Guidance for UA Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the COVID-19 Era
Document maintained by the College of Science Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholars Re-entry Committee
UArizona Employee Assistance Counseling
Information on online counseling services provided by Life & Work Connections and crisis resources
Professional development plan; collaborative grants; how to build your own website; Erdös Institute
Applying for jobs; building collaborations; moving to a new department; getting the most out of your postdoc
The links below point to opinion articles and videos on topics relevant to early-career researchers.
University resources and workshops for postdocs, including life & work connections and employee counseling
UA Postdoctoral Affairs: The office UA site for postdocs. It contains many useful resources and offers postdoc-centered activities that you should check out.
Postdoc Place: A site for sharing information among postdocs, with links to additional postdoc resources.
UA Postdoctoral Association: A postdoc-run site to help build connections between UA postdocs as well as with the broader community.
UA Life & Work Connections: Wellness opportunities on campus as well as links to employee assistance, work/life integration, child care, etc.
Employee Assistance Counseling: one-on-one counseling; crisis resources; skill-building workshops.
Office of Diversity & Inclusion: "Diversity, equity, and inclusion continues to be one of our greatest global challenges and our goal is to develop thought-leaders who can advance inclusive excellence in innovative and impactful ways."
Campus Connections: Professional development workshops and social events for faculty. If you are curious about content, the following summary from previous postdoc participants is available from within the Math network: Publish, Not Perish.
Responsible Conduct of Research Workshops: Open to all and required if you are funded by some federal agencies. Possibility of receiving credit towards RCR certificate.
Slides from the first Postdoctoral Orientation by UA Postdoctoral Affairs: topics cover social activities, responsible conduct of research, individual development plans, Fulbright fellowships, and UA core facilities.
Useful professional development resources available online
From MUMA College of Business (University of South Florida). The associated module videos are publicly posted and were recommended by one of our postdocs. Links are below.
Module 1: Emotional Intelligence
Module 2: Stereotypes & Biases
Module 3: Understand your Organization
Module 5: Recruitment & Retention
Module 6: Community Outreach
Module 7: Sustainable Business Model
Teaching certificate offered by the CIRTL program that can be completed in 1 year. "This fast-track certificate program combines training in theory and pedagogy of evidence-based teaching and an intensive, short-term co-teaching assignment (3-4 weeks) to practice these skills in a classroom setting and receive valuable feedback from a faculty mentor. All postdoctoral scholars at UArizona are eligible to apply."
Information for UArizona researchers
Funding opportunities, proposal development, core facilities, research administration and compliance, etc.
What you should know before you start doing research on campus.
Training program in the responsible conduct of research.
A place to deposit "research materials associated with published articles and/or completed grants and research projects … intended for public availability. All published materials will receive a DOI for citation purposes."
Department instructor handbook; OIA resources; IBL resources; CITRL program; resources to improve your teaching practice and develop your teaching portfolio
Math Department support site for instructors: Prepping for a new term, Trainings and Workshops, Teaching Tools, Video Capture of Classes, Resources for Async Instructors
Resource manual for instructors
List of UArizona campus resources and services available to students. The Downloads section includes documents you can reuse to share some of this information with your students.
Information on teaching with technology, teaching workshops, D2L, teaching evaluations, peer review of teaching, etc
Office of Instruction and Assessment Workshops & Classes: A variety of workshop and seminars for those interested in improving their teaching or implementing new teaching strategies
Faculty & Future Faculty Development: "The OIA Faculty & Future Faculty Development team members can help you create a new course or improve your current course, suggest strategies to improve student learning and engagement, or answer your questions about teaching and learning"
Programs for faculty and students that support student learning
"AIBL supports college math instructors via professional development and learning communities to effectively and equitably implement IBL methods in undergraduate mathematics courses."
UArizona is a member of CIRTL, "a nationally recognized network of research institutions that offers cross-network classes and workshops and awards certificate levels of achievement for STEM graduate students and postdocs who are interested in teaching at the college level."
Examples of mathematics teaching portfolios and general advice on how to develop a teaching portfolio
Outreach opportunities
The Department of Mathematics sponsors a large number of outreach activities, many of which require faculty involvement. Participating in some of these programs will provide invaluable experiences to all postdoctoral fellows.
Graduate students and faculty, including postdocs, work with pre-college students on interesting mathematical problems. The Circle meets weekly during the academic year.
Circle lectures are attended by middle and high school mathematics teachers "who are interested in exploring engaging, accessible topics in mathematics and who strive to incorporate a problem solving approach in their classrooms." Postdocs may be involved by giving lectures and/or organizing Circle events.
The Western Alliance to Expand Student Opportunities (WAESO) based at ASU provides funding for Faculty-Directed Undergraduate Research and Peer Study projects. Log in to apply for funding.
Internal and external funding opportunities; Math Department postdoc funding request form
These rules apply to grants that are managed by the university and go through sponsored projects.
Form to fill out to request funding for travel to conferences or to support visitors, undergraduates working with you, etc. Please note that for travel budget increases, there is a strong expectation that you should pursue external funding sources before you ask the Department for additional support.
Postdocs may use their start-up funds and request additional funding for equipment purchases (books that are not available in electronic format, software licenses, laptops, printers, etc). Any item purchased in this manner will remain the property of the University of Arizona and will have to be returned to the Department of Mathematics at the end of the postdoc's employment period. Please use the above form for such requests: make sure to provide specific information about the proposed purchase and upload a detailed budget. The library already provides access to many e-books. You may request a purchase or contact our library liaison, Jim Martin, if you need an e-book that the library does not have.
Grants (up to $2000) to help postdoctoral scholars develop independent research activities. Applications are due mid-March.
Tips, resources, and tools that will help you write a good grant proposal.
→ NSF proposal templates in LaTeX format (repository assembled by NSF monitors)
"Mireille Consalvey draws on years of experience to present a 13-step checklist for success."
5 tips on how to work with an NSF program officer
Support research-related travel for early-career mathematicians ($2,000 per year for 2 years). Applications are due in February-March of each year.
→ Examples of successful applications [Available only from within the Math network]
Travel and mentoring grants for women in mathematics. Deadlines vary depending on type of funding. Standard travel grant applications are due at the beginning of February, May, and October.
→ Examples of successful applications [Available only from within the Math network]
Professional development program for early-career mathematical scientists. Applications are due on April 15th of each year.
Applications are due in October of each year.
→ Examples of successful applications [Available only from within the Math network]
New program that provides postdoctoral support to individuals "who will broaden the participation of groups that are underrepresented in MPS fields in the U.S." Applications are due in January of each year.
Provides 1 year of support for postdocs committed to a career in academia. Applications are due in November of each year.
Postdoctoral fellowships at Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Institute of Technology, U.S. Air Force Academy. Candidates for postdoctoral awards should have held a doctorate for less than 5 years. Apply at any time.
One-year appointments renewable for up to three years. Application may be submitted between mid-March and May. Candidates should have held a doctorate for less than 5 years.
These programs offer "graduate, postdoctoral, and senior level research opportunities at sponsoring federal laboratories and affiliated institutions." Candidates for postdoctoral awards should have held a doctorate for less than 5 years. Apply at any time.
$60,000 grants for women in scientific postdoctoral fellowships. Applications are due in early February of each year.
Grants for postdoctoral and early-career applicants. Opportunities vary - explore their site to know more!
Five-year fellowships for researchers who have 3 to 8 years of post PhD experience. "Suitable individuals of any nationality can apply for a University Research Fellowship to be held in an eligible UK host research organisation." Applications are due in early September.
→ Examples of Successful Applications and names of faculty who can provide feedback on your proposals [Available only from within the Math network]
Many research institutes have short-term and long-term programs that support postdoctoral fellows.
Funding for "top researchers anywhere in the world." Check the website for areas of interest and deadlines.
Funding for researchers at any stage of their career as well as for collaborations between industry and academia. Different calls open at different times and deadlines vary.
Funding for early-career researchers, in order to "provide support and protected time for an intensive, supervised career development experience in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences leading to research independence."
by Katie Rose Guest Pryal
by Rachel Toor
If you are interested in contributing, click on "Become an author" to register and suggest a topic.
A 2019 article in Nature's Career Column, by Van Savage and Pamela Yeh.