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The Future of Higher Education Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
Overview
The UC Berkeley Future of Higher Education (FHE) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program seeks applications for a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship program from scholars in any discipline with a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley who have interest in a career in higher education administration.
The program seeks to address the need for career pipelines and pathways beyond the professoriate and the critical lack of diversity in higher education leadership. In the interest of diversifying administration in higher education, we encourage those from underrepresented backgrounds to apply. We define underrepresentation broadly, including a person’s ethnoracial background(s), gender identit(ies), sexual orientation, religious affiliation(s), abilities/disabilities, socioeconomic status, other positionalities and their intersections.
This two-year postdoctoral fellowship is reserved for scholars who earned or will earn their doctorate during this academic year. To apply, a candidate must have completed all requirements for their doctoral degree by August 15, 2025. Fellows are expected to be in Berkeley for the two-year duration of the postdoc.
The application deadline is Friday, April 25, 2025 at 9:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
How to Apply
The application is open. Applicants should submit the following by the deadline Friday, April 25, 2025 at 9:00 p.m.:
- Application
- CV or Resume
- Two References:
- References can be academic or professional.
- We strongly encourage applicants to have one of each (academic and professional).
Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee that will include representatives from The Graduate Division and representatives from hiring units.
Apply Now
Components of the Program and Application Process
As a postdoctoral fellowship program, appointments are defined to be 50% research and 50% practice. The 50% research time will be split between institutional and personal research.
Institutional research project(s) will be either established by, or related to, the office or program a postdoctoral fellow is assigned.
Personal research will be flexible for the fellow to further develop research from their graduate studies through preparation for publication, conference presentations, etc.
The percentage of time spent between the two endeavors will be negotiated between the fellows and the hiring units; however, it is the expectation that institutional research will take priority. The specific time allocation will be dependent on the needs and expectations of the units to which the fellows assigned.
The institutional research projects that the fellows will work on may vary in their methodologies, size and scope, individual or team-based nature, etc. In an effort to equip the fellow with the skills and exposure necessary to succeed, we are committed to work with hiring units to provide the fellow training and support, as well as to highlight the skillsets, values, and perspectives they bring. As such, we are particularly interested in applicants who are committed to evolving and adapting to new opportunities and projects, and who recognize the value of institutional research and higher education administration.
In addition to the 50% research focus, there will be a 50% professional practice component to the fellowship. The practice components of the fellowship will consist of exposure to higher education management and leadership by contributing to a variety of assigned tasks related to the hiring units’ priorities. These may include facilitating meetings, managing various projects that are aligned with the strategic goals of the units, managing staff, sitting on committees, or other duties as assigned. The goal of the practice portion of the fellowship is to allow the fellows to gain experience working at a managerial level within specific units and to engage with the dynamics and nuances that come with an administrative role.
Initial appointments will be for a period of two years, at the agreement of the postdoctoral fellow and the unit department. Each postdoctoral fellow will begin the program with an orientation. The orientation will introduce the scholars to different aspects of higher education administration; allow them to meet various campus leaders, and teach the fellows about what resources they have for both personal and professional development; and provide them an introduction to Berkeley’s organizational structure, data sources, networking opportunities, and campus bureaucracy. Following the orientation, fellows will work with their units to develop a plan for learning any additional skills needed for their administrative appointment and institutional research projects. Fellows will also periodically meet as a cross-campus group to continue peer learning. Fellows are expected to be physically present in Berkeley for the duration of the postdoc.
In keeping with the campus postdoc salary scale, the salary for this postdoc will be $66,737 plus benefits including an annual $2000 professional development fund
Deadline for applications to the UC Berkeley Future of Higher Education (FHE) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is Friday, April 25 at 9:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Applicants must:
Hold an earned PhD or Doctorate of Public Health degree in any discipline by August 15, 2025
Earned their relevant doctoral degree no earlier than August 2024
Earned their relevant doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley
Fellows are expected to be physically present in Berkeley for the duration of the postdoc.
Fellows will start their tenure on September 1, 2025
The mission of the Future of Higher Education (FHE) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is to:
- Equip recent doctoral graduates with the experience and exposure to a career within higher education administration.
- Advance the diversification of higher education administrators by recognizing and supporting scholars who bring a diversity of perspectives, social positions, and backgrounds, including those from disciplinary backgrounds that are underrepresented in higher education leadership.
- Provide critical mentorship and support that will allow recent doctoral. graduates the ability to successfully shift to greater administrative responsibilities without the loss of research productivity.
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- The fellows will be asked to identify potential academic mentors in their application. The second is an administrative mentor who will advise the scholar on how to effectively transition to a career in higher education administration, as well as navigate a large campus effectively as an administrator/staff member. The third is the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies who will support the scholar broadly throughout the tenure of the program.
- Provide opportunities for UC Berkeley administrators to leverage new, diverse perspectives on how to grapple with contemporary challenges and the evolving needs of our campus community.
Each year the FHE administrative team solicits different departments to participate and host a FHE Fellow. Below is a list of recent departments that have hosted FHE Fellows.
- Berkeley Discovery
- Berkeley Language Center
- Berkeley School of Education
- Center for African Studies
- CITRIS
- College of Letters & Sciences
- Graduate Division
- Rausser College of Natural Resources
- The College of Computing, Data Science, and Society
- The Division of Equity and Inclusion
Questions?
If prospective applicants have questions, please contact [email protected].
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April 25, 2025
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Office for Graduate Diversity — Diversity & Community Fellows Program
The Office for Graduate Diversity (OGD) is seeking Diversity and Community Fellows for the next academic year. Fellows will be appointed for the period August 12, 2024 through May 23, 2025. Diversity and Community (D&C) Fellows, individually and collectively, will support advancing and implementing the Diversity and Inclusion goals of OGD and the Graduate Division. The D&C Fellows Program is directed by Assistant Dean for Graduate Diversity, Martha Chavez, and Fellows will collaborate with the Office for Graduate Diversity team and campus partners.Fellows are engaged in:
- Recruitment and outreach to current and prospective underrepresented students;
- Supporting peer mentorship;
- Championing the Graduate Diversity Task Force recommendations;
- Coordinating events and workshops for graduate students on relevant issues; and
- Uplifting successful diversity and inclusion initiatives across campus
Undocumented students eligible to apply. No work authorization required.
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May 2, 2025 at 5:00 pm PST
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Conference Travel Grants
Academic master’s and all doctoral students may apply for funding to attend professional conferences or to participate in professional development activities; however, students in professional degrees and self-sustaining programs are not eligible. For professional conferences, grant amounts will depend on the location of the conference (up to $600 within California, $900 elsewhere in North America, including Canada and Mexico, and $1,500 outside of North America). The amounts provided for professional development support will vary depending on the actual costs, but in no case will a grant exceed $1,500. Master’s students are eligible for only one travel grant per academic career. Doctoral students are eligible for two grants per academic career, regardless of how many degrees they earn. To be eligible to apply, applicants must:
- Be registered for the term in which they are planning to attend the conference, which also includes payment of fees/tuitions. Note: students on filing fee are not eligible.
- Be in good academic standing.
- Be presenting a paper or poster at the conference.
Please note that grant requests to support travel to professional conferences must be approved by the student’s faculty advisor; grant requests to support professional development activities may be approved by the student’s faculty advisor or the Associate Dean for the Graduate Division. Approvals are obtained through the Slate application portal.
To start a new application or log into your current application, please use the following link. You will be asked to authenticate with your CalNet ID.
Application Login
Undocumented students are eligible to apply. No work authorization required.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Fall grants open August 1 – December 1. Spring grants open January 2 – May 1. Summer grants open May 2 – August 1.
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Doctoral Completion Fellowship (DCF)
The Doctoral Completion Fellowship (DCF) provides an incentive for students in certain graduate programs to complete their degree within a reasonable time. This is a fellowship program available to students in participating graduate programs who entered in Fall 2010 or later, who meet eligibility requirements, and who agree to the terms outlined in the Doctoral Degrees Policy, F3.1. For DCF eligibility questions, please check with your department. Undocumented students eligible to apply. No work authorization required.
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Before the first day of instruction of the semester in which you wish to receive DCF funding.
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Jim Fahey Safe Homes for Women Fellowship
The Jim Fahey Safe Homes Fund for Women endowment was established in 2007 to provide scholarships for graduate students at UC Berkeley with demonstrated financial need and a strong aptitude in relevant subjects as well as a deep commitment to combating domestic violence against women. Preference is given to students who are close to graduation, and who have completed coursework on feminist or gender or women’s studies, families, domestic violence, and the like. Undocumented students eligible to apply. No work authorization required.
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March 14, 2025
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Philip Brett LGBT Studies Fellowship
Open to all UC Berkeley graduate students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, who are conducting research related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer studies in any field or discipline. Applicants must provide brief summaries of their overall research interests and aims; questions they are pursuing or plan to pursue that are related to LGBT issues; and contributions they hope to make to LGBT-related studies. An endorsement letter from the academic adviser is required. Recipients will receive $4,000. Undocumented students eligible to apply. No work authorization required.
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March 14, 2025
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Mentored Research Award
Gives academically promising graduate students in academic Ph.D. programs an opportunity to conduct pre-doctoral research while developing and strengthening relationships with faculty advisers. Students must be nominated by their academic department. Once nominated, applications must be submitted by March 3, 2025. Student may be undocumented (AB540, Non-AB540 with DACA). Non-AB540 with work authorization eligible.
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March 3, 2025
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University of California Dissertation-Year Fellowship
Open to graduate students in academic Ph.D. programs who demonstrate strong potential for university teaching and research, and who are in their final year of dissertation work. Students must be nominated by their academic department. Once nominated, applications must be submitted by March 3, 2025. Student may be undocumented (AB540, Non-AB540 with DACA). Non-AB540 with work authorization eligible.
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March 3, 2025
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Georges Lurcy Fellowship for Study in France
An award for U.S. citizens or permanent residents who want to study or undertake research in France. The research topic should pertain to France and be one that can only be pursued in that country. A stipend of approximately $25,000 will be provided for one academic year to cover the cost of travel, educational fees, and living expenses in France.
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March 26, 2025
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The David N. Keightley Fellowship
The David N. Keightley Fellowship will provide support for high-achieving graduate students in the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Recipients shall be graduate students whose work focuses on China and/or Chinese subjects, with strong preferences for those whose research emphasis is on Neolithic to the Han dynasty period. This may include Chinese language, archaeology, art history and/or history. The fellowship may be used for, but not limited to, summer research, travel, conference attendance, and fellowship support. Undocumented students eligible to apply. No work authorization required.
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March 14, 2025
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Paul J. Alexander Memorial Fellowship
The Paul J. Alexander Memorial Fellowship was established to provide funding support for advanced Berkeley graduate students who are studying Byzantine, ancient, or medieval history. Students of Byzantine history are given first preference unless an applicant in ancient or medieval history is markedly superior, in which case the award will be given to the most qualified applicant. A student can receive this award only once during his or her academic career.
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March 14, 2025
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Dr. and Mrs. James C.Y. Soong Fellowships
The Dr. and Mrs. James C.Y. Soong Fellowship provides financial support for graduate students from Taiwan who are enrolled full-time at the University of California, Berkeley, in any field of study. Students must meet the following qualifications:
- Have graduated from a fully accredited, 4-year college or university in Taiwan, with a GPA of 3.7 (A-) or higher
- Be a citizen of the Republic of China and have lived in Taiwan consecutively for at least ten years
- Have demonstrated financial need in pursuit of advanced degrees
- Be registered at Berkeley (home campus). The fellowship may be renewed one time.
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April 2, 2025
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Bay Area Water Quality Fellowship
The fellowship is open to graduate students whose studies are related specifically to water quality issues that affect the San Francisco Bay. It is intended to support scientific research in the following topics:
- the exposure or effect, if any, of organisms within the San Francisco Bay estuary to selenium, metals, and/or organic chemicals through food chain transfer
- the degree, if any, to which sediments are a source of exposure for organisms within the San Francisco Bay estuary to selenium, metals, and/or organic chemicals
- other research that involves the effect of pollution on the San Francisco Bay estuary and/or its ecosystem.
Recipients will receive approximately $16,000.
Undocumented students eligible to apply. No work authorization required.
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April 2, 2025
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The Frank E. Ratliff Fellowship in Classical Antiquity
The Frank E. Ratliff Fellowship in Classical Antiquity provides approximately $39,600 in stipend plus in-state fees to graduate students who demonstrate a high level of academic distinction within the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Berkeley. The fellowship will support outstanding Ph.D. candidates whose work focuses on Classical antiquity, in particular Greek literature and archaeology. All applicants are required to have passed their oral exams. Undocumented students eligible to apply. No work authorization required.
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April 14, 2025
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Guru Gobind Singh Fellowship
This fellowship is intended for graduates of universities in specific areas of India and Pakistan (see qualifying map) who are currently pursuing a graduate degree at the University of California. To be eligible, a student must also be committed to returning to his or her country of origin after receiving the graduate degree and must not have engaged previously in graduate study at any other institution of higher learning in the United States. Students at any stage of graduate study may be nominated, but preference is given to those holding a master’s degree, and particularly those who have reached the dissertation stage and have exhausted the normal sources of financial support.
View Qualifying Map
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April 28, 2025
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Undocumented Student Program – Transcending Beyond Berkeley Fellowship
The Transcending Beyond Berkeley (TBB) Fellowship program provides students with tools to present their education, experience and skills effectively in a professional environment and to thrive, regardless of immigration status. Students are paired with a campus partner to receive guidance to carry out a project that supports the department/unit’s goal. This fellowship further aims to give departments/units the opportunity to learn more about undocumented student needs at Cal and implement changes for equitability.
Undocumented students eligible to apply. No work authorization required.
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Student applications will open on June 10. Deadline to submit will be July 12.
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Graduate Division Student Parent Grant
To be eligible for Parent Grant funding, a student must:
- live with at least one dependent child who is under the age of 18 at the start of the term,
- file a current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or if applicable, a CA Dream Act Application (CADAA), and demonstrate financial need,
- be making satisfactory progress in their academic program,
- remain enrolled during each term of funding.
The following students are not eligible:
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2025-2026 Applications will open July 1, 2025
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Graduate Division Caregiver Grant
The Caregiver Grant is designed to provide assistance to graduate students who are the primary live-in caregiver for an adult individual. Examples of those eligible for this grant include graduate students who live with and serve as the primary caregiver for an elderly parent or other individual that may qualify as a dependent adult.
These grants may be applied toward housing and living expenses, dependent health insurance, and/or tuition. If funding permits, awards of up to $12,000 per year ($6,000 per academic term) will be made to eligible applicants. To be eligible, a graduate student must:
- Live with and be the primary caregiver for a qualifying adult,
- file a current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or if applicable, a CA Dream Act Application (CADAA), and demonstrate financial need,
- Be making satisfactory progress in their academic program,
- Remain registered during each term of funding.
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2026-2026 Applications will open July 1, 2025
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Berkeley Center for Private Law Theory – School of Law
Private law governs our relationships with each other in arguably the most important spheres of our lives: in the market, the workplace, the neighborhood, and intimate relations. Private law theories develop conceptual and normative analyses of these building blocks and critically investigate their meanings, their interrelationships, their varied institutionalizations, and their implications in these and other social settings. The theory of private law has a proud legacy stretching back to antiquity, which has been continually renewed and updated. The need for a new generation of private law theory has become all the more acute given questions and challenges posed by rapid technological change, economic globalization, and the rise of new forms of family and personal relations.
The Berkeley Center for Private Law Theory promotes interdisciplinary research on these themes. We organize a variety of activities designed to stimulate dialogue, to exchange and advance knowledge, and to explore new ideas. The Center aims to foster insights into the legal building blocks of our social and economic life and contribute to making them fair and just.
The Berkeley Center for Private Law Theory invites applications for its 2025-26 doctoral award program. The Center offers grants of $6,000 to registered JSD, PhD, or other doctoral students in good academic standing at the University of California, Berkeley, who study contracts, property, torts, or any other related legal field, such as trusts, work law, or family law. We are particularly interested in learning about candidates who share Berkeley’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Doctoral Fellows will be part of the Center’s research group and will be committed to take part in all the Center’s activities (its conferences, courses/seminars, and all its other activities) on both the Fall and the Spring terms.
Applicants must submit:
- Summary of the dissertation research plan (up to two pages). This document should state your hypothesis and how it relates to (adds on, criticizes, elaborates) existing scholarship and how it is connected to BCPLT’s areas of inquiry.
- CV, including a list of publications (if applicable).
- Names of up to three potential referees (one of them the applicant’s supervisor).
Deadline for submission of all application materials: Feb 10, 2025. Application materials should be sent by e-mailed to Mr. Casey Dzubur ([email protected]).
More information about the Center.
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February 10, 2025
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Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowship
The Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowships are to be awarded only to candidates who have outstanding undergraduate records, have demonstrated a need for financial assistance, are citizens of the United States of America, are enrolled in accredited colleges and universities in the United States and have received baccalaureate degrees. Applicants must be enrolled UC Berkeley graduate students. Eligible students include not only those in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, but also those in professional programs like law, medicine, engineering, and architecture. Students with the potential to utilize three years of funding will be given priority over students who would only use one year of funding. The amount of each Fellowship will cover the cost of tuition only (no fees) and a stipend to be allocated towards room, board, living expenses, and income taxes. The Trustee has set the stipend at $18,000 for this year. Applications will be accepted via email and should be sent to [email protected] in a SINGLE PDF DOCUMENT by the campus deadline. Award selection and notification to be completed by June 2025. For more information, contact Graduate Fellowships
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The 2026-2027 applications will be available in October 2025
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Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowships
For U.S. citizens and permanent residents conducting overseas dissertation research in modern foreign language and area studies. Funding is for six to 12 months. Fellowships are not awarded for projects focusing on Western Europe or for research in countries with which the U.S. has no diplomatic relations.
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Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship Program Website
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Fulbright U.S. Student Program
Applicants must be U.S. citizens holding a B.A. degree or equivalent before the beginning date of the grant. Provides round-trip travel, tuition, books, and stipend for one academic year. Approximately 1,300 awards are available for study in over 140 countries. Applies to course work, master’s or dissertation research. There is a UC Berkeley campus deadline that is often earlier than the posted deadline. Visit the UC Berkeley Fulbright page for more information.
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August 20, 2025
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DAAD for Study and/or for Research in Germany
For Berkeley undergraduate seniors, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers to undertake study and/or research in Germany. Contact the Graduate Fellowships office for campus instructions: [email protected].
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October 14, 2024 (Campus Deadline)
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Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowships
Open to U.S. citizens in the applied and physical sciences who have a record of high scholastic performance. Provides a stipend, tuition, and fees. Check website for application.
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Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowships Website
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NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Programs
Awarded for study in mathematical, physical, biological, and social sciences; engineering; science education; and in the history and philosophy of science. For U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents at or near the beginning of graduate study. Three years of support.
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NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Programs Website
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Graduate Fellowship in STEM Diversity (Formerly National Physical Science Consortium Fellowship)
The Graduate Fellowship in STEM Diversity offers Ph.D.-track fellowships in the physical sciences and related engineering fields. It is open to all qualified U.S. citizens, with an emphasis on recruiting applications from historically underrepresented minorities. Graduate Fellowship in STEM Diversity Fellows will receive one or two paid summer internships, as well as tuition, fees, and stipends for up to six years.
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Graduate Fellowship in STEM Diversity website
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UC MEXUS-CONACYT Doctoral Fellowships for Mexican Students
Provides up to five years of funding for Mexican students doing their doctoral studies at one of the ten University of California campuses. Students may pursue doctoral studies in most of the academic disciplines, with the exception of the arts. Provides full non-resident tuition, fees, a stipend, and support towards health insurance. Mexican citizens, Mexican residents, and/or undocumented students with work authorization eligible to apply.
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UC MEXUS-CONACYT Doctoral Fellowships for Mexican Students website
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UC President’s Pre-Professoriate Fellowship
The UC President’s Pre-Professoriate Fellowship is part of the UC-Hispanic Serving Institutions Doctoral Diversity Initiative (UC-HSI DDI), which aims to enhance faculty diversity and pathways to the professoriate for historically underrepresented students from California Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), particularly Chicanx/Latinx, African Americans, American Indians/Native Americans, Filipinx, and Pacific Islanders in all disciplines; women in STEM; and Asian Americans in the humanities and social sciences. Fellows receive a $37,000 stipend and California resident tuition and fees and $10,000 professional development grant that will expose, prepare, and inspire the fellow to pursue the professoriate.
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January 30, 2025
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Taiwan-UC Berkeley Fellowship
The Taiwan – UC Berkeley Fellowship is a partnership with the Taiwan Ministry of Education to support Taiwanese students of outstanding talent in their pursuit of doctoral study at UC Berkeley. Newly admitted students who have applied to and been approved by the Ministry of Education’s Department of International and Cross-strait Education (DICE) are eligible. The fellowship allows graduate programs to share the cost of doctoral study, inclusive of tuition and fees, nonresident tuition, and living expenses (salary/stipend), with DICE for four years. Up to five new fellowships may be awarded each year.
Eligible applicants:
- Citizens of the Republic of China, residents of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen or Matsu.
- Students meeting this requirement currently studying outside of Taiwan are eligible.
- Application and approval for the DICE program by the Ministry of Education.
- Must be newly admitted for doctoral study – all fields of study are eligible
- Students currently undertaking doctoral study at UC Berkeley are not eligible.
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Taiwan Ministry of Education
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