Charles Stark Draper Laboratory sponsors graduate students who carry out their thesis research at Draper alongside its technical staff. Applicants must be US citizens and accepted into a thesis-bearing degree programme at one of Draper's partner universities — Boston University, Brown, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, Purdue, Rice, Texas A&M, Tufts, CU Boulder, UMass Lowell, Michigan, South Florida, Utah and WPI. Research areas include artificial intelligence and machine learning, autonomy, cyber, biotechnology, quantum technology, hypersonics and space technology. The 2026 portal opened on 15 November 2025 with applications due 1 February 2026. Draper strongly encourages candidates to coordinate with Draper staff and university faculty before applying, which makes this a programme to start on a term early rather than at the deadline.