Benefits and Applying
Benefits and Applying
AWARE-AI Trainees will experience carefully curated and career-enhancing activities that directly address skill gaps in graduate AI curricula.
The AWARE-AI NRT Program is committed to training an inclusive and diverse AI scientific workforce. Women, Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, and African American, Latino/a American, or Native American graduate students are especially encouraged to apply.
Benefits of AWARE-AI NRT Traineeships
All Trainees receive:
- Conference travel support of up to $1440 to deliver presentations on their NRT research
- Meals at onboarding, winter retreat, and hackathons
- Mentoring support and career coaching
- Access to training activities (see Activities and Events)
- Access to community-building activities
Trainees with fellowships also receive:
- Graduate research assistantships $34,000 for their NRT Fellowship Year (paid over 12 months)
- Travel support to visit Minority Serving Institutions to encourage networking and careers in academia
After completion of the NRT Year, Trainees remain eligible for:
- NRT research seed funding competitions (announced on the website)
- Leadership positions on Trainee Council
- Peer-mentoring roles at select events with meals provided
- Continued mentoring support and career coaching
- Receiving the AWARE-AI NRT certificate of completion prior to graduation
Training Opportunities
| Training Opportunities | Trainees with fellowship |
Trainees without fellowship |
Other students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research in Track and Faculty Mentoring | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Travel support | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Lab Rotations | ✓ | Eligible (once) | |
| National Lab and Industry Internships | ✓ | Eligible | |
| Travel to Minority Serving Institutions | ✓ | ||
| Seed Grant Projects (until gradation) | Eligible | Eligible | |
| Trainee Council and Peer-Mentoring (until gradation) | Eligible | Eligible | |
| Winter Retreat Tutorials | ✓ | ✓ | Open |
| Mentor Café | ✓ | ✓ | Open |
| Human Factors in AI Course | ✓ | ✓ | Open |
| Spring Roundtables on Advanced AI Practices (until gradation) | ✓ | ✓ | Open |
| D&I Competency Workshops | ✓ | ✓ | Open |
| Essential Skills Workshops: Communication, Ethics, Teamwork | ✓ | ✓ | Open |
| AI Hackathons | ✓ | ✓ | Open |
| CHAI Seminars | ✓ | ✓ | Open |
| Database Submissions | Eligible | Eligible | Eligible |
Important Dates and Application Materials
Applications due for primary consideration: March 1
Notification: April/Rolling
Start of program: August 17-19 onboarding with semester starting on August 22
Application materials to submit:
- Complete application form
- Upload CV
- Upload a cover letter describing your motivation for applying to become an AWARE-AI Trainee and how it will enable your career goals. It should discuss your preferred research track and summarize your research and training plan.
- Provide the name and email of your primary research advisor (or an alternative recommender if you do not yet have a research advisor) and arrange for the recommendation letter to be sent to awareainrt@rit.edu by March 1.
Eligible Graduate Programs
To apply to become a Trainee, you must be an RIT student associated with one of the following eligible PhD and MS on-campus programs in Rochester, NY.
In addition, to be considered for a Trainee position with a funded $34,000 fellowship, you must be a US citizen, national or permanent resident.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. DGE-2125362. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.