Overview --> Appointments and Promotions Table of Contents --> Postdoctoral Scholars, Fellows, and Investigators

A term appointment to the position of Postdoctoral Scholar, Fellow, or Investigator may be offered to an individual who has completed the requirements for a Ph.D. degree. The degree may or may not have been officially awarded; a letter from the individual's university asserting that he or she has completed all of the requirements for the degree is satisfactory for establishing eligibility for the position.

Each type of postdoctoral appointment has a slightly different selection and appointment procedure. An individual may hold different types of appointments in succession up to a maximum of four years of postdoctoral appointments. Extensions of appointments beyond four years may be granted in exceptional circumstances upon recommendation of the Department Chair or Marine Policy Center Director and approval of the Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean.

Postdoctoral Scholars are awarded Institution scholarship funds for independent research projects in collaboration with their advisor(s) for initial periods of one to two years.

Postdoctoral Fellows may be appointed in two types of categories: Postdoctoral Fellows supported by Institution scholarship funds, or Postdoctoral Fellows who have been competitively awarded national or international postdoctoral fellowships. In the latter category they will be appointed "(official name of award) - Postdoctoral Fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution". Postdoctoral Fellows undertake independent research in collaboration with their advisor(s).

Postdoctoral Scholars and Fellows are competitively selected through advertisement and evaluation procedures approved by the Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean and are appointed by the Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean. (This process is considered equivalent, from the standpoint of equal employment opportunity, to competitive advertisement for subsequent appointments to Assistant Scientist.) Postdoctoral Investigators are appointed by the Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean on the recommendation of the Department Chair or Center Director. (Some Postdoctoral Investigator appointments are drawn from the highly-rated competitive applicant pool for Postdoctoral Scholar appointments and, as such, will be considered as competitively advertised should they be considered for subsequent appointments as Assistant Scientists.) A Postdoctoral Investigator will be treated as a regular, full-time employee if the initial appointment is for at least one full year. Temporary Postdoctoral Investigators may be appointed for a period of time less than one year.

Postdoctoral Fellows with national or international competitively awarded fellowships will be appointed the appropriately named Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institution upon receipt of an official letter of notification of the award. The appointment time period will be coincident with the fellowship award time period.

When required to meet extenuating personal circumstances that could seriously inhibit professional productivity (e.g., disability of the Postdoctoral Scholar, Postdoctoral Fellow, or Postdoctoral Investigator, family illness requiring extended care, child rearing or bearing, or dependent parent care), with a timely written request via the Department Chair or Center Director to the Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean, the term can be extended for up to 12 months. Using this option does not eliminate the possibility of a Postdoctoral Scholar, Fellow, or Investigator being considered for appointment to the Scientific or Technical Staff at any time during the term of the Postdoc appointment.

The professional progress of each Postdoctoral Scholar, Fellow, or Investigator is reviewed by the Department Chair or Center Director in consultation with the advisor(s) and other knowledgeable Scientific and Technical Staff members as appropriate, after eight to twelve months of the initial appointment. The outcome of the review is communicated in writing to the Postdoctoral Scholar, Fellow, or Investigator by the Department Chair or Center Director and is also communicated to the Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean. Thereafter, the postdoctoral appointee is reviewed in the normal annual reviews of the Institution.