Graduate Research Scholar

Bluestaq Graduate Research Scholar — NDSU Partnership 

Full-Ride M.S./Ph.D. Sponsorship + Paid Summer Internship (Colorado Springs, CO) 

Bluestaq — a Colorado Springs leader in secure data ecosystems, graph technologies, natural language processing, and AI solutions for national security and defense customers, including the U.S. Space Force — is launching a full-ride graduate research sponsorship in partnership with North Dakota State University (NDSU). We are seeking motivated NDSU graduate students to conduct Bluestaq-defined research beginning Fall 2026, culminating in a paid summer internship at Bluestaq headquarters. 

Why This Program Matters 

This sponsorship connects academic research directly to national-security mission impact. As a Bluestaq Graduate Research Scholar, your work will: 

• Advance real capabilities in LLMs, knowledge graphs, NLP, and agentic AI used by defense and national-security customers. 
• Build a direct pipeline from sponsored academic research into hands-on delivery at Bluestaq. 
• Position you as part of a select, founding cohort of scholars at the leading edge of applied AI research. 

What You'll Do 

Fall 2026 Research Project 

• Conduct Bluestaq-defined research in one or more of the following focus areas: Large Language Models, Data Sourcing & Tagging, Knowledge Graph / Graph Store, Agentic AI, Natural Language Processing, and Prompt Engineering. 
• Work independently and with NDSU faculty advisors, with research direction and technical alignment provided by Bluestaq. 
• Bring genuine intellectual curiosity — while projects are Bluestaq-defined, student interest and alignment are valued in shaping the work. 

Summer 2027 Internship — Bluestaq HQ, Colorado Springs, CO 

• Complete a paid summer internship as a direct continuation of your sponsored research, delivering immediate mission impact. 
• Receive hands-on mentorship and real-world application experience in a fast-paced defense-tech environment.

Program Benefits 

• Full tuition, fees, stipend, and health insurance — funded for the complete duration of your M.S. or Ph.D. degree. 
• Summer internship compensation: 
  • MS students: $28–35/hr ($1,120–$1,400/week at 40 hrs)
  • PhD students: $34–42/hr ($1,360–$1,680/week at 40 hrs)

Qualifications and Requirements 

• Currently enrolled, or incoming, M.S. or Ph.D. student at North Dakota State University.