At the same time as they apply for teaching positions, many students submit applications for post-doctoral fellowships (“post-docs”). A post-doc is a salaried research position, usually held for one year, but sometimes longer, at a university, college, or foundation. Teaching, if any is called for, is usually minimal. Rather, the post-doctoral fellow is expected to contribute to the intellectual community of the awarding institute or center, either by presenting a lecture, organizing a workshop or conference, and interacting with graduate students and faculty colleagues. Most post-docs include an office; some also provide career development assistance.
A post-doc is considered by many students to be highly desirable because it affords the fellow a chance to work in a concentrated fashion, with minimal outside obligations. In some cases, post-docs are awarded to fellows who are beginning new projects, or who are completing smaller, non-thesis projects. Many post-doctoral fellowships are awarded to enable the fellow to bring a doctoral thesis into publishable shape. In those cases, it is sometimes a condition of the fellowship that the fellow offer right of first refusal on the resulting manuscript to the awarding institution’s university press.
The materials needed to apply for a post-doctoral fellowship are in many regards similar to those used in the job application, and announcements about post-doctoral fellowships often appear together with job listings. Eligibility periods for application to post-docs vary, but most allow for receipt of the PhD within the last five years.