Schmidt Science Fellows
The Schmidt Science Fellows program brings together the world’s best emerging scientists and places them in a postdoctoral fellowship in a field different from their existing expertise.
Overview
Schmidt Science Fellows brings together the brightest minds who have completed a PhD in the natural sciences, mathematics, engineering, or computing, and places them in a fellowship in a field different from their existing expertise. The program funds training for the scientists and the research they undertake, and creates a community of interdisciplinary leaders. The program is an initiative of Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust.
Our impact
The Schmidt Science Fellows’ impact in the world includes:
We are Schmidt Science Fellows
2022 cohort selection process
Nominations March - July 1, 2021
Each of the selected institutions is invited to nominate a small number of their most exceptional PhD students. Institutions will use their own internal processes to choose nominees who will then be issued with a unique authorization code to access our application portal to register their intent to apply.
Application Deadline August 31, 2021
Nominated individuals will then complete a full application. Applications will consist of a candidate’s academic history, including transcripts, current CV with details of relevant publications, at least three (but no more than five) letters of recommendation, a personal statement outlining their motivations, a brief description of their PhD research, a proposal outlining their future research plans, and three short outlines of potential labs in which they may carry out this research.
Review begins September 1, 2021
Application packages will then undergo an Academic Review by discipline-specific panels of senior researchers to determine which candidates should progress to the final stage.
Cohort Selection March 1, 2022
Finalists will be invited to an online panel interview with senior figures from academia, business, and society.
Featured fellows
Peyton Greenside
Peyton co-founded BigHat Biosciences, which aims to improve human health by making it easier to design advanced antibody therapeutics. She was recently named one of the 2021 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley.
Fahim Farzadfard
Fahim combines interests in life and physical sciences and, following a Schmidt Science Fellows-supported postdoc at MIT, is now co-founder of two start-ups that have raised more than $7m combined.
Hal Holmes
Hal aims to tackle illegal trade in endangered species products. He learned new techniques in a cancer lab supported by the Fellowship and has worked with Fahim Farzadfard to turn his technology towards detecting COVID-19.
Shriya Srinivasan
Shriya led work as part of a team that developed ways for ventilators to be shared safely by COVID-19 patients. The iSave system has been implemented in hospitals in Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
