Erdős Institute FAQ
Q:
What is the Erdős Institute?
A:
Founded in 2017 by a team of faculty, graduate students, and PhD alumni, the Erdős Institute is a multi-university collaboration dedicated to helping PhDs secure fulfilling jobs at every stage of their career.
Our lifelong professional development program, created in collaboration with our PhD alumni and corporate partners, is structured around three key career stages:
EXPLORE – Discover diverse career paths and industries.
LAUNCH – Gain the tools and networks needed to enter your chosen field.
ADVANCE – Receive ongoing support to grow and excel in your profession.
Programming is offered in 14 week cohorts, three (3) times per year (Spring, Summer & Fall), and runs entirely on-line. We have both pre-recorded and live lectures for our certificate programs to accommodate participant schedules.
We currently offer boot camps, courses, and career support for the following career paths:
Data Science, Machine Learning, Deep Learning
UX Research
Quantum Computing
Quant Research/Finance
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Q:
What does it cost to participate?
A:
Creating an Erdős Institute account is free and gives you access to our EXPLORE programs and services:
Our Invitations to Industry (i2i) Career Exploration Seminars and recordings of those seminars
Our asynchronous Python Prep mini-course
Our Job Board
Enrolling in one of our cohorts costs $500 for new members with discounts for returning members and Erdős Alumni Club members. More details about which courses and programs are running each cohort may be found on the cohort enrollment page:
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Q:
Can I enroll in multiple boot camps per cohort?
A:
No. You can only enroll in one boot camp per cohort.
It is best to focus on performing extremely well in one course and on one boot camp project.
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Q:
When do I get assigned a career advisor?
A:
A career advisor is assigned to you after Orientation of the first cohort in which you are enrolled. You can see your career advisor in Step 3 of your profile page: https://www.erdosinstitute.org/myprofilenew
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Q:
When is Orientation and is it recorded?
A:
Summer 2025 Orientation is May 7th at 12pm ET on Zoom and Yes it is recorded.
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Q:
Are lectures recorded? When will the lecture recording be uploaded? Where will the lecture recording be uploaded?
A:
Yes. Lecture recordings will appear online on their respective program page roughly 24-48 hours after lecture.
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Q:
How do I access the LinkedIn Job Board?
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Q:
I completed my undergraduate degree at one of the Academic Sponsoring institutions, can I still attend for free?
A:
Only if you also are/were a graduate student or are currently a postdoc at one of our sponsoring academic institutions.
Our academic sponsoring institutions support current graduate students and current postdocs, and sometimes a subset of graduate student alumni.
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Q:
I participated in a Boot Camp in a previous cohort, but couldn’t complete the course due to time constraints. Can I please carry over/defer my tuition from that cohort to the next cohort?
A:
No. In order to have deferred your tuition to a future cohort, you should have informed the course instructor and Amalya Lehman (amalya@erdosinstitute.org) that you were dropping the course before the project formation deadline.
The project formation deadline is typically 2.5 weeks after Orientation and is marked on the program page.
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Q:
Do you offer the Data Science Boot Camp in every cohort?
A:
Yes. Please visit the cohort enrollment page to see a full list of programs and services being offered in the upcoming cohort: https://www.erdosinstitute.org/cohort-enrollment
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Q:
What is the time commitment for Cohort participation?
A:
The time commitment can vary significantly based on several factors. Each course includes a detailed syllabus outlining the duration and frequency of lectures and problem-solving sessions.
As a general guideline, you should plan to dedicate an additional 3–5 hours per week for self-study and project work. However, depending on your personal goals, you may need to invest more time. For example, if you’re aiming to secure a job within the next year, you may want to allocate additional hours to deepen your learning and skill development. Similarly, if you are aware of deficiencies in your background knowledge it will be wise to devote time to shoring up those deficiencies.
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Q:
How many cohorts does Erdős run?
A:
We run three cohorts a year: Fall, Spring, and Summer.
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Q:
I am affiliated with one of the Full Academic Sponsoring institutions, but the application says that I have to pay.
A:
First, please make sure that you have fully and accurately filled out the Education and Academic Work Experience sections of your enrollment form and make sure to Save and Submit each entry.
Next, please note that academic sponsorships cover all LAUNCH level programs. ADVANCE level programs and Alumni Club Membership are not covered by academic sponsorship.
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Q:
Can I participate in a Career Launch Cohort if I’m a Master’s student or have a terminal Master’s degree?
A:
Yes! Even though our programming is geared towards PhD students and PhD alumni, we welcome all graduate students and graduate student alumni!
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Q:
Should I send the academic sponsorship form to my academic sponsor myself, or will the application system send it out?
A:
Please send the academic sponsorship form to your sponsor yourself. You will be admitted to the cohort as soon as we receive the form from your sponsor.
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Q:
Can I pay via installments?
A:
Yes, it is possible to pay in installments via PayPal during checkout.
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Q:
How can I join the Alumni Club?
A:
You must have been previously enrolled in at least one cohort in order to join the Alumni Club. If so, you can join via: https://www.erdosinstitute.org/alumni-club.
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Q:
Are the Erdős Institute programs in-person, hybrid, or remote/online?
A:
Our programming runs entirely online, and all lectures for synchronous courses are recorded in case of time conflicts.
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Q:
Is there financial assistance available?
A:
We do not offer financial assistance.
We highly recommend that you ask your PhD advisor, Director of Graduate Studies, or departmental Chair to sponsor your enrollment fee. Several faculty, departments, and graduate schools choose to support their Erdős participants through grants and professional, travel, or conference funds.
Several states and regions also have development grants that you may apply to.
If you cannot find someone to sponsor your enrollment fee, it is also possible to pay for the enrollment fee in installments via PayPal.
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Q:
I previously participated in an Erdős cohort and would like to watch the recordings from that cohort, how do I access those recordings?
A:
Please go to the Programs Page and click on the dropdown for “Display programs and services” and choose the correct cohort. Then, look for the course you took and click on that page.
Lecture recordings remain available for several months after the cohort ends, but please be aware that content does get updated from cohort to cohort.
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