2025 Hertz Fellowship Application Now Open

The Hertz Foundation has been granting graduate fellowships to the nation’s most extraordinary young minds in science and technology since 1963. Hertz Fellows receive five years of funding, which offers flexibility and freedom from the traditional constraints of graduate training and the independence needed to pursue research to advance our nation’s security and economic vitality.

In addition to financial support, Hertz Fellows gain access to lifelong programming, such as mentoring, events and networking, which has led them to form research collaborations, commercialize technology, and create and invest in early-stage companies together. Fellows also benefit from partnerships with influential organizations in science, technology, national security and philanthropy, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hertz Corporation and the Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group.

“We’re interested in individuals tackling challenging questions in their fields, but also determined to solve big interdisciplinary problems facing the nation and the world. We recognize these individuals come from diverse disciplines and a broad range of academic institutions,” said Derek Haseltine, director of the Hertz Fellowship Program. "If you’re brimming with creativity and scientific curiosity, we encourage you to apply.”

The Hertz Fellowship application closes on Friday, November 1, 2024. Fellowship finalists will be named in February 2025, and fellowship awards will be officially announced in May 2025. 

On August 29, 2024, Hertz Fellowship Director Derek Haseltine will lead an information session along with Hertz Fellows Amani Maina-Kilaas, Maddie Urbanek, and Jennifer Schloss, during which prospective applicants can learn more about the fellowship and strategies for preparing their best application package.

The 2025 class will join an influential network of more than 1,300 Hertz Fellows worldwide who are responsible for some of the most significant scientific and technological progress of the past century, from the recent launch of the James Webb Space Telescope to the development of global defense networks and from advanced medical therapies to computational systems that billions of people use every day. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Hertz Fellows pivoted their research to join the fight, inspired by the moral commitment each new fellow makes to take action in times of national emergency.

Applicants can access a full directory of Hertz Fellows to learn more about individuals from their graduate programs and fields of interest. Among the past recipients of the Hertz Fellowship are Nobel laureate John Mather, a NASA astrophysicist and project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope; Kim Budil, director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Nathan Myhrvold, founder and CEO of Intellectual Ventures, founding director of Microsoft Research and former chief technology officer at Microsoft; Ellen Pawlikowski, retired four-star general, former commander, Air Force Materiel Command; and Dario Amodei, co-founder and chief executive officer at Anthropic, an artificial intelligence safety and research company. 

The Hertz Foundation is dedicated to expanding and accelerating the U.S. pipeline of scientific and technical leadership. Through a rigorous and time-tested selection process, led by Hertz Fellows Philip Welkhoff, director of the malaria program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Anna Bershteyn, associate professor of population health at New York University, the Hertz Fellowship identifies doctoral students with the extraordinary creativity and principled leadership necessary to tackle problems others can’t solve. 

Learn more and apply for the Hertz Fellowship at https://www.hertzfoundation.org/apply.

Founded in 1957, the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation accelerates solutions to the world's most pressing challenges, from enhancing national security to improving human health. Through the Hertz Fellowship, the Foundation identifies the nation's most promising young innovators and disruptors in science and technology, empowering them to become the future leaders who keep our country safe and secure. Today, a community of more than 1,300 Hertz Fellows are a powerful, solution-oriented network of our nation's top scientific minds, working to address complex problems and contributing to the economic vitality of our country.