Eligibility and Appointments

Eligibility   Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents and must hold or receive a PhD from an accredited university prior to the start date of the fellowship. Applicants should expect to have earned their Ph.D. degree by June 30th of the year for which they are applying.

Appointments   The University of California awards approximately 15-20 postdoctoral fellowships annually in all fields for research conducted under faculty sponsorship on any one of the University of California's ten campuses. The annual award provides a salary of $40-50,000, depending on the field and level of experience. The award also includes health insurance, vision and dental benefits, and up to $4,000 for research-related expenses.

Faculty Hiring Incentive  Fellowship recipients are eligible for a hiring incentive program for faculty appointments at University of California campuses.

Expectations President's Postdoctoral Fellows are expected to (1) establish residence at the campus of their postdoctoral appointment, (2) focus full-time on research and avoid other commitments such as teaching, (3) meet regularly with their faculty mentor, (4) attend the annual the Annual Fall Meeting and the Academic Spring Retreat.

Teaching Policy for President's Postdoctoral Scholars

Mentor Guidelines

Tenure and Renewal   Each award is for a 12-month period, generally beginning July 1.  A renewal of the fellowship for an additional year may be granted upon demonstration of academic productivity and participation in the program events.  If a selected candidate has received an offer for a ladder rank position at the time of selection, the fellowship will be awarded for one year, without renewal. 

Limitations on Appointment   University of California policy limits total time of service in academic postdoctoral appointments to five years. Thus, applicants with five or more years of postdoctoral appointments in educational institutions are not eligible. Candidates who will have four years of postdoctoral service at the time of their selection are eligible for only one year of President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program support.