postdoctoral fellowship research proposal example pdf

Feb 20 2023

• Writing a Winning Postdoctoral Research Proposal: A Guide and Template

Eddy Haminton

Career advice

If you are interested in pursuing a postdoctoral position, one of the first steps is to write a research proposal that outlines the project you plan to undertake. A postdoctoral research proposal is an important document that can help you secure funding, support, and a position at a university or research institution. In this blog post, we will provide a guide to writing a postdoctoral research proposal, as well as a template to help you get started.

The purpose of a postdoctoral research proposal is to demonstrate your research expertise, creativity, and vision, as well as to provide a clear plan for the research you plan to undertake. A good research proposal should be clear, concise, and well-organized, and should provide a strong rationale for the proposed research. It should also outline the research objectives, methods, and expected outcomes.

Here is a basic template for a postdoctoral research proposal:

I. Introduction

• Provide a brief overview of the research area and context for your proposed research
• State the research problem or question that your project will address
• Provide a rationale for the importance of the proposed research

II. Objectives and Research Questions

• Clearly state the research objectives of your project
• Provide a list of specific research questions that you plan to address

III. Background and Literature Review

• Provide a summary of the key literature in the research area
• Discuss how your proposed research builds on and contributes to the existing research

IV. Methodology

• Provide a clear and detailed description of the research methods you plan to use
• Explain how your methodology will help you achieve your research objectives
• Discuss any potential limitations of your proposed methodology and how you plan to address them

V. Expected Outcomes and Significance

• Clearly state the expected outcomes of your research
• Discuss the potential impact and significance of your research for the research area and beyond

VI. Timeline

• Provide a timeline for the completion of the proposed research
• Break the project into specific milestones and indicate the time required to complete each milestone

VII. Budget

• Provide a detailed budget for the proposed research
• Indicate the costs associated with equipment, materials, travel, and other expenses

VIII. Conclusion

• Summarize the key points of your research proposal
• Reiterate the importance and significance of your proposed research

When writing a postdoctoral research proposal, it is important to tailor your proposal to the specific research area and institution you are applying to. It is also important to be realistic about the feasibility of your proposed research, given the time and resources available.

In conclusion, a postdoctoral research proposal is a critical document that can help you secure a postdoctoral position and funding for your research. By following the template above and tailoring your proposal to the specific research area and institution you are applying to, you can increase your chances of success. Good luck with your postdoctoral research proposal!

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Proposal (research statement) for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities (2016)

Document type: Proposal / Research Statement Job type: Postdoc Discipline: humanities (general) Year: 2016

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Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Postdoctoral Fellowship

Affiliation Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America

Affiliation Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America

Affiliation Division of Hematology, Oncology, Stem Cell Transplantation, and Cancer Biology, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America

* E-mail: [email protected] (LM); [email protected] (CMB)

Affiliation Asian Liver Center and Department of Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America

Affiliation Stanford Biosciences Grant Writing Academy, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America

• Ke Yuan, 
• Lei Cai, 
• Siu Ping Ngok, 
• Li Ma, 
• Crystal M. Botham

Published: July 14, 2016

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004934
• Reader Comments

Citation: Yuan K, Cai L, Ngok SP, Ma L, Botham CM (2016) Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Postdoctoral Fellowship. PLoS Comput Biol 12(7): e1004934. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004934

Editor: Fran Lewitter, Whitehead Institute, UNITED STATES

Copyright: © 2016 Yuan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: Dr. Ke Yuan is supported by American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant (15SDG25710448) and the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Proof of Concept Award (SPO121940). Dr. Lei Cai is supported by Stanford Neuroscience Institute and NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellowship (1F32HL128094). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Postdoctoral fellowships support research, and frequently career development training, to enhance your potential to becoming a productive, independent investigator. Securing a fellowship sends a strong signal that you are capable of conducting fundable research and will likely lead to successes with larger grants. Writing a fellowship will also increase your productivity and impact because you will learn and refine skills necessary to articulate your research priorities. However, competition is fierce and your fellowship application needs to stand out among your peers as realistic, coherent, and compelling. Also, reviewers, a committee of experts and sometimes non-experts, will scrutinize your application, so anything less than polished may be quickly eliminated. We have drawn below ten tips from our experiences in securing postdoctoral fellowships to help as you successfully tackle your proposal.

Rule 1: Start Early and Gather Critical Information

Crafting a competitive fellowship can take 6–9 months, so it is imperative that you start early. You may even want to start looking for postdoctoral fellowships before you finish your doctoral degree. Compile a comprehensive list of fellowships that you can apply to. This list should include key information to organize your game plan for applying, including Sponsor (agency sponsoring the fellowship) name; URL for funding information; Sponsor deadlines; and any other requirements or critical information.

To find suitable fellowships, start by asking your faculty mentor(s), laboratory colleagues, and recent alumni about their experiences applying for fellowships. Federal agencies in the United States, such as the National Institute of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF); foreign governmental agencies; and other organizations, such as societies, foundations, and associations, often solicit fellowship applications. Additionally, many institutions offer internally supported fellowships as well as institutional research training grants.

Once you have an exhaustive list of fellowships you are eligible for, start gathering critical information that you can use to inform your writing. Read the fellowship instructions completely and identify the review criteria. Investigate the review process; NIH’s Center for Scientific Review reviews grant applications for scientific merit and has a worthwhile video about the Peer Review Process [ 1 ]. Sometimes Sponsors offer notification alerts about upcoming funding opportunities, deadlines, and updated policies, so make sure to sign up for those when offered. Also, gather previously submitted applications and reviewers’ comments for the fellowships you will to apply to. Both funded and unfunded applications are useful. Sometimes Sponsors make available funded abstracts like NIH’s Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT), and these provide critical information about the scope of funded projects.

Many institutions have internal policies and processes that are required before a proposal can be submitted to a Sponsor. These requirements can include waivers to assess eligibility and internal deadlines (five business day internal deadlines are standard), so make sure you also gather relevant information about any internal policies and processes required by your institution.

Rule 2: Create a Game Plan and Write Regularly

Writing a compelling fellowship takes time, a lot of time, which is challenging to balance with a hectic laboratory schedule, other responsibilities, and family obligations. To reduce stress, divide the fellowship requirements into smaller tasks by creating a detailed timeline with goals or milestones. Having a game plan with daily and/or weekly goals will also help you avoid procrastination. Make sure you are writing regularly (i.e., daily or every other day) to establish an effective writing practice. This will increase your productivity and reduce your anxiety because writing will become a habit. It is also important to make your writing time non-negotiable so other obligations or distractions don’t impede your progress.

Rule 3: Find Your Research Niche

It is crucial that you have a deep awareness of your field so you can identify critical knowledge gaps that will significantly move your field forward when filled. Keep a list of questions or problems inherent to your field and update this list after reading germane peer-reviewed and review articles or attending seminars and conferences. Narrow down and focus your list through discussions with your mentor(s), key researchers in your field, and colleagues. Because compelling projects often combine two seemingly unrelated threads of work to challenge and shift the current research or clinical practice paradigms, it is important to have a broad familiarity with the wider scientific community as well. Seek opportunities to attend seminars on diverse topics, speak with experts, and read broadly the scientific literature. Relentlessly contemplate how concepts and approaches in the wider scientific community could be extended to address critical knowledge gaps in your field. Furthermore, develop a few of your research questions by crafting hypotheses supported by the literature and/or preliminary data. Again, share your ideas with others, i.e., mentor(s), other scientists, and colleagues, to gauge interest in the significance and innovation of the proposed ideas. Remember, because your focus is on writing a compelling fellowship, make sure your research questions are also relevant and appropriate for the missions of the sponsoring agencies.

Rule 4: Use Your Specific Aims Document as Your Roadmap

A perfectly crafted Specific Aims document, usually a one-page description of your plan during the project period, is crucial for a compelling fellowship because your reviewers will read it! In fact, it is very likely your Specific Aims will be the first document your reviewers will read, so it is vital to fully engage the reviewers’ interest and desire to keep reading. The Specific Aims document must concisely answer the following questions:

• Is the research question important? Compelling proposals often tackle a particular gap in the knowledge base that, when addressed, significantly advance the field.
• What is the overall goal? The overall goal defines the purpose of the proposal and must be attainable regardless of how the hypothesis tests.
• What specifically will be done? Attract the reviewers’ interest using attention-getting headlines. Describe your working hypothesis and your approach to objectively test the hypothesis.
• What are the expected outcomes and impact? Describe what the reviewers can expect after the proposal is completed in terms of advancement to the field.

A draft of your Specific Aims document is ideal for eliciting feedback from your mentor(s) and colleagues because evaluating a one-page document is not an enormous time investment on part of the person giving you feedback. Plus, you don’t want to invest time writing a full proposal without knowing the proposal’s conceptual framework is compelling. When you are ready to write the research plan, your Specific Aims document then provides a useful roadmap.

As you are writing (and rewriting) your Specific Aims document, it is essential to integrate the Sponsor’s goals for that fellowship funding opportunity. Often goals for a fellowship application include increasing the awardee’s potential for becoming an independent investigator, in which case an appropriate expected outcome might be that you mature into an independent investigator.

We recommend reading The Grant Application Writer’s Workbook ( www.grantcentral.com ) [ 2 ] because it has two helpful chapters on how to write a persuasive Specific Aims document, as well as other instructive chapters. Although a little formulaic, the Workbook’s approach ensures the conceptual framework of your Specific Aims document is solid. We also advise reading a diverse repertoire of Specific Aims documents to unearth your own style for this document.

Rule 5: Build a First-Rate Team of Mentors

Fellowship applications often support mentored training experiences; therefore, a strong mentoring team is essential. Remember, reviewers often evaluate the qualifications and appropriateness of your mentoring team. The leader of your mentoring team should have a track record of mentoring individuals at similar stages as your own as well as research qualifications appropriate for your interests. Reviewers will also often consider if your mentor can adequately support the proposed research and training because fellowship applications don’t always provide sufficient funds. It is also useful to propose a co-mentor who complements your mentor’s qualifications and experiences. You should also seek out other mentors at your institution and elsewhere to guide and support your training. These mentors could form an advisory committee, which is required for some funding opportunities, to assist in your training and monitor your progress. In summary, a first-rate mentoring team will reflect the various features of your fellowship, including mentors who augment your research training by enhancing your technical skills as well as mentors who support your professional development and career planning.

As you develop your fellowship proposal, meet regularly with your mentors to elicit feedback on your ideas and drafts. Your mentors should provide feedback on several iterations of your Specific Aims document and contribute to strengthening it. Recruit mentors to your team who will also invest in reading and providing feedback on your entire fellowship as an internal review before the fellowship’s due date.

You also want to maintain and cultivate relationships with prior mentors, advisors, or colleagues because fellowships often require three to five letters of reference. A weak or poorly written letter will negatively affect your proposal’s fundability, so make sure your referees will write a strong letter of recommendation and highlight your specific capabilities.

Rule 6: Develop a Complete Career Development Training Plan

Most fellowships support applicants engaged in training to enhance their development into a productive independent researcher. Training often includes both mentored activities, e.g., regular meetings with your mentor(s), as well as professional activities, e.g., courses and seminars. It is important that you describe a complete training plan and justify the need for each training activity based on your background and career goals.

When developing this plan, it is helpful to think deeply about your training needs. What skills or experiences are missing from your background but needed for your next career stage? Try to identify three to five training goals for your fellowship and organize your plan with these goals in mind. Below are sample activities:

• Regular (weekly) one-on-one meetings with mentor(s)
• Biannual meeting with advisory committee
• Externship (few weeks to a few months) in a collaborator’s laboratory to learn a specific technique or approach
• Courses (include course # and timeline) to study specific topics or methods
• Seminars focused on specific research areas
• Conferences to disseminate your research and initiate collaborations
• Teaching or mentoring
• Grant writing, scientific writing, and oral presentation courses or seminars
• Opportunities for gaining leadership roles
• Laboratory management seminars or experiences

Rule 7: STOP! Get Feedback

Feedback is critical to developing a first-class proposal. You need a wide audience providing feedback because your reviewers will likely come from diverse backgrounds as well. Be proactive in asking for feedback from your mentor, colleagues, and peers. Even non-scientists can provide critical advice about the clarity of your writing. When eliciting feedback, inform your reviewer of your specific needs, i.e., you desire broader feedback on overall concepts and feasibility or want advice on grammar and spelling. You may also consider hiring a professional editing and proofreading service to polish your writing.

Some fellowships have program staff, such as the NIH Program Officers, who can advise prospective applicants. These individuals can provide essential information and feedback about the programmatic relevance of your proposal to the Sponsor’s goals for that specific fellowship application. Approaching a Program Officer can be daunting, but reading the article “What to Say—and Not Say—to Program Officers” can help ease your anxiety [ 3 ].

Rule 8: Tell a Consistent and Cohesive Story

Fellowship applications are often composed of numerous documents or sections. Therefore, it is important that all your documents tell a consistent and cohesive story. For example, you might state your long term goal in the Specific Aims document and personal statement of your biosketch, then elaborate on your long term goal in a career goals document, so each of these documents must tell a consistent story. Similarly, your research must be described consistently in your abstract, Specific Aims, and research strategy documents. It is important to allow at least one to two weeks of time after composing the entire application to review and scrutinize the story you tell to ensure it is consistent and cohesive.

Rule 9: Follow Specific Requirements and Proofread for Errors and Readability

Each fellowship application has specific formats and page requirements that must be strictly followed. Keep these instructions and the review criteria close at hand when writing and revising. Applications that do not conform to required formatting and other requirements might be administratively rejected before the review process, so meticulously follow all requirements and guidelines.

Proofread your almost final documents for errors and readability. Errors can be confusing to reviewers. Also, if the documents have many misspellings or grammar errors, your reviewers will question your ability to complete the proposed experiments with precision and accuracy. Remove or reduce any field-specific jargon or acronyms. Review the layout of your pages and make sure each figure or table is readable and well placed. Use instructive headings and figure titles that inform the reviewers of the significance of the next paragraph(s) or results. Use bolding or italics to stress key statements or ideas. Your final documents must be easy to read, but also pleasing, so your reviewers remain engaged.

Rule 10: Recycle and Resubmit

Fellowships applications frequently have similar requirements, so it is fairly easy to recycle your application or submit it to several different funding opportunities. This can significantly increase your odds for success, especially if you are able to improve your application with each submission by tackling reviewers’ comments from a prior submission. However, some Sponsors limit concurrent applications to different funding opportunities, so read the instructions carefully.

Fellowship funding rates vary but, sadly, excellent fellowships may go unfunded. Although this rejection stings, resubmitted applications generally have a better success rate than original applications, so it is often worth resubmitting. However, resubmitting an application requires careful consideration of the reviewers’ comments and suggestions. If available, speak to your Program Officers because he or she may have listened to the reviewers’ discussion and can provide a unique prospective or crucial information not included in the reviewers’ written comments. Resubmitted fellowships are many times allowed an additional one- to two-page document to describe how you addressed the reviewers’ comments in the revised application, and this document needs to be clear and persuasive.

The ten tips we provide here will improve your chances of securing a fellowship and can be applied to other funding opportunity announcements like career development awards (i.e., NIH K Awards). Regardless of funding outcomes, writing a fellowship is an important career development activity because you will learn and refine skills that will enhance your training.

• 1. National Institutes of Health. NIH Peer Review Reveal—a front-row seat to a review peer review meeting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBDxI6l4dOA .
• 2. Stephen W. Russell and David C. Morrison. The Grant Application Writer’s Workbook–National Institutes of Health Version. Available: www.grantcentral.com .
• 3. Spires MJ. What to Say—and Not Say—to Program Officers. The Chronicles of Higher Education. 2012. Available: http://chronicle.com/article/What-to-Say-and-Not-Say-to/131282 .

Postdoctoral Fellowship Research Statements: What I Wish I Knew Before Writing

Written by Andrew Feldman

Of course, the odds of receiving postdoctoral fellowships are not high (typically single digit percentages). Knowing these odds, I applied for eight fellowships: four through university departments and four through government agencies. I initially felt like I had no idea how to be successful, especially since I received none of the 12 doctoral fellowships I had previously applied for. I also had a rough start: my first postdoctoral fellowship application was rejected a month after submission for being slightly out of scope. It certainly required mental fortitude to continue through this application process.

After speaking with colleagues in my field, common themes emerged in how they approach proposals, especially in how to write a stand-out research statement. At this point starting the fifth year of my PhD, I understood the importance of conveying a strong vision in my research statement: it is essential for getting and staying funded regardless of how stellar one’s publication record is. While I knew the motivation and methodology well, my colleagues taught me that conveying my vision in a convincing, focused, and exciting way for other scientists is a different matter. I believe their collective advice was pivotal to improving my research statement and ultimately getting me on the “funded” pile for three of the eight fellowships. I share some of these insights here.

1) Why now? Why me? When formulating your idea, focus on ensuring that your proposal answers why this research should be completed right now, as opposed to anytime. Many committees strongly weigh how much of a priority your research question is. The best introductions will extend beyond an informative literature review and directly state why answering your question is necessary and urgent.

They also want to know: why are you the best person to address this problem as opposed to someone else? Explicitly sell your fit to your research problem and your vision. Lean on your PI choice here – PIs can fill in any technical knowledge gaps and provide complementary tools to those learned during your PhD.

Most surprising to me is how much focus you need place on “why now? why me?” in your motivation. There is no fixed number, but be sure you spend more real estate motivating why the problem and approach is so amazing rather than on addressing every pitfall with your research question and approach.

2) Your audience is broader than you think. Many proposal writers will incorrectly assume (like I initially did) that their committee will include that harsh reviewer of their journal articles who can identify all methodological shortcomings. Rather than trying to defend against this omniscient and unlikely reader, keep the focus on convincing a researcher of an adjacent field that your questions and approach are spectacular. An excellent research statement will ultimately excite any researcher enough to fund the work.

Another nuance to consider: postdoctoral fellowships are mainly offered through federal government agencies (i.e., NSF, NIH, etc.) and specific university departments. Government-based fellowships will be reviewed by researchers closer to your field (but not quite as close as that of a journal article review). In this case, lean slightly towards convincing them that you understand the limitations of the approach and that your background fits the problem. By contrast, university departmental fellowships will typically have committees of professors that will not be in your exact field. For this audience, lean towards exciting them with an accessible, clear problem motivation, provide only a broad overview of the methods you would use, and be very brief.

3) Spend time just thinking: resist the urge to open Microsoft Word and start typing. Spend time purely thinking and schematically charting out your research problem and anticipated results. If you sufficiently plan, the statement will write itself.

4) Less is more: your reviewers are just as busy as you are. They want to see your main idea fast. You may see a ten page limit and feel an urge to cram in as much material as possible. I did this initially, but the statement will quickly become noisy. Instead, prioritize reader friendliness. This means more pictures and less walls of text. Reviewers are thankful for 1.5 spacing, 12 point font, and schematic figures with question marks and arrows that clearly convey your research questions. Use parsimony in discussing methods – mention only the essential methods and main anticipated challenges.

5) Start early: I started formulating my research statement in June 2020. My first deadline was in early August 2020. While this seems early to start, it was not! Give yourself at least two months before your first fellowship deadline to formulate a problem with your prospective PI (or any co-PIs) and write your statements. Provide adequate time for your PI(s) to provide feedback on your ideas and statements. If applying to multiple fellowships with different PIs and/or different project topics, start even earlier.

Lastly, I encourage asking your colleagues for help. Folks around you regardless of career stage have likely spent a significant portion of their time writing research statements. The MIT Communication Lab was a great source of help for me that I used multiple times! Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I was always glad I did.

SERB Project Information System & Management

SERB PR oject I nformation S ystem & M anagement  (PRISM)

National Post Doctoral Fellowship

All Areas of Science (in the broadest terms) will be covered by the fellowship.

The SERB-National Post Doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) is aimed to identify motivated young researchers and provide them support for doing research in frontier areas of science and engineering. The fellows will work under a mentor, and it is hoped that this training will provide them a platform to develop as an independent researcher.

Eligibility

• The applicant should be an Indian citizen.
• The applicant must have obtained Ph.D./M.D./M.S. degree from a recognized University. Those who have submitted their PhD/M.D/M.S thesis and are awaiting award of the degree are also eligible to apply. However, such candidates, if selected, will be offered lower fellowship amount till they qualify the eligible degree.
• The upper age limit for the fellowship is 35 years at the time of the submission of application, age will be calculated by taking the date of closure of the respective call. Age relaxation of 5 (five) years will be given to candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC/Physically Challenged & Women candidates.
• NPDF can be availed only once by a candidate in his/her career.
• Mentor must hold a regular academic / research position in a recognized institution in India. Should hold Ph.D. degree in Science or Engineering.
• A mentor shall not have more than two SERB NPDF fellows at any given time.
• Aspirants of NPDF, ECRA and CRG (EMR) can submit their proposal only once in a calendar year in any one of these schemes.

Nature & Duration of Support

• The fellowship is tenable only in India and can be implemented in any of the recognized academic institutions, national laboratories and other recognized R & D institutions. The host institution should provide necessary administrative and infrastructural support.
• The fellows will not be allowed to work with the Ph.D. guide/co-guide. It is also normally not availed at the same Department / institution where the candidates have earned their PhD/M.S/M.D degree.
• The fellowship is purely a temporary assignment, and is tenable initially for a period of 2 years.
• The fellows will be entitled to receive the grants as given below
• (Rs. 55,000/- per month (consolidated))
• (Rs. 35,000/ p.m for candidates who have submitted the thesis but degree not yet awarded)
• Research Grant (Rs. 2,00,000/- per annum)
• Overheads (Rs. 1,00,000/- per annum)
• Research grant can be used for minor equipment, consumables, contingencies and domestic travel. There is no provision for providing manpower support under this scheme. The Fellow is expected to undertake the research objectives by himself/herself during the entire duration of the fellowship.
• The fellows are not eligible to receive any other fellowship from any Government or Non-Governmental source during the tenure of the fellowship.
• The fellows must seek the consent of SERB if he/she intends to be away from the implementing institute (except for field work related to the project) continuously for a period more than eight weeks.

Selection & Mode of Application

• The call for applications for SERB-N PDF will be notified twice a year through the websites www.serbonline.in and www.serb.gov.in
• The application form along with a research proposal highlighting the objectives of the research work to be undertaken should be submitted online through the website www.serbonline.in
• The applicant must identify a suitable Mentor under whom the proposed research would be carried out.
• The selection will be based on the recommendations of an Expert Committee that will be constituted by the SERB. If required, the applicants may be called for personal interview.

How to Apply Online

For successful online submission of the application the following points may be noted:

• Applicants should first register into the online www.serbonline.in click here to register
• After log-in, applicants are required to fill all the mandatory fields in Profile Detail section under User Profile, which includes Bio data, photo, Institute Address, etc.
• Details including Project Title (max 500 characters), Project summary (max 3000 characters), Keywords (max 6), Objectives of the proposal (max 1500 characters), Expected output and outcome of the proposal (max 1500 characters) should be provided online at the time of submission of the application.
• Work Methodology and Research plan has to be uploaded in single PDF file not more than 3 pages (max 10 MB).
• For details one may visit www.serbonline.in - NPDF

Documents Required (in PDF) Should be in Prescribed Format

• Biodata (under user profile section) (Download template)
• Age Proof Certificate
• Qualification Certificate
• Category Certificate (in case of Age Relaxation)
• Undertaking Certificate by the applicant (Download template)
• Endorsement Certificate from the Mentor & Host Institute (Download template)
• Short CV of the mentor.

Termination of the Fellowship

• If any fellow wishes to terminate the fellowship, he/she shall inform the SERB through the mentor and host institute immediately. The implementing institute should not incur any expenditure from the date of termination of the project or the date of resignation of PI. The institute will also arrange for submission of documents mentioned above.
• SERB reserves the right to terminate the Fellowship at any stage if it is convinced that appropriate progress is not being made or the grant has not been utilized properly.

SERB PDFs are entitled to leave as per rules of the host institution. Participation in scientific workshops held in India or abroad will be treated as on duty. Maternity leave as per the Govt. of India instructions issued from time to time would be available to female candidates in all categories.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Who can apply for NPDF? What are the eligibility criteria for availing the post-doctoral fellowship?

A1: The applicant should hold Ph.D. degree in Science or Engineering or M.D or M.S degree in any area of medicine. Those who have submitted their PhD/M. D/M. S thesis and are awaiting award of the degree are also eligible to apply. Applicants should have an outstanding track record as evident from the quality of the research outputs and publications. The selection will be based on the recommendations of an Expert Committee.

Q2: What is the age limit for availing NPDF?

A2: The upper age limit for the fellowship is 35 years at the time of the submission of application. Age relaxation of 5 (five) years will be given to candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC/Physically Challenged & Women candidates.

Q3: What is the amount of fellowship?Is my fellowship taxable? Is the fellowship tenable outside India?

A3: The Fellowship amount for NPDF is Rs. 55,000/- per month. For those who have submitted their Ph.D. degree, Rs. 35,000/- per month will be offered till they are awarded the eligible degree. The fellowship is taxable under the Income Tax rules of India. The fellowship is tenable only in India and can be implemented in any of the recognized academic institutions, national laboratories and other recognized R & D institutions. The host institution should provide necessary administrative and infrastructural support.

Q4: What is the tenure of the NPDF? Can it be extended?

A4: The fellowship is purely a temporary assignment, and is tenable initially for a period of 2 years. In exceptional cases, depending on the progress of research, the fellowship can be extended for one more year. There is no provision to extend the tenure beyond three years in any case.

Q5: What is the upper age limit up to which the J C Bose fellowship can be availed?Can I avail the NPDF from the same institution from where I have obtained the Ph. D. degree? Can I avail other fellowship grants?

A5: The fellowship is generally not availed at the same institution where one hasobtained or worked for the PhD/M.S/M.D degree. Also, the fellowship cannot be availed with the doctoral thesis supervisor or co-supervisoras a mentor. The fellows are not eligible to receive fellowship/salaryfrom any other Government or Non-Governmental source during the tenure of the SERB National Post-Doctoral Fellowship.

Q6: What is the nature of support in NPDF scheme?

A6: National Post-Doctoral Fellow will be entitled to receive grants under the following budget heads.

Q7: When should I apply for NPDF? Can I apply for the National Post-Doctoral Fellowship (N- PDF) projects throughout the year?

A7: The applicant must first identify the host institution and a suitable Mentor in the host institution under which the proposed research objectives will be pursued. The call for applications for SERB- NPDF will be notified through the website www.serbonline.in and www.serb.gov.in Usually one month window will be provided to submit the application along with other documents. All applications should be submitted through the SERB online portal www.serbonline.in.

Q8: Who is eligible to be a Mentor? Can my Ph.D. supervisor or co-supervisor act as a mentor?

A8: The Mentor should hold a regular academic or research position in the host institution. The fellowship cannot be availed with the doctoral thesis supervisor or co-supervisoras a mentor.

Q9: How should I apply for NPDF? What documents should I submit?

A9: All applications should be submitted through the SERB online portal www.serbonline.in. Usually one month window is provided to submit the application along with other documents. The following documents are mandatory.

• Research proposal (see www.serbonline.in for the correct format).
• Proof of Date of Birth (Class X certificate or Date of Birth Certificate).
• Proof of Caste (only for cases seeking age relaxation).
• Proof of Ph.D. Degree or proof of Ph.D. thesis submission certificate.
• Endorsement Certificate signed by Mentor and Head of the Host Institution (format can be downloaded from www.serbonline.in).
• Undertaking Certificate by the applicant (see online portal for its format).
• Reprints of your two best publications.
• CV of the Mentor (see online portal for its format).

The applicants are advised to follow detailed instructions provided in the SERB online portal www.serbonline.in.

Q10: When will I be informed of my selection?

A10: The selection process on an average takes at least two months from the last date of submission of the applications. All selected candidates shall receive an Email notification through the SERB online portal, who are then required to download the offer letter.

Q11: Is there any break up available for the NPDF research grant?

A11: Flexibility is provided to the Fellow and the Mentor for utilising the Research Grant as per the needs of the research work. Generally, the Research grant can be used for purchasing minor equipment, consumables and contingencies. The grant can also be utilised for travel in India for attending workshops/conferences and other research related activities. In this regard, the host institution?s norms shall apply for TA/DA.

Q12: Can I recruit a manpower under this scheme?

A12: There is no provision for providing manpower under this scheme. The Fellow is expected to undertake research himself/herself during the entire duration of the fellowship.

Q13: I have received my fellowship for the first year. What documents should I send to receive my scholarship for the second year?

A13: The Fellows should upload annual Progress Report and financial statementsat the end of each financial year. The release of the next instalment of the grant will be considered only after submission of (a) Proper Utilization Certificate and Statement of Expenditure, financial year wise and (b) Annual Progress Report through the SERB online portal.

Q14: I intend to change my Mentor/Host Institution? What procedure should I follow?

A14: Change of Mentor/Host Institution is generally discouraged and can be allowed only in exceptional cases. Change of Host Institution shall be undertaken only after obtaining due approval from SERB. The new host institute in any case should not be the institution from which the applicant has worked for his Ph.D. or obtained his Ph.D. degree. The transfer of the fellowship along with balance grant and the assets to the new institute is allowed, provided the administrative authority of both institutes agree in writing. NOC from the previous host institute and Endorsement Form from the new host Institute &new Mentor must be sent to SERB through the online portal.

Q15: I wish to resign as NPDF? What documents must I send to SERB?

A15: If the one wishes to terminate the fellowship and leave the institute, he/she shall inform the SERB through the host institution immediately. The implementing institute should not incur any expenditure from the date of termination of the project or the date of resignation of fellow.

Q16: What are the rules for availing leave?

A16: There is complete flexibility in using the research grant of Rs. 15.00 lakh. Funds under this "Research Grant" head (Rs. 15.0 Lakh) can be utilized for hiring of manpower, consumables, national travel for self, students, other research staff, visiting scientists and international travel and per diem per year for self for research purposes, chemicals, equipment items, other unforeseen contingencies, repair of equipments, books and journals, etc. and any other research and academic activity, subject to the ceiling of sanctioned Research Grant budget head.The NPDF is entitled to leaves as per norms of the host institution. Participation in scientific workshops held in India or abroad will betreated as on duty. Maternityleave, as per the Govt. of India instructions issued from time to time, would be available to femalecandidates in all categories.

Q17: Is SERB terminate NPDF fellowship?

A17: There is complete flexibility in using the research grant of Rs. 15.00 lakh. Funds under this "Research Grant" head (Rs. 15.0 Lakh) can be utilized for hiring of manpower, consumables, national travel for self, students, other research staff, visiting scientists and international travel and per diem per year for self for research purposes, chemicals, equipment items, other unforeseen contingencies, repair of equipments, books and journals, etc. and any other research and academic activity, subject to the ceiling of sanctioned Research Grant budget head.The NPDF is entitled to leaves as per norms of the host institution. Participation in scientific workshops held in India or abroad will betreated as on duty. Maternityleave, as per the Govt. of India instructions issued from time to time, would be available to femalecandidates in all categories.SERB reserves the right to terminate the Fellowship at any stage if it is convinced that appropriate progress is not being made or the grant has not been utilized properly.

Q18: Can I be away from the implementing Institute when I am working as National Post-Doctoral Fellow?

A18: The fellows must seek the consent of SERB if he/she intends to be away from the implementing institute (except for field work related to the project) continuously for a period more than eight weeks.

Q19: What should be done for the unspent grant under National Post-Doctoral Fellowship (N- PDF) after the completion of the tenure of the fellowship?

A19: The following documents should to be sent to the SERB after the duration of the Fellowship is completed:

• Final Consolidated Statement of Expenditure (in duplicate), giving expenditure financial year wise (FY) from date of start till date of completion;
• Utilization Certificates (FY wise) for all FYs (in duplicate) matching with Statement of Expenditure figures in that FY;
• Project Completion Report (PCR) with list of publications, patents filed.
• DD/ cheque for the unspent grant, drawn in favor of 'Fund for Science & Engineering Research'
• Mentor and PDF candidate are responsible for the timely submission of progress report, utilization certificate, project closure report (PCR), refund of unspent balance amountetc. at end or early closure of the project.

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