Appointment Paperwork
Your Department Administrator is your primary contact for all questions about Postdoctoral Scholar procedures, forms, and documents. Most documents will be routed to your email address via DocuSign. Department Administrators are instructed to download these forms on Go.Grad.
Initial Paperwork
When initially appointed as a Postdoctoral Scholar, you will be requested to complete a Personal Data Form and supporting documentation. The following documents are required to be submitted at (or before) your appointment start date:
- Evidence of Completion of Doctoral Degree: Copy of diploma, official transcript, or official statement from the awarding institution Registrar’s or equivalent student records office. Document must certify completion of all doctoral degree requirements.
- Curriculum Vitae: CV detailing both academic and professional achievements, including date of doctoral degree completion and any prior postdoctoral experience (as outlined above).
- Statement of Objective: Briefly describe research and training objectives for proposed Postdoctoral Scholar appointment.
Documents not originally issued in English must be accompanied with a certified English translation. Self-translated or translations generated from Google Translate are not accepted.
You will also be requested to complete a UAW Local 5810 Postdoctoral Scholar Deduction Authorization Form. This form is requested by UAW Local 5810, the Union chosen by a majority of Postdoctoral Scholars at the University of California as their collective bargaining representative.
Paid-Direct Fellowships
If you have received a fellowship or traineeship for postdoctoral study by an extramural agency and the agency pays the fellowship or traineeship directly to you, rather than through the University, you will be requested to complete a 3254 Award Info Sheet and submit supporting documentation, as follows:
- Fellowship or Traineeship Funding Letter issued by Extramural Funding Agency. Must: (1) be written on official letterhead from Extramural Funding Agency; (2) describe/state the scholar’s formal affiliation with the Extramural Funding Agency; and (3) list the exact amount(s) and duration of funding. If applicable, include USD currency conversion for funding amount(s); conversion rate must be as of the funding letter date.
- Terms and conditions of Fellowship or Traineeship. If there are no terms and conditions for the Fellowship or Traineeship, this must be stated in the Funding Letter.
- Sponsor Guidelines and/or Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)/Request for Application (RFA)/Request for Proposal (RFP) Announcement (or provide URL). If not provided, please explain.
Documents not originally issued in English must be accompanied with a certified English translation. Self-translated or translations generated from Google Translate are not accepted.
Health Benefits Opt Out
All Postdoctoral Scholars are eligible to participate in the UC Postdoctoral Scholar Benefit Plan (UC PSBP). If you elect not to enroll in UC PSBP, you will be requested to complete Postdoctoral Scholar Health Benefits Opt Out Form.
Exceptions to Policy
Postdocs in the UC system are governed by the terms of the UC-UAW labor contract. The contract defines the terms and conditions relating to the appointment of postdocs (you can find more information about appointments here). Among those conditions are the expectation that postdoctoral scholar appointments are full-time in nature and that total postdoctoral scholar experience will not exceed five (5) years in duration.
EXCEPTIONS TO FULL TIME APPOINTMENTS:
Upon written request of the postdoctoral scholar and concurrence of the faculty mentor, the University may grant an exception to the full time appointment expectation when the appointee is unable to make a full-time commitment for reasons of health, family responsibilities, or employment external to the University. Such a request must take into account extramural funding agency requirements, if any.
If you would like to request an exception to your full-time postdoctoral scholar appointment, please work with your department administrator to complete a “reduction in time” exception request, using DocuSign. Please contact your department administrator for further information.
EXCEPTIONS TO ALLOW 6TH YEAR APPOINTMENTS:
The total duration of an individual’s postdoctoral service may not exceed five years, including postdoctoral service at other institutions. Under unusual circumstances the University may grant an exception to this limit, not to exceed a sixth year.
If you would like to request an exception to allow a 6th year postdoctoral scholar appointment, please work with your department administrator to complete a “6th Year Exception Request”, using DocuSign. Please contact your department administrator for further information.
Information on this website regarding postdoctoral scholar benefits are based on the previous UAW Bargaining Contract [ratified on 10/17/16]. For the most current information, please refer to the recently ratified contract: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/px/contract.html.