number we put forward.

The UIDP Industry-Integrated PhD (I-PhD) Scholars Program is a U.S. pilot designed to strengthen science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) doctoral education by integrating sustained industry research experience into dissertation-based PhD training. The program provides four years of coordinated doctoral support through shared investment by participating university-industry partnerships, with additional co-funding support from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Directorate (TIP). Universities can submit proposals for an industry partnership that supports one or more students.  To be eligible, a student must be a US citizen or permanent resident, and the research project must fall within NSF-supported STEM fields (see Program Guide, section VI.B).

Participating students receive joint mentorship from academic and industry researchers, and spend at least one year (in aggregate), conducting dissertation-integrated research at an industry site. Students also engage in national cohort-based activities, annual convenings, and professional development opportunities, including a complementary program designed to build competencies for working in industry and cross-sector research environments.

The program’s jointly funded model requires that: the university funds the first year of the PhD, and years 2-4 are funded at a level of $75K/year through a combination of NSF and industry support, where industry contributes at least $100K per student (with $25K up front). UIDP serves as the program sponsor and steward, providing overall coordination, financial oversight, and administration of the pilot. Criteria used by UIDP for selecting projects include geographic diversity and company diversity.

There are opportunities for both FY26 and FY27 awards. While there is no UIDP deadline, UW’s Office of Research would like to get a small number of applications out quickly for a FY26 cohort. We will post a second round for additional applications at a later date. Proposals for a FY26 award (8/27/26 internal deadline) should involve companies that have an active Master Agreement with UW and list current UW students who could be supported starting this fall. Proposals for a FY27 award (deadline to be determined) could be with any company with which the UW has had a successful, recent sponsored research collaboration. To maximize UW opportunities, we hope to get proposals for partnerships with a variety of companies (e.g. both small and large, from different sectors).