Faculty Mentors

No. Postdoctoral trainees at the University of Pennsylvania are not eligible for the university’s tuition assistance benefit. This benefit is available only to full-time faculty in a benefits-eligible title and regular full-time staff.

If a postdoctoral trainee (PDT) wishes to enroll in a degree or certificate program, the full cost is their responsibility, unless their faculty mentor or department agrees to cover the expense. Any postdoc considering this option should consult with their mentor and departmental business administrator to discuss possible funding or approval.

Auditing Courses:
Postdocs may audit courses at Penn with the permission of both their faculty mentor and the course instructor. It is generally recommended that postdocs wait 6 to 12 months after the start of their appointment before auditing, to ensure they are fully engaged in their research and training responsibilities.

A great place to start is reviewing various resources available to postdocs for conflict management. You can see more detail on various resources by looking at the overview of resources at Penn available to help with conflict management and resolution. 

Per the policy, postdoc appointments are made for one year. Postdocs can be reappointed for up to five years total. Faculty mentors who expect to reappoint an international postdoc can offer a multi-year visa sponsorship duration to mitigate the burden of visa renewals if funding is secured for the same period of visa sponsorship, there is an intention to reappoint the postdoc, and the postdoc meets the expectations of the position as documented in an Individual Development Plan. Departments need to include the appropriate language in the appointment or reappointment letter to offer a multi-year visa sponsorship duration and final approval must be secured by ISSS.

There are several different discipline specific RCR courses listed in the CITI training. You should choose the course that is most closely associated with your discipline: Biomedical Research – research in areas like life sciences, biomedical, health sciences, basic biological research, etc. Social and Behavioral Research – research in areas like anthropology, communication, economics, geography, communication, criminology, international studies, journalism, political science, psychology, sociology, speech and hearing, education, etc. Physical Sciences – research in areas like physics, earth sciences, chemistry, microbiology, evolution and ecology, astronomy, mathematics, energy, aerospace, lasers, etc. Humanities – research in areas like visual or performing arts, arts education, English or other languages, religious studies, gender studies, literature, history, etc. Engineering – research in general engineering fields. This course is very similar to the Physical Science course. Research Administrators – If you assist in the administration of research rather than the direct conduct of the research, you should select the Research Administrators course.

The National Academies and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified IDPs as a critical component of postdoctoral training. The NIH policy states: NIH encourages institutions to develop Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers (including scholars, trainees and fellows, and individuals in other postdoctoral positions) supported by NIH awards by October 2014. The IDPs should be broadly implemented for all graduate students and postdoctoral researchers supported by NIH… [As of] Oct. 1, 2014… NIH will begin to encourage grantees to report the use of those IDPs on the progress report, regardless of the type of NIH grant that is used for support. Although not yet a formal NIH requirement, those who don’t adopt the IDP locally now are likely to be at a disadvantage at their next competitive review. Note that this policy applies to all trainees supported by NIH funds, whether training grants, R01s or other.