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Current Postdocs

PD Research Grant
PD Awards for Teaching and Research
PD Faculty Mentor Award
Career Consultations & Professional Development
Funding Opportunities
External Resources

MU Postdoctoral Research Grant

The MU Office of Postdoctoral Education Research Grant Program is intended to support MU postdoctoral scholars in developing their independent research program. 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.

Upcoming Deadline: Tuesday, November 1, 2022, by 5:00 PM CT

To learn more about the grant application process, please read the MU Postdoctoral Research Grant Guidelines

Application cover sheet: MU-Postdoctoral-Research-Grant-COVER-SHEET

MU Postdoctoral Awards for Teaching and Research

The newly established Postdoctoral Awards recognize the contributions of postdoctoral scholars and their demonstration of excellence 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.

Send nominations and materials as a single PDF to: 

Deadline: Nominations are due by 5 PM (Central Time) on February 15th each year. If the 15th of February falls on a weekend, then the due date is the following Monday.

View the current award guidelines here: MU-Postdoctoral-Awards-Call

Download the nomination form here: Fillable Nomination Form Postdoctoral Awards

Postdoctoral Faculty Mentor Award

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 2022 Nomination Deadline

  • Nominations due to: mugradstudiespost1@missouri.edu
  • Nominations are due by 5 PM (Central Time) on December 1st each year. If the first day of December falls on a weekend, then the due date is the following Monday.

Nomination Packets

The nomination must be made by a postdoctoral scholar (anyone who is currently a postdoc or within 5 years of completing their postdoctoral training). The nomination packet should be saved as a single pdf file labeled with the nominee’s name. It should include the following documents, saved in the following order:

    1. Brief description of the nominee. Please include the nominee’s full name, title, and academic credentials.
    2. Essay describing why you believe the nominee should receive the award (1200-word limit). Consider the following points:
      1. How the nominee provides “hands-on” professional development experiences for postdocs, such as writing papers or reviews and applying for grants and fellowships.
      2. How the nominee provides postdocs with guidance on networking and planning for their future careers.
      3. What are the philosophy, activities, characteristics, or traits of the nominee that makes them a truly outstanding mentor? Be sure to give specific examples.
      4. How the nominee’s mentoring has benefited you personally (if applicable).
      5. A summary of the nominee’s mentoring efforts, including, for example, the length of time that they have served as a mentor; the number of postdocs that the nominee has mentored; and examples of the success these postdocs have had under the mentor’s guidance, especially regarding increased proficiency in any of the six National Postdoc Association’s Core Competencies.
      6. How the nominee has influenced the qualify of the postdoctoral experience on a local, regional, or national level.
    3. Up to three (3) supporting documents (e.g., letters of support from former postdocs within 5 years from completing their postdoctoral training and/or current postdoctoral scholars, news or journal articles).

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! If you are not receiving emails from the Graduate School and MU Postdoctoral Association (MUPA), then please send an email to Valli Sarveswaran, v.sarveswaran@missouri.edu, to be added to the listserv.

Funding Opportunities

National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) Affiliate Membership

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

To obtain your free membership, click the image below! 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!

National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity

The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) is an independent faculty development center that offers live and recorded webinars, courses, mentoring, and workshops on a wide variety of topics for faculty at different stages of their careers. Topics range from cultivating your network of mentors and sponsors, engaging in healthy conflict, overcoming academic perfection, mastering academic time management, the art of saying “no,” and many others.

Access Your Membership
MU postdocs can utilize NCFDD resources free of charge. You can activate your membership by selecting MU on the right under Access NCFDD here. If you have any trouble registering or you have questions about the membership, please email membership@facultydiversity.org.

VersatilePhD

VersatilePhD is the largest online community dedicated to non-academic and non-faculty careers for PhD graduates in humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields. helps graduate students, ABDs and PhDs identify, prepare for and excel in professional careers. MU is an institutional member. Before you can access VersatilePhD, you must authenticate with your MU credentials. Once you’ve authenticated, you can then log in (or sign up) to access MU’s VersatilePhD portal.

MyIDP

myIDP (Individual Development Plan) concept is commonly used in 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

ImaginePhD is an online career exploration and planning tool for PhD students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences.

At ImaginePhD, you will be

  • Assess their career-related skills, interests, and values
  • Explore careers paths appropriate to their disciplines
  • Create self-defined goals
  • Map out next steps for career and professional development success

There is no charge to use ImaginePhD.

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