The Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (CPFP) offers postdoctoral research fellowships, professional development and faculty mentoring to outstanding scholars in all fields whose research, teaching, and service will contribute to the research excellence and public service missions of the University of California.
UCLA awards CPFP fellowships each year. The program is administered in parallel with the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP). To be considered for a CPFP fellowship, all interested candidates MUST first apply to PPFP. The UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is now accepting applications for 2026-2027. The deadline to apply is November 1, 2025. For more information click here.
Applicants who identified potential mentors at UCLA and received a top-tier rating from PPFP reviewers will be considered for the CPFP. CPFP Fellows receive the same benefits, mentoring, and terms of appointment as the President’s Postdoctoral Fellows, including eligibility for the hiring incentive for tenure-track faculty appointments.
Criteria: The program is open to all persons who hold the terminal degree in their discipline.
Award:
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- The fellowship provides a salary at $69,073 (based on the 2026 postdoc salary scale) and $5,000 for research expenses and professional development. The award includes health, vision and dental benefits, paid sick leave, maternity leave, and 4 weeks of paid time off during the fellowship term.
- Each award is for a 12-month period, beginning on July 1. A renewal of the fellowship for an additional term may be granted upon demonstration of academic productivity and participation in program events, such as the Fall Meeting and the Spring Academic Retreat.
Deadline: November 1, 2025
Contact for CPFP Questions: askgrad@grad.ucla.edu.
Program Description
The current program offers postdoctoral research fellowships, professional development and faculty mentoring to outstanding scholars in all fields whose research, teaching, and service will contribute to the research excellence and public service missions of the University of California.
Eligibility
Please follow the Eligibility Requirements for the President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program: https://ppfp.ucop.edu/info/how-to-apply/applicant-faqs.html
To be considered for a CPFP fellowship, all interested candidates MUST first apply to the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP). Applicants who identified mentors at UCLA and receive AA reviews only will be considered for the CPFP fellowship.
Expectations
Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellows are expected to 1) focus full-time on research and avoid other commitments such as teaching as outlined in the teaching Guidelines for UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellows, 2) meet regularly with assigned faculty mentors, 3) attend annual academic retreat.
Application Process
Recipients of the UCLA Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (CPFP) for 2026-2027 will be selected from the pool of applicants who submitted applications to the 2026-2027 UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP) and identified mentors at UCLA. Applicants who want to be considered for a CPFP fellowship must submit an application to PPFP by November 1, 2025. The potential mentor’s letter included in the PPFP application should address the UCLA department’s future hiring plans and the applicant’s potential for appointment at UCLA.
For information on the PPFP application process and to apply online, visit http://ppfp.ucop.edu/info/how-to-apply/index.html.
Faculty Hiring Incentive
Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship recipients are eligible for a hiring incentive program for faculty appointments at any of the 10 University of California campuses.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the timeline for reviewing and announcing awards?
PPFP applicants who were not selected for the PPFP will receive notice by March 31st of the review year.
Around April 1, PPFP applicants who are under consideration for a UCLA CPFP fellowship will be notified by the Division of Graduate Education. Potential mentors will also receive a notification that their potential mentee is under consideration.
Each mentor’s commitment and potential financial resources will be confirmed at that time.
UCLA endeavors to make final selections no later than June 1. When selections have been finalized, UCLA will inform all CPFP candidates and their potential mentors.
How are applicants selected?
In order to be considered to be a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow, you must first apply through the President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP). Applicants in the top tiers from the PPFP review are sent to the UCLA campus, which conducts its own local review.
After campus reviewers evaluate each application, the Vice Chancellor for Inclusive Excellence and the Vice Provost of Graduate Education select the recipients. An average of three awards is made annually for the Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, depending on available resources.
Are CPFP fellows fully funded?
Each year, one UCLA CPFP fellow receives full central funding to last two years. The second year of funding is contingent demonstration of scholarly productivity and participation in program events.
The additional CPFP fellows will receive funding from the mentor and/or department for two years: again, the second year of funding is contingent on scholarly productivity.
All CPFP fellows will receive $5,000 for travel and research expenses for each year (max. 2 years) that they serve as an active fellow.