The Future of Higher Education Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

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 postdoc is assigned.

Personal research will be flexible for the scholar 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 postdoctoral fellow and the hiring unit; 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 that are part of the scholar’s selected track.

The institutional research projects that scholars will work on may vary in their methodologies, size and scope, individual or team-based nature, etc. In an effort to equip scholars with the skills and exposure necessary to succeed, we are committed to work with hiring units to provide scholars training and support, as well as to highlight the skillsets, values, and perspectives they bring. As such, we are most interested in the scholar’s commitment to evolving and adapting to new opportunities and projects, as well as the scholar’s recognition of 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 department’s priorities. These may include facilitating meetings, managing various projects that are aligned with the strategic goals of the department, managing staff, sitting on committees, or other duties as assigned. The goal of the practice portion of the fellowship is to allow the Fellow to gain experience working at a managerial level within a unit and to be exposed to some of the challenges and opportunities one has in an administrative role.

Initial appointments will be for a period of two years, at the agreement of the postdoctoral scholar and the hiring department. Each postdoctoral scholar will begin the program with an orientation. The bootcamp will introduce the scholars to different aspects of higher education administration; allow them to meet their mentors (the selection and confirmation of mentors will be overseen by the Selection Committee); teach scholars about what resources they have as a postdoctoral scholar 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 bootcamp, fellows will work with their units to develop a plan for developing 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.

This track will have the Fellow work closely with units that will allow scholars to gain exposure to, and experience in, working in the highest levels of campus leadership and strategic decision-making.

This track will have the Fellow work closely with the leadership of the hiring units and will allow scholars to gain exposure to, and experience in, working on student-facing services, programming, and administration.

This track will have the Fellow work closely with the leadership and staff in the hiring units and will allow scholars to gain exposure to, and experience in, using data to drive decision making. 

In keeping with the campus postdoc salary scale, the salary for this postdoc will be $64,480 plus benefits including a $2000 professional development fund

Deadline for applications to the UC Berkeley Future of Higher Education (FHE) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is Friday, May 24 at 9:00 p.m. Pacific Time

Applicants must:

• Hold an earned doctoral degree in any discipline by August 9, 2024
• Earned their relevant doctoral degree no earlier than May 2023
• 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 August 31, 2024

Applicants should submit the following:

• 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 departments.

Apply Now

If you received your Berkeley doctorate in August or December 2023, use this application link.

The mission of the Future of Higher Education (FHE) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is to:

1. Equip recent doctoral graduates with the experience and exposure to a career within higher education administration.
2. 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.
3. 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.

1. 1. This is accomplished through a team of three support mentors. The first is an academic mentor which will advise the scholar on how their institutional research can also be positioned within different fields should the scholar still choose to pursue more traditional academic career tracks in teaching or research. The scholars 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.
   2. 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. 

• Graduate Division
• College of Letters & Sciences
• Center for African Studies
• Chancellor’s Office
• CITRIS
• People and Culture
• The Division of Equity and Inclusion

Actual participating departments for this year are still determining hiring requirements and will differ from the below list.