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AWS AI & ML Scholarship program

Get ready for a career in AI with access to scholarships and mentors for students underserved or underrepresented in technology

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Get started with AWS DeepRacer Student

Launch your career with an AWS Scholarship!

Whether you're new to AI or looking to break into the field, the AWS AI & ML Scholarship program, in collaboration with Udacity, helps students globally to learn foundational skills to prepare for careers in technology. Through a comprehensive AI training program designed by AWS experts, students will get hands-on with real-world projects, learn from industry mentors, and access career resources. 

How the scholarship works

The scholarship covers full tuition for Udacity's Nanodegree program. At each stage you will gain AI knowledge and receive coaching from professionals. The program is designed to help anyone get started with Machine Learning (ML) with no prior technical knowledge required. 

Enroll on AWS DeepRacer Student

Free for students 16+ years globally

Complete application prerequisites with AWS DeepRacer Student to prequalify and prepare for the scholarship content. The prerequisites teach you general ML knowledge by building and racing an autonomous vehicle in a 3D simulated environment. 

Review the program skills guide for course outlines and time commitment »

AWS DeepRacer Student

New Generative AI course

Free for all scholarship applicants

Unlock your unique application code and apply on Udacity. By submitting your application, you'll gain free enrollment in the optional course, "Introducing Generative AI with AWS", a $250 USD value! Gain practical knowledge and explore generative AI's applications. 

Generative AI course

Earn a nanodegree scholarship

Scholarship 1 (2,000 students)

Receive skills-based training through the Udacity nanodegree, AI Programming with Python. 2,000 recipients annually are awarded a scholarship ($4,000 USD value) to work on AI projects and learn programming tools. 

Nanodegree scholarship

Advanced scholarship & mentoring

Scholarship 2 (Top 500 students)

Top students completing the AI Programming with Python Nanodegree can earn a scholarship for the advanced AWS ML Fundamentals Nanodegree, covering deep learning and ML engineering concepts, with mentorship from industry experts.

Advanced scholarship & mentoring

Scholarship stories

Hear from scholarship graduates who are defining what a career in technology can look like today.
 

Learn more about their story and envision your own future in tech with the AI & ML Scholarship.

VILIJIA

Vilija Vainaite is breaking barriers for female leaders in technology by co-founding a community to foster growth opportunities for women.

GEDEON

Gedeon Baende is committed to leveraging AI sustainably by building an AI solution to diagnose EV batteries and propose second-life applications to reduce landfill waste.

VANI AGARWAL

Vani Agarwal is charting her own path in AI and moving away from her hometown to pursue academic goals – all while mentoring the next generation. 

JOSÉ TAPIA

José Tapia is applying hands-on learnings from the scholarship program to build a livestreaming device that brings families together using machine learning. 

OLYMPIAH OTIENO

Olympiah Otieno is developing a mobile app that uses image classification to improve crop yield for her community of Nairobi, Kenya.

Apply by September 30!

Apply now

Step 1

Opt in to the scholarship program when signing in to AWS DeepRacer Student

Step 2

Complete prerequisites to unlock your unique application code 

Step 3

Submit your scholarship application on Udacity using your unique code 

2024 Scholarship Dates

The scholarship program works on a cohort-based approach. Each year, two cohorts of 1,000 students are selected (2,000 total). Apply now before applications close on September 30, 2024.

June 1, 2024

Applications open on Udacity for the 2024 second cohort. 

September 30, 2024

Applications close for the 2024 second cohort. 

October 14, 2024

Scholarship winners announced for the second cohort by Udacity. 

October 16, 2024

Nanodegree program AI Programming with Python begins. 

Page topics

General program information
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Program eligibility
5
Scholarship selection
2
Educators
3

General program information

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The AWS AI & ML Scholarship program, in collaboration with Udacity, is an AI/ML-focused scholarship program providing 2,500 Udacity nanodegree scholarships annually, as well as a mentorship program, to students that identify as underserved or underrepresented in technology. The program aims to make the future tech workforce more diverse by removing financial barriers, providing skills training for a career in tech, and offering mentorship support.

The AWS AI & ML Scholarship program uses a free, student-only version of AWS DeepRacer to prequalify participants for the scholarship application. The prerequisites teach students general knowledge on ML, by creating a reinforcement learning model that can achieve a benchmark lap time around a race track. AWS DeepRacer Student provides free learning content, assessments, and the ability to compete in the AWS DeepRacer Student League that helps students learn the skills needed to complete prerequisites. 

No prior knowledge in machine learning, computer science, or car racing is needed. This program is designed to help anyone get started with ML through the engaging concept of racing.

Applications open for the new 2024 AWS AI & ML Scholarship program on February 1, 2024 through Udacity. Students can complete scholarship prerequisites for the 2024 program on AWS DeepRacer Student to unlock their unique code to finish their application. 
AWS AI & ML Scholarship Event Start Date End Date
Applications Open - First Cohort 2/1/2024 5/31/2024
Application Open - Second Cohort 6/1/2024 9/30/2024
Udacity NanoDegree 1 – First Cohort (1000 students) 6/19/2024 10/18/2024
Udacity NanoDegree 1 – Second Cohort (1000 students) 10/16/2024 2/14/2025
Udacity NanoDegree 2 – Combined Cohorts (500 Students) 5/5/2025 10/6/2025

The AWS AI & ML Scholarship program is available globally, except where prohibited by law. See here for official terms and conditions. 

The AWS AI & ML Scholarship program is unique because it uses AWS DeepRacer and corresponding AI/ML training content as a mechanism to inspire, engage, and educate participants in ways no other scholarship program does. Unlike traditional scholarships, all participants, not just winners, benefit from the program by learning the fundamentals of ML, AWS offerings, and the real-world problems that ML solves.

One of the issues those new to ML face is the feeling that ML is out of reach for them. By familiarizing students with cloud and ML offerings in fun and hands-on ways, AWS DeepRacer provides inspiration and confidence students need to not only enroll in STEM fields, but also overcome challenges and successfully graduate. Improved diversity leads to creation of technologies that are more welcoming to the next generations of currently underrepresented groups.

Students need to prequalify on AWS DeepRacer Student and submit their scholarship application on Udacity. Upon completion of their application, Udacity will contact students with steps to enroll in the course “Introducing Generative AI with AWS”.

Udacity nanodegrees are massive open online courses (MOOCs) designed to bridge the gap between learning and career goals. For more details, see What is a Nanodegree Program? in the Udacity support documentation.

The scholarship program skills guide outlines the course concepts, projects, and skills students will learn throughout the program including the Introducing Generative AI with AWS course, AI Programming with Python nanodegree, and AWS ML Fundamentals nanodegree. 

Applicants typically need 1-2 weeks to complete the AWS DeepRacer Student prerequisites and prequalify for the scholarship. The self-paced AI Programming with Python Nanodegree takes 2-4 months, while the more advanced AWS ML Fundamentals Nanodegree takes 3-6 months. The optional Introducing Generative AI on AWS course is estimated at 4 weeks.

No, there are no costs to apply. Additionally, all aspects of AWS DeepRacer Student, the service used to complete the application requisites, is free for students to learn, train, and participate.

The AWS AI & ML Scholarship program works on a cohort-based approach. Each year, two cohorts of 1,000 students are selected. The applications for the first cohort in 2024 are due May 31, 2024 and the applications for the second cohort are due September 30, 2024.

Program eligibility

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Any student over the age of 16 that self identifies as underserved or underrepresented in technology, and is currently enrolled in high school or college, may apply (subject to terms and conditions on Udacity).

Prequalifying for the scholarship is based on two criteria completed on AWS DeepRacer Student:

  1. Review coursework and pass assessments. To qualify you must score 80% or better on all required assessments on AWS DeepRacer Student learning modules. Each assessment is based on different chapters you can find in the Learn section in the AWS DeepRacer Student navigation pane.
  2. Achieve a minimum single lap time. Each month from March to September, a new leaderboard is launched in the AWS DeepRacer Student League, featuring a new track design. To qualify for the scholarship, you will need to complete a single lap in less than 2 minutes on any single leaderboard.

No. Students who prequalify for the AWS AI & ML Scholarship are given access to the application for the Udacity Nanodegree scholarship. Udacity determines which prequalified students are awarded Udacity Nanodegree scholarships.

By opting in to the AWS AI & ML Scholarship at AWS DeepRacer Student registration, students have their progress towards completing the prerequisites tracked automatically in the dashboard section of DeepRacer Student. When a student successfully completes all requirements, they will receive an automated email with a unique application code and instructions to finish their application on Udacity. At the close of each application period, selected recipients will receive an email from Udacity regarding their enrollment.

You may be asked to provide proof of enrollment (such as a college transcript) to receive the AWS AI & ML Scholarship.

Scholarship selection

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Students that successfully complete prerequisites within AWS DeepRacer Student and submit their application on the Udacity website by the submission deadline are considered for the scholarship. Udacity will use a combination of application data, including but not limited to prerequisite knowledge assessments, to determine 2,000 scholarship applicants annually.

To determine the top 500 students, students will be evaluated based on the completion of coursework during the first nanodegree, including course assessments and module completion.

Educators

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Yes, educators are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the free educational content and service on AWS DeepRacer Student. The learning content provided has been curated by AWS ML experts to help students get started with ML, and is a great addition and resource for any computer science and related course.

No, at this time the AWS AI & ML Scholarship program is only open to currently enrolled students at high school, secondary school, and higher education institutions. However, you are encouraged to share the opportunity with your students and help them take advantage of the scholarship opportunity.

To connect regarding AWS DeepRacer Student opportunities, please complete this form and an AWS DeepRacer Student expert will contact you.