Hertz Fellowship

The Hertz Fellowship is one of the most prestigious and financially generous doctoral fellowships in the United States. Funded by the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, the fellowship supports PhD students whose work has the potential for real-world application in the physical, biological, and engineering sciences. The foundation was established in 1957 by John Hertz (founder of the Hertz car rental company and Yellow Cab) with a mission to support America's most promising applied scientists and engineers.

The fellowship provides a personal stipend of $50,000 per year for up to five years, plus full tuition at one of the foundation's partner universities. The total value can exceed $250,000, making it one of the largest individual graduate fellowships available. Critically, the Hertz Fellowship allows recipients to pursue any research direction — there are no restrictions on topic, and fellows are free to change advisors or even fields during their PhD.

Hertz Fellows form a community of approximately 1,200 alumni, many of whom have gone on to become leaders in science, technology, and policy. The community includes Nobel laureates, MacArthur Fellows, National Academy members, and founders of major technology companies. The fellowship is known for its rigorous and unusual selection process, which emphasizes creative problem-solving and independent thinking over conventional metrics.