Postdoctoral Affairs

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs webpage (https://research.uga.edu/opa/) contains links to the Policy for Postdoctoral Appointments and other postdoc-related information under “Documents” at the bottom of the page.

Other postdoc-related documents on the OPA webpage include the offer letter templates, mid-year salary increase request form, hiring proposal cover form, this guide and others.

Links to these documents can also be found on the main Office of Research Forms and Policies page (https://research.uga.edu/documents/) under “Postdoctoral Affairs”.

Prospective and current postdoctoral scholars can visit the Postdoc Portal (https://postdocs.uga.edu/) to find information and resources that will enhance the postdoctoral experience at UGA.  Unit Administrators can also link back to the OPA webpage from the home page of the Postdoc Portal.

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) has created the following instructions as a guide through OPA-specific policy and procedure of appointing a UGA postdoc.

Processing Postdoctoral Appointments in UGAJobs: A Guide for Unit HR Administrators

Please make sure to read all notes and instructions included in the guide.  If you still have questions after reviewing this document, please email opa@uga.edu.

The Office of Internal Grants, Awards and Research Personnel (under which The Office of Postdoctoral resides) maintains a Research Personnel listserv for unit staff administrators that work with their unit’s postdocs, research scientists, visiting researcher/scholars and/or research affiliates. This listserv is used to disseminate announcements and information originating from our office regarding these specific positions.  If you are not on this listserv and would like to be, you can email research-personnel@uga.edu.  Please include your name, email and title.

An archive of announcements and other resources can also be found here on the Office of Postdoc Affairs webpage.

Postdocs are required to have a doctoral degree in their field and hiring units must show evidence that the candidate for the postdoc position has received the degree as part of the hiring proposal documentation.

Official transcripts are not required for evidence of degree as long as the postdoc BCAT is either 471X00 or 671X00 (research-only postdoc positions).  (The 206X00 Postdoc Associate AC – Research and Teaching – postdocs do require official transcripts since they will teach as Instructor of Record.  In the case of the 206X00 postdocs, the official transcripts must be sent directly to the Office of Faculty Affairs. See the appointment guide for full details on this.)

The evidence of degree for research only postdoc positions can be any of the following:

• Copies/scans of transcripts that show the degree and date it was conferred. These can be unofficial transcripts pulled from the candidate’s student account at the degree-granting institution.  Please note that foreign transcripts (official or unofficial) need to be accompanied by an English translation.
• An official letter from the major professor, grad school or other official at the institution stating ALL degree requirements have been completed for the degree.  The letter must include the following:
  • Confirmation that the defense was passed.  If the defense was passed with revisions then the revisions must have also been submitted and accepted.
  • Confirmation that the defense was submitted and accepted by the Graduate School.
  • Confirmation that the candidate has completed all coursework/enrolled research hours and will not be enrolled in any courses/research hours on or after the postdoc position start date.
  • The conferral date of the degree.
• A picture/scan of the diploma.

See the next accordion for: Can the hiring unit give an offer and process the Hiring Proposal before a candidate completes all the degree requirements?

If a candidate still needs to defend and/or complete other requirements then OPA has steps in place to help with extending an offer and processing the Hiring Proposal (HP).  (Please note this process is to initiate the hiring process prior to degree completion but does not allow a candidate to start a postdoc position prior to degree completion.)

Please follow these steps:

1. Email OPA at opa@uga.edu with a request to extend an offer and process a HP before a candidate has completed all degree requirements.  Please include the candidate’s defense date, the expected degree conferral date and the postdoc position target start date.  The defense date must be prior to the start date.  Additionally, ALL degree requirements must be met before the postdoc position start date.
2. Then the unit can start the process as normal to appoint the postdoc.
3. The offer letter to the person must include a Ph.D. contingency statement: “This offer is contingent on the successful completion of your doctoral degree and delivery of the evidence of degree (EOD) to the UGA Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (opa@uga.edu).”
4. When you submit the HP include the email communications with our office in lieu of the evidence of degree in the HP documents.
5. Please also list in the Comments section in the HP the date the postdoc will defend and the expected official degree conferral date.
6. OPA will review and approve the HP and make note that the evidence of degree is needed by the start date.
7. When all degree requirements have been met, please send the evidence of degree (EOD) to OPA (opa@uga.edu). (See the previous accordion for acceptable forms of EOD.)  The EOD needs to be sent to OPA prior to the start date.

This would normally require a new position, posting and HP.  However, this transition can now occur via an Evaluate action in UGAJobs.  There are still some requirements that must be met.  Please see the steps below.

1. Use the Evaluate action to change the BCAT of the postdoc to 206X00.
2. Upload the following required documents to the Evaluate action:
   1. Postdoc HP Cover Form (HP cover forms for appointments to research and teaching/Postdoc Associate AC positions must be signed by the Dept Head and Dean, as applicable to the college)
   2. Offer letter with signed acceptance.  Research and Teaching offer letter templates can be found here (select either Postdoc Research and Teaching Offer Letter Template-Open Term OR Postdoc Research and Teaching Offer Letter Template-Defined Term)
   3. Updated CV
   4. Official transcripts – these are to be sent directly to the Office of Faculty Affairs via ofatranscripts@uga.edu.  Contact OFA if you have questions about this requirement.
3. Send the Evaluate action to the college level (if applicable) and then send to Office of Postdoc Affairs (as the “Sponsored Office”).  Office of Postdoc Affairs will review and then send to Office of Faculty Affairs for review.
4. Important: Evaluate requests to reclassify a current Postdoc Associate AD (research only) position to a Postdoctoral Associate AC (research and teaching) position should reach the Sponsored Office workflow stop in UGAJobs at least 20 days prior to the effective start date of the new position. Please note, a Postdoctoral Associate AC (Postdoctoral Research & Teaching Associate) must not teach, nor have any student contact, in person or online until the position evaluation is fully approved in UGAJobs.
5. Follow the instructions on the Office of Faculty Affairs website for Loading Instructors of Record in Banner. Contact OFA if you have any questions on that process.

At this time, UGA postdocs are required to be 100% time.

Postdoctoral Associates must be compensated a minimum annual salary of $47,476. Training grants and fellowships administered through UGA must include a minimum stipend of $47,476/year for Postdoctoral Fellows.

In some disciplines, external funding agencies provide salary guidance that suggests higher minimum stipends and in those cases, our recommendation follows that guidance (e.g., in the biological sciences, the National Institutes of Health publishes guidelines).

Before an offer is extended to a postdoc candidate, the unit should send the draft offer letter to opa@uga.edu for review (see the postdoc appointment guide for full details).  If the offered salary is 10% above the corresponding level on the NIH NRSA Postdoc Stipend Levels scale for the candidate’s years of experience, then a salary justification must accompany the offer letter draft. (The NIH NRSA stipend levels are subject to change by fiscal year. Check that you are using the most current scale.)

The terms of the award will dictate stipend amount and any increases for Postdoctoral Fellows on fellowships not administered through UGA; these are outside the jurisdiction of the University of Georgia. However, Office of Research strongly suggests adherence to the required minimum stipend of $47,476 for all postdoc appointees. In cases where the fellow adjunct stipend amount is less than this minimum, Office of Research expects the appointing unit to provide the difference.

Postdoctoral Associates who are required to break from UGA employment by the terms of a fellowship or other external funding may be able to apply for Educational and Professional Leave without Pay to preserve health benefits eligibility.  Supervisors of postdocs that have obtained a Postdoc Fellowship or have been offered a UGA postdoc traineeship position that requires him/her to break from UGA employment should contact OPA (opa@uga.edu) as soon as possible to discuss the requirements and process.