POSTDOC DEFINITION

General requirements for all Postdocs, title codes 3252, 3253 and 3254 defined by Visiting Scholar and Postdoc Affairs(VSPA). (More info found at

Applicants must satisfy all of the following specifications:

  • possess a Ph.D. or foreign equivalent conferred less than five years ago (however, extenuating circumstances, including health and family care, will allow for exceptions to this requirement);
  • proposed appointment may not total more than five years of service including previous postdoctoral experience at other institutions;
  • have an institutional source of funding, e.g., fellowship, traineeship, or equivalent external support;
  • pursue a program of research and training under the direction of a faculty member with approval of an academic department or organized research unit (ORU) and registration with the VSPA Program;
  • may not have been employed as an assistant professor, associate professor, or professor;
  • the appointment term must be at least one month in duration.

Postdoctoral Scholar – Employee (Job Code 3252)

An appointment is made in the title “Postdoctoral Scholar – Employee” when (1) the agency funding the salary requires or permits the appointee to be an employee of the University, or (2) whenever General Funds, Opportunity Funds or other University discretionary funds are used to support the position.

Postdoctoral Scholar – Fellow (Job Code 3253)

An appointment is made in the title “Postdoctoral Scholar – Fellow” when the Postdoctoral Scholar has been awarded a fellowship or traineeship for postdoctoral study by an extramural agency and the fellowship or traineeship is paid through a University account.

Postdoctoral Scholar – Paid Direct (Job Code 3254)

An appointment is made in the title “Postdoctoral Scholar – Paid Direct” when the Postdoctoral Scholar has been awarded a fellowship or traineeship for postdoctoral study by an extramural agency and the agency pays the fellowship or traineeship directly to the Postdoctoral Scholar, rather than through the University. Such appointments shall have a “without-salary” status.

Postdoctoral Scholars may be assigned to more than one Postdoctoral Scholar title concurrently depending on University and extramural funding agency requirements.

The approval process for Postdocs varies from department to department, so you will need to consult with your Deans’ office or control unit to verify the appointment process for these employees.

GUIDE TO HIRING POSTDOCS IN HCM:

Employment Paperwork needed for the appointment of Postdoctoral Scholars:

Human Capital Management System (HCM): HCM fields covered in this job aid represent a sample of the key fields that most individuals have questions about when hiring Postdocs. Other fields may be required to save the record.

3252 – Postdoctoral Scholar-Employee

WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATIONJOBDATA

Job Information tab:

Appt Type: Y- Academic Non Faculty

Pay Schedule: MO-MnthCur

Leave Code: None

FTE: 1.00

Salary Plan tab:

Step: Must be paid on the Postdoctoral Fellowscale posted on the Academic Personnel Office web site underTable 26A for the appropriate academic year. As of 9/1/10, 3252 Postdocs are no longer on steps.

Compensation tab:

Rate Code: Automatically derives when job code is entered. Should be 11/12.

Enter the monthly salary.

Earnings Distribution tab:

Earnings Distribution: Earnings Code is always REG.

Distribution %: Other than in exceptional cases, appointment should be 100%.

PERSONAL INFORMATION> MODIFY A PERSON

Eligibility tab:

BELI Code: P(Postdoc) should be the indicator for benefits eligibility.

3253 – Postdoctoral Scholar-Fellow

WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATIONJOBDATA

Job Information tab:

Appt Type: Y- Academic Non Faculty

Pay Schedule: MO-MnthCur

Leave Code: None

FTE: Should enter as1.00. Even though Distribution % is blank, 1.0 FTE must be entered to enable PPS to recognize benefits eligibility.

Salary Plan tab:

Step:Leave blank.The funding agency determines the annual salary and HCM does not require that these Postdocs be paid on step. However, Postdoc Fellows must be paid at least the minimum step 1 on the Postdoctoral Fellow scale posted on the Academic Personnel Office web site Table 26A of the appropriate academic year. You may need to work with your Dean’s office to establish if a Postdoc paid below Step 1 should be supplemented.

Compensation tab:

Rate Code: Automatically derives when job code is entered. Should be 11/12.

Earnings Distribution tab:

Earnings Distribution Code: Earnings Code is either FEN, FEL or PDD.

FEN: Resident Alien or Citizen

FEL: NON Resident Alien

PDD: Indicates that the distribution represents a supplementation to provide a negotiated amount of additional compensation. Can be used in a 2nd Distribution line or may stand alone.

Distribution %: Leave blank

PERSONAL INFORMATION > MODIFY A PERSON

Eligibility tab:

BELI Code: P(Postdoc) should be the indicator for benefits eligibility.

3254 – Postdoctoral Scholar-Paid Direct

WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATIONJOBDATA

Job Information tab:

Job Code: 3254C

Appt Type: Y- Academic Non Faculty

Pay Schedule: MO-MnthCur

Leave Code: None

Time code: E-Exception time

FTE:Should enter as1.00. Even though Distribution % is blank, 1.0 FTE must be entered to enable PPS to recognize benefits eligibility.

Payroll tab:Should default to PDF. (If PDF does not show here the system will not allow

the earning code of PDE to be used on Earnings Distribution page.)

Salary Plan tab:

Salary Administration Plan: WOS

Step: Leave Blank. The funding agency determines the annual salary and HCM does not require that these Postdocs be paid on step. These postdocs are not paid through the UC Berkeley Payroll System.However, all postdocs must be paid at least the minimum step 1 on the Postdoctoral Fellow scale posted on the Academic Personnel Office web site Table 26A of the appropriate academic year. If your 3254 postdoc is paid below the minimum, you may need to process a salary supplementation on title code 3253.

Compensation tab:

Rate Code:Should be Month.

Comp Rate: Leave blank.

Earnings Distribution:

Earnings Code: PDW-Postdoctoral Scholar without salary

Distribution %: Leave blank.

Payrate: Leave blank

Click the plus button to add a new distribution line.

On the Distribution page a new row with PDE is added to reflect the monthly external fund amount for 3254C. This amount will NOT be charged to the assigned chart string.

Earnings Code: PDE-Postdoctoral Scholar external pay

Distribution %: Leave blank.

Payrate: Fill in monthly salary.

Click the Save button, then click OK to acknowledge the warnings about blank compensation amount and/or Job FTE and Distribution % must be within 1%.

PERSONAL INFORMATION > MODIFY A PERSON

Eligibility:

BELI Code: P(Postdoc) should be set as the indicator for benefits eligibility.

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