Apple Scholars in AI/ML 2026 - Call for Applications (2025)

The Apple Scholars in AI/ML PhD fellowship program recognizes the contributions of emerging leaders in computer science and engineering at the graduate and postgraduate level. The PhD fellowship in AI/ML was created as part of the Apple Scholars program to support the work of outstanding doctoral candidates from around the world, who are pursuing cutting edge research in machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Apple has announced the PhD Fellowships in AI/ML 2026 program. Nominees should be pursuing research in one or more of the following research areas:

• Privacy preserving machine learning
• Human centred AI
• AI for ethics and fairness
• AI for accessibility
• AI for health and wellness
• ML theory
• ML algorithms and architectures
• Interactive ML and agents
• Speech and natural language
• Computer vision
• Information retrieval, ranking and knowledge
• Data-centric AI

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirments
• Application Documents
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineAugust 1, 2025
• Study LevelPostdoctoral Fellowships
• SponsorApple Inc.
• School to studyTechnical University of Munich
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

The fellowship award comprises

• A generous stipend for (2) academic years to help with actual living expenses and related expenses
• $5,000 USD travel grant each year to support research-related travel and associated expenses
• Mentorship with an Apple researcher 

All monetary gifts are disbursed to the nominating university annually at the beginning of each academic year, and are conditional upon the Apple Scholar’s full time enrollment with the university for the upcoming year to which the monetary gifts would apply and continuing to meet the eligibility criteria.

The award of the Apple Scholar in AI/ML PhD fellowship does not represent an employer/ employee relationship between Apple and the receiving university and/or student. Apple Scholars may separately be invited to apply for Apple internships; participating in an internship is not a requirement or a guarantee of the fellowship.

Requirements

Please note, in order to be eligible:

• Applicant must be fully registered on the doctoral candidacy list of their School (in DocGS) and be a full member in the TUM Graduate School at the time of application and expect to be enrolled through the end of the 2026/2027 academic year
• Applicant should be entering their last 2-3 years of the doctorate as of Fall 2025.
• Applicant must not hold an equivalent industry-sponsored full fellowship while they are an Apple Scholar in AI/ML (Fall 2026 to Summer 2028)

All information submitted by TUM will only be used by Apple for the purposes of conducting the PhD Fellowship in AI/ML program, and will at all times be handled in accordance with Apple’s Privacy Policy.

Application Documents

1. CV and publication list
2. Research Abstract (200 word maximum)
3. Research statement covering past work and proposed direction for next 2 years (4 page maximum, including citations, in a legible font size) clearly stating the hypothesis and expected contributions to the chosen research area. Personally identifiable information is redacted for phase one reviewers. We recommend not including personally identifiable information in the main body of the research statement in order to maintain research statement clarity for reviewers of the redacted copy.
4. Two letter of recommendation, one from current supervisor (1 page maximum per letter)
5. Transcripts of current and previous academic records (Bachelor, Masters)
6. Nominee’s estimated tuition and fees (including enrollment, health insurance, and books) for the nominee’s 2025-2026 academic year (or doctoral candidates bursary stipend, if regionally appropriate). The amount entered will be used for planning purposes only, and will not impact final Scholar recommendations and/or the actual gift amount, if awarded.

Documents must be submitted as PDF’s with the file naming convention: “Last name, First name: Research Statement”; “Last name, First name: Resume”; “Last name, First name: Letters of recommendation” etc. (this document should include both letters of recommendation combined into a single PDF)

Application Deadline

How To Apply

Nomination by TUM Graduate School only. 

In order to apply, please submit the complete application documents in separate PDF files to Marina Schmidt [email protected], until 1 August 2025. Applications must be submitted by the primary thesis supervisor.

After the application deadline, the TUM Graduate School Prize Committee shall nominate the 3 most promising candidates for the Apple PhD Fellowship 2026 in AI/ML.

Contact: Marina Schmidt | [email protected] | 089 289 10624, TUM Graduate School, Boltzmannstr. 17, 85748 Garching b. München

For more information, kindly visit Technical University of Munich scholarship webpage.