Chainlink Labs
‍Fellowship Program

The Chainlink Labs Fellowship Program recognizes and supports promising PhD students conducting research with transformative potential for the blockchain community.

Support your academic research

Receive support for your studies and advance research in your field with financial backing from Chainlink Labs.

Advance your academic career

Distinguish yourself with official recognition and support from an industry-leading blockchain company.

2022 Fellowship Recipients

Linda Cai

Princeton University

Linda Cai is a PhD candidate in Computer Science at Princeton University, advised by Dr. Matt Weinberg. Linda’s research interests include algorithmic game theory, approximation algorithms, graph algorithms, distributed systems, and theoretical computer science in general.
Sourav Das

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Sourav Das is a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he works with Professor Ling Ren. His research interests include smart contract scalability, distributed key generation, and distributed randomness generation.

2022 Honorable Mentions

Erica Blum

University of Maryland

Peiyao Sheng

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

About the Fellowship Program

The Chainlink Labs Fellowship is available to PhD students in computer science and other related fields at any accredited university and at any stage in their program of study. We encourage applications from researchers with diverse backgrounds and experiences, especially women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minority groups.

Recipients of the fellowship will be awarded paid tuition and fees as well as a $50,000 annual stipend for living expenses and travel for up to two years.

Research areas

Distributed
systems
Information
security
Cryptography
Human-computer
interfaces (HCI)
Blockchains
Game theory /
mechanism design

Application requirements

  • A summary of your research of at most 500 words explaining the importance of your research to the academic community, the key topics of focus that are being researched, and the relevance your research will have on advancing the blockchain ecosystem.
  • Two letters of recommendation discussing your work, skills, and academic performance. At least one letter should come from an academic advisor.
  • Contact information for your provided references. They will be notified via email to submit their letters of recommendation directly to Chainlink Labs.
  • A resume/CV.

Eligibility

  • The applicant must be enrolled as a full-time PhD student at an accredited university in any country by the beginning of the fellowship. International students are welcome to apply.
  • Recipients must remain full-time students for the duration of the fellowship. Students may apply at any stage in their program.
  • Proposed/ongoing research must be related to one or more of the relevant disciplines listed above.
  • Students cannot hold a Chainlink Labs fellowship if they are being actively funded through another sponsorship program. Concurrent funding is not permitted.

Award details

  • Fellowship funds for tuition and fees are delivered to the awardee’s university in the fall term upon receipt of a tuition invoice. Stipends are paid directly to awardees. Awardees are responsible for payment of any applicable taxes on their stipends. In cases where such disbursement of funds is unworkable, alternative arrangements may be considered.
  • Applications, including letters of recommendation, are due by 30 December 2022. Winners will be announced by 13 February 2023.