Awards & Grants
The MU Office of Postdoctoral Education Research Grant Program is intended to support MU postdoctoral scholars in developing their independent research programs. The grant awards help defray the costs of conducting a clearly defined research project that is not financially supported by other grants, faculty members, or their department/division. The research project should be led by the postdoctoral scholar and represent a contribution to their independent research program.
- Fall Deadline: November 1, by 5 p.m. (central time)
- Spring Deadline: March 1, by 5 p.m. (central time)
- Note: If the deadline falls on a weekend, then the due date is the preceding Friday.
- Please visit InfoReady to view the application guidelines and submit your online application.
The newly established Postdoctoral Awards recognize the contributions of postdoctoral scholars and their demonstration of excellenc in the areas of teaching and research at the University of Missouri. The awards are open to postdoctoral scholars in all disciplines.
Nominees for these awards must currently be a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Missouri, Columbia campus and have held the position as a postdoc for at least one semester prior to the nomination. Self-nominations are encouraged.
Postdoctoral award winners will be recognized at the Awards Banquet hosted by the Graduate School in April. The awards will consist of an honorarium of $500 to $1,000 (depending on the number of awardees). The awards will be administered by the MU Postdoctoral Association (MUPA) with support from the Office of Postdoctoral Education. Funding for the award is provided by the Graduate School.
Nomination requirements for both postdoctoral awards, including eligibility and criteria, can be found in the attached call. The fillable nomination form is also attached below.
Find more details and the application form in InfoReady.
Deadline: Nominations are due by 5 PM (Central Time) on February 15 each year. If the due date falls on the weekend, then it is due the preceding Friday.
This award represents an appreciation for an individual who has demonstrated either a profound, sustained, or leadership contribution to improving the postdoctoral experience.
The award recognizes an individual who has contributed to improving the postdoctoral experience through:
- Pioneering efforts to improve postdoctoral policies, benefits, and programs.
- Influencing sustained leadership in national systemic and/or local change for the improvement of the postdoctoral experience.
- Advocating and raising awareness of significant and important issues that have significantly altered the postdoctoral scholar landscape.
- Contributing to professional development, career development, and resource development for postdoctoral scholars.
- Creating agency and opportunity for postdoctoral research and advancement into academic and nonacademic careers.
Fall Domination Deadline:
- Find more details and the application form in InfoReady.
- Nominations are due by 5 PM (Central Time) on December 1 each year. If the due date falls on the weekend, then it is due the preceding Friday.
Personal Career Consultations & Professional Development
- Valli Sarveswaran, Director of Postdoctoral Education, is available for personal career consultations. You can meet with Valli in person or virtually. Visit Valli’s Bookings site to schedule an appointment.
- Visit the Postdoc Mentoring & Training page for a list of professional development resources!
Benefits Available to MU Postdocs
MU postdocs are a part of the most diverse group of scholars on campus and enjoy the following:
- Access to the postdoc office for 1:1 career development consultation
- Access to professional & career development activities and social events offered by MU Postdoctoral Association and Mizzou Black Postdoctoral Association
- Being able to be part of the governing board of the MU Postdoctoral Association and Mizzou Black Postdoctoral Association
- Be on the postdoc listserv and receive professional & career development, job, & funding opportunities
- Be part of the Postdoc LinkedIn group
- Eligible to apply for Postdoc Travel Grant ($500; 3 rounds/year) administrated my MU Postdoctoral Association, Postdoc Research Grants ($500, $750, or $1,500; 2 rounds/year), and Postdoc Research & Teaching Awards ($1,000 per year each)
- Enjoy the benefits offered by the National Postdoctoral Association
- Educational/tuition assistance for postdocs and their dependents
- Nominate Postdoctoral Mentor of the Year
External Resources
NPA provides a national united voice and advocates for positive work environments for postdoctoral fellows, researchers, instructors, and scholars.
The MU Graduate School has paid for institutional membership with the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA). This means all of Mizzou’s postdocs are entitled to free affiliate (individual-level) membership to NPA. In doing this, we join a long list of other prestigious universities who are also members of NPA. Here’s a list of their individual member benefits:
- Subscription to NPA e-alerts, a periodic news announcement, and The POSTDOCket, the NPA’s official quarterly newsletter
- Reduced registration fees to the NPA Annual Meeting & eligibility for the NPA travel award program
- Access to members-only NPA Web content
- Access to NPA Member Groups to connect & network with fellow NPA members
- Discounts to services and products.
- Opportunities to serve and contribute your expertise on a variety of NPA committees
- Voting rights in all NPA elections and on NPA ballot issues
- National representation on postdoctoral issues
Follow this link to obtain your free membership. Once on their webpage, select “Affiliate Individual Member, Postdoc” as your membership type. Create a username and enter your first and last name. Next, you will be prompted to confirm your membership type. Lastly, complete the demographic information, and enter the University of Missouri as your organization. It is as simple as that!
- Beyond the Professoriate is an online professional development training platform for graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and PhDs that helps them successfully transition into academic or nonacademic careers. Mizzou is an institutional member.
- login instructions:
- Select “Login to the Platform” in the top right-hand corner
- Select “University of Missouri” from drop-down
- Use SSO login and password to sign in
myIDP (Individual Development Plan) concept is commonly used in the industry to help employees define and pursue their career goals. It is a unique, web-based career-planning tool tailored to meet the needs of PhD students and postdocs in the sciences.
myIDP provides:
- Exercises to help you examine your skills, interests, and values
- A list of 20 scientific career paths with a prediction of which ones best fit your skills and interests
- A tool for setting strategic goals for the coming year, with optional reminders to keep you on track
- Articles and resources to guide you through the process
There is no charge to use myIDP.
ImaginePhD is an online career exploration and planning tool for PhD students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences. There is no charge to use ImaginePhD.
At ImaginePhD, you will be able to:
- Assess their career-related skills, interests, and values
- Explore careers paths appropriate to their disciplines
- Create self-defined goals
- Map out the next steps for career and professional development success
- Helps job seekers find opportunities both at home and abroad.
- Includes links to H1B visa info and company lists for international students, city and country guides for more than 120 international locations, and cultural overview and job search advice for non-native applicants.
- Includes access to CultureWizard, an online learning solution that helps people effectively engage with each other across cultures and countries.
- Only available in the on-campus network.
Are you deciding on the next step after your postdoc? Need help looking for jobs that excite you and then figuring out how to apply? The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) is proud to partner with SciPhD and provide a free, permanent license for all NPA members to their online web application tool – Flamingo.
- Flamingo™ is SciPhD’s web application that guides you in finding jobs, importing those job descriptions, analyzing the job descriptions to identify the critical technical, business, and social skills, relating those skills to your own experiences and accomplishments, and generating a targeted resume for that job. In addition, Flamingo™ has an extensive resources section with crash courses in project management, leadership, communications, interviewing skills, negotiations, and much more.
- In order for you to get your free license you should:
- fill out the brief form on the NPA’s website, then
- sign up for one of SciPhD’s free one-hour Flamingo™ orientation and training sessions which will be provided via Zoom every month.
- Upon completion of the above two steps, postdocs will receive instructions on how to obtain their permanent license.
- Mizzou is an institutional member of the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) and Mizzou’s postdocs are entitled to free affiliate (individual-level) membership to NPA. Follow this link to obtain your free membership.
With an Enhanced Institutional membership to the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), postdoctoral scholars can take advantage of the shared knowledge, resources, and support of the broader CUR Community. This membership allows you to join CUR at no additional cost to the individual. Here is how you can activate your individual Enhanced Institutional membership benefits:
- GO TO CUR.ORG/ACTIVATE
- MAKE SURE YOUR INSTITUTION HAS AN ENHANCED
- MEMBERSHIP
- Check to see if your institution is an enhanced member by clicking on the blue button and searching for your institution’s name.
- FILL OUT THE FORM ON THE PAGE COMPLETELY
- The electronic form will ask a few questions so that a CUR team member can get the process started and activate your membership profile. Please make sure to note that this process can take up to 72 hours. If you have additional questions, do not hesitate to email CUR@CUR.org. membership may come from the individual; or as part of an institutional or enhanced membership).
Big Interview is a free and innovative training system designed to help you prepare more effectively for interviews. This online tool combines comprehensive training with practical exercises to enhance interview techniques and build confidence. A database of thousands of questions is available, catering to various experience levels and industries.
- Practice and record interviews
- Watch video tutorials and read help guides
- Resume AI and Video AI: The AI provides a score based on key criteria like readability, credibility, and format, along with specific pointers for improvement. Upload a job description to utilize the ATS-fit option, seeing how well their qualifications align with the job requirements. Similarly, Interview AI offers detailed feedback to help refine interview responses. The system evaluates eye contact, non-verbals, and even counts filler words, providing valuable insights for improvement.