NSF launches PhD pilot with one year of dissertation research based in industry

NSF launches PhD pilot with one year of dissertation research based in industry

On July 29, the U.S. National Science Foundation announced the UIDP I-PhD pilot, a five-year, $47 million program that will provide four years of training to more than 250 STEM doctoral students. An industry partner will fund at least one year of applied dissertation research, and each student will have both university and industry research advisers.

NSF provides specific context for this model: among engineering, physical sciences, computer sciences, and information sciences graduates with a known employment sector, more than 65% work in industry. UIDP I-PhD connects universities and companies while doctoral students are still developing their dissertation topics and research skills.

The pilot is administered by the University-Industry Demonstration Partnership, a consortium of universities and companies. The university funds the first year of training, and NSF funds the subsequent years. The industry partner funds at least one year of applied research. During that year, the doctoral student conducts research for their own dissertation at the company’s facilities.

The company funds the student’s dissertation research and helps supervise it. This is not a conventional internship. Each participant will have an academic adviser and an industry adviser. The university and company will jointly determine how the research contributes to the student’s degree program.

The industry research is part of the degree itself, including the dissertation, funding, and research supervision. The pilot places collaboration with a company within the researcher’s doctoral training instead of treating it as a separate episode after the dissertation defense.

The first cohort will begin training in fall 2026. NSF has allocated funding for a five-year pilot. Its first wave will include more than 250 doctoral students across the country.