Georgia Tech President's Fellowship
The Georgia Tech President's Fellowship is a top-up award for elite PhD admits across the institute's engineering, computing, and science colleges. It adds USD 8,000+ per year to the standard departmental Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) for the first four years of PhD study, alongside a tuition waiver — bringing the typical Sri Lankan PhD package to USD 38,000-42,000 annually. The fellowship is nomination-only — departments nominate their top admits to the central Graduate Studies office, which selects roughly 80-100 President's Fellows per year.
Georgia Institute of Technology
University-funded
emoji_events Award Overview
Value
Tuition + USD 8,000/yr Top-Up
Duration
Up to 4 Years (PhD)
Awards
Around 80-100 per Year
fact_check Eligibility Criteria
PhD Admission to Georgia Tech
You must be admitted to a PhD programme at Georgia Tech. The President's Fellowship is not awarded to Master's students. Most fellows come from the Colleges of Engineering, Computing, Sciences, and Design.
Top Tier of the Admit Pool
Departments nominate only their highest-ranked admits — typically the top 10-15% by GRE / GPA / research record. Sri Lankan applicants from Moratuwa, Colombo, or Peradeniya with publications and strong recommendations from internationally-recognised faculty are competitive.
Departmental Nomination
There is no separate application from the candidate's side. Your PhD department nominates you internally to Georgia Tech's Graduate Studies office. Strong communication with your prospective advisor during admissions is the key lever.
English Proficiency
TOEFL iBT 100+ (writing 22+) or IELTS 7.5+. Waivers are not generally granted at PhD level — Sri Lankan applicants should plan to test at least 6 months ahead of the deadline.
account_tree Application Process
Contact prospective advisors
Identify Georgia Tech faculty whose research aligns with your interests and email them 3-6 months before the application deadline. Strong advisor support during departmental ranking is critical — most President's Fellows are championed by their future advisor.
Submit the PhD application
Apply through the Georgia Tech graduate admissions portal by the departmental deadline (most STEM departments: 15 December 2026 or 15 January 2027). The same application is used for both admission and fellowship nomination.
Departmental ranking and nomination
Departments review admits in January–February and nominate top candidates to the Graduate Studies office. Most nominations are confirmed by mid-February.
Central selection in March
The institute-level committee finalises President's Fellows in March. Successful admits receive a fellowship letter detailing the four-year package alongside the standard admission and GRA offer.
Why Georgia Tech?
Georgia Tech is one of the top US engineering and computing universities — top 5 in the US for engineering and a leader in computer science, robotics, and industrial engineering. Its Atlanta campus connects directly to a thriving tech industry (Microsoft, Google, Delta, Coca-Cola) and a large South Asian engineering graduate community.
#88
QS World Ranking 2026
Top 5
US Engineering Schools
~90
Fellows per Year
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