PyTorch Scholarship Challenge from Facebook

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the "PyTorch Scholarship Challenge from Facebook"?

  Together with Udacity, Facebook is investing in a scholarship program that will enable students to acquire cutting-edge skills in deep learning using Pytorch, a popular, fast-growing open-source deep learning framework that provides a seamless path from AI research to production deployment. Selected applicants will be enrolled in a Foundations Course, which is “Introduction to Deep Learning with PyTorch.” 100 students will go on to earn full scholarships for the Udacity Deep Learning Nanodegree program.

• How do I know if I’m eligible to apply?

  The opportunity is open to anyone eager to expand their deep learning and AI skills, who is at least 18 years of age, and who possesses intermediate Python knowledge. Applicants should be prepared to commit approximately 10 hours of study per week during the Foundations Course phase. Should you earn a scholarship to the Deep Learning Nanodegree program, you should expect to maintain that same level of commitment.

• Is the curriculum taught in English?

  Yes, the program language for both the Foundations Course and the Udacity Nanodegree program is English.

• Where does the program take place?

  The program takes place 100% online. Students can work from wherever they want to, as long as they have a working internet connection.

• How does this scholarship program work?

  The scholarship program is structured in two phases:

  Phase 1: Foundations Course

  During the first phase of this program, students take Udacity’s "Introduction to Deep Learning with PyTorch" course. The duration of this course is two months. Program participants will receive support from community managers throughout their learning experience in this course, and will be part of a dynamic student community and network of scholars.

  Phase 2: Full Nanodegree Scholarship

  The top 100 students from the first phase of the program will earn a full scholarship to Udacity’s Deep Learning Nanodegree program, where they’ll cover Convolutional and Recurrent Neural Networks, Generative Adversarial Networks, Deployment, and more. Students will use PyTorch, and have access to GPUs to train models faster, as they learn from authorities like Sebastian Thrun, Ian Goodfellow, Jun-Yan Zhu, and Andrew Trask.

• When will the results be announced? When do classes start?

  Participants will start the Foundations Course on January 13th and end on March 13th. Students selected for the Nanodegree program will begin on April 1st and end on August 19th.

• Are there specific class hours when students need to be online or can they go through the lessons and study whenever they want?

  Once the course has begun, participants can study on their own schedule as long as they complete the course in the predefined time. Complete access to the course, directly in the classroom, is available 24 hours a day. We understand that students have different schedules and will work on their course at different times and on different days. What’s important is that students make constant progress each and every week, and successfully complete all the content before the end of the course.

• What are the technical requirements for participating in this program?

  Udacity’s full technical requirements are listed here.

• What are the criteria for being selected for the foundations phase of this program?

  Udacity will evaluate applications with a view to selecting recipients who possess:

  • Diversity of perspective and experience
  • Goal orientation, and the desire to make an impact
  • Demonstrated determination and grit
  • Willingness to dedicate sufficient time to their studies
  • Prerequisite knowledge where relevant

• What are the criteria for earning a full scholarship for the Deep Learning Nanodegree program?

  From the foundations course participants, 100 will be selected for the full Nanodegree program scholarship based on:

  • Successful completion of the Foundations Course
  • Level of participation and support of classmates in the student community
  • Re-assessment of essays from the original scholarship application
  • All the selection criteria used in Phase 1

• What are the Terms and Conditions?

  The full Terms and Conditions are posted here.

• Who can be contacted in case of questions?

  For general questions about the scholarship program and for user support (e.g. application process, timeline), please contact the Scholarships team.