Beginning this fall, 250 new Ph.D. students from the University of Maryland, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Morgan State University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, and research institutions nationwide will gain hands-on industry research and development experience as part of their graduate education.
This effort is supported by a $47 million NSF investment over five years, along with additional funding from 100+ universities and innovation companies in the University-Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP).
Founded in 2006, the UIDP includes top employers such as AMD, Amazon, Apple, Autodesk, Boeing, Cisco, Constellation Energy, Dell, Dow Chemical, GE Aerospace, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Merck, Microsoft, Nvidia, RTX, Southern Company, MITRE, UL Research Institutes, Varian, Siemens Healthineers, and Zoetis.
The UIDP Industry-Integrated Ph.D. Scholars Program will bring students, their universities, and industry closer together.
The partnership will help prepare America's research talent for the range of careers a Ph.D. opens across the nation's science and technology enterprise, including in academia, industry, government and more.
The new four-year Ph.D. model is designed to broaden participation.
According to the NSF's press release, the UIDP Industry-Integrated Ph.D. Scholars Program enables students to complete their degrees within four years.
The pilot may expand as more partners join and help shape the program. Universities will fund the first year, with NSF covering the remaining years.
Industry partners will provide matching support for at least one year of practical dissertation research at a company site.
Students will be co-advised by academic and industry mentors, equipping them with essential skills for their future careers.
Through this pilot, NSF and UIDP aim to better align U.S. STEM graduate training with industry needs, modernize training for current job markets, and increase investment in a skilled and adaptable workforce.
The program's first cohort will begin graduate studies in Fall 2026, with larger cohorts to follow as program capacity and partner readiness allow.