Simons Announces New Dissertation Fellowship in Mathematics

Jim stands in front of a chalkboard. A mathematical equation is written on the board. — Simons Foundation co-founder and chair emeritus Jim Simons. © Béatrice de Géa

The Simons Foundation has announced the new Simons Dissertation Fellowship in Mathematics to provide research support to excellent graduate students in mathematics in the final years of their Ph.D. program. This program has been created to honor the work of our late co-founder, Jim Simons, and his commitment to supporting great students in the field of mathematics. The Simons Foundation is an in-perpetuity foundation committed to the founder’s vision of supporting mathematics and basic science.

Up to 40 dissertation fellowships will be awarded each year, providing $30,000 in general research support for the student and $2,000 in support for the student’s department, over the course of two years, to coincide with the fourth and fifth year of the student’s Ph.D. program.

To be eligible to apply, an applicant must be enrolled as full-time Ph.D. student in a Ph.D.-granting mathematics department at an institution in the United States and must be in their third year of study. Applicants must apply in the third year of the Ph.D. program. There are no citizenship requirements.

For fellowships starting September 1, 2025, the deadline to apply will be March 31, 2025 at 12 p.m. (noon) EDT. The request for applications (RFA) will open by November 1, 2024. For more information at that time, please contact Liz Roy, senior manager of programs and administration for Mathematics & Physical Sciences, at [email protected], or see the Funding Opportunities section of the foundation’s website.