PSC Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Population Studies Center has a vibrant interdisciplinary group of postdoctoral fellows. Our fellows benefit from fruitful relationships with PSC faculty mentors and programming designed to provide training in population science perspectives and methods, exposure to interdisciplinary scholarship, and continued development of scholarly independence. Our postdoctoral fellows have been very productive in the program, have found excellent positions, and have built successful careers after their training at Michigan.

Our fellowships are supported by federal National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants awarded to the PSC from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

Our program accepts applications each fall (September-December), for fellowships beginning the following fall. Fellowships provide health insurance, stipends to support living expenses, and supplemental childcare support. Fellows devote most of their time to independent research. Positions offer exceptional opportunities for collaboration at the Institute for Social Research on major projects in the U.S. and overseas. The term of fellowship appointment will be for two years, contingent on continued funding. Stipend will be commensurate with experience, based on levels mandated by NIH.

NIH has stated that their ability to help ensure that the nation remains a global leader in scientific discovery and innovation is dependent upon a pool of highly talented scientists from diverse backgrounds who will further NIH’s mission. We encourage applications from US citizens and Permanent Residents who are training grant-eligible and who come from underrepresented backgrounds including African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, persons with a disability, or individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. For further information, please see NIH Notice Number: NOT-OD-20-031, “Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity.”

Eligibility:

Applicants for the NIA positions need not have a background in aging research (although it is desirable) but they must propose an aging-related research project that focuses on the health of the elderly or near-elderly population as part of their application. Applicants for the NICHD positions should focus on demography, social and behavioral research on reproductive health, and research on population health and productivity at the population level. Applications whose relationship to health is unclear or distantly removed do not fall within the NIH’s mission.

NICHD Research: https://www.nichd.nih.gov/about/org/der/branches/pdb
NIA Research: https://www.nia.nih.gov/about
Ensuring a clear relationship to health research: NIH priorities for Health Economics Research

NIH has stated that their ability to help ensure that the nation remains a global leader in scientific discovery and innovation is dependent upon a pool of highly talented scientists from diverse backgrounds who will further NIH’s mission. We encourage applications from US citizens and Permanent Residents who are training grant-eligible and who come from underrepresented backgrounds including African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, persons with a disability, or individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. For further information, please see NIH Notice Number: NOT-OD-20-031, “Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity.”

Our postdoctoral fellowships are federally funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). As such, only U.S. Citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents are eligible for these particular federally funded postdoctoral fellowships. Applicants must be Citizens or Permanent Residents of the United States at the time of application. Applications must include current Citizenship/Permanent Resident status on the first page of their CV to be considered for this fellowship.

Qualifications:

Applicants must have a Ph.D. in demography, public health, public policy, or one of the social sciences (e.g., sociology, economics, psychology) by the starting date.

Selection will be based on scholarly potential and compatibility with the interests of a faculty mentor. When considering applicants we will take into consideration current NIH guidelines with respect to the scope of population studies research supported by NICHD, NIA, and the NIH priorities for Health Economics Research.

Application Instructions:

Applications are accepted through Interfolio. The following application materials are required:

  • Letter of application (Cover letter)
  • Curriculum Vitae – which must include citizenship/permanent resident status on the first page. Only U.S. Citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents are eligible for these particular federally funded postdoctoral fellowships. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents of the United States at the time of application.
  • Statement of research interests – A 1-2 page statement describing current research interests and activity, and a research plan for the postdoctoral fellowship period. Applicants to the NIA-sponsored fellowship should describe their background in aging research, if any. Aging background is not required, but to be considered for NIA fellowship you must propose an aging-related research project that focuses on the health of the elderly or near-elderly population.
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement that describes: your knowledge about DEI issues and goals in population science and higher education, your demonstrated track record in advancing DEI goals in population science and higher education, and your planned attention to advancing DEI goals through research and training during the postdoctoral fellowship. There may be some overlap with your research plan (1 page).
  • Examples of written work (2 minimum/ 3 maximum)
  • Letters of Recommendation – Three letters of recommendation, submitted directly from the recommender. Please use the Interfolio tools to send requests to your recommenders, or upload letters already saved to Interfolio. Letters are due by midnight on the application closing date. Applications are not considered complete until all recommendation letters are received.

APPLY NOW VIA INTERFOLIO 

Questions may be emailed to: [email protected].

The Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan seeks to recruit diverse postdoctoral fellows as a reflection of our commitment to serve the diverse people of Michigan, to maintain the excellence of the university, and to ground our research in varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning. The University of Michigan is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.