National Postdoctoral Association

One of the main issues driving the formation of the NPA was the need for national policy changes to address structural and systemic issues affecting postdocs. The need for policy changes at the national level is also a paramount concern. The NPA is working closely with many of the major national agencies and institutes that influce postdoctoral policy, including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

To address these issues effectively, the NPA has compiled and developed a variety of policy resources.

In this Section

• What is a Postdoc?
  An overview of the postdoctoral position, official definitions of the postdoc, and the status of postdocs.
  
  
• NPA Agenda for Change
  Key policy recommendations for each of the primary stakeholders in the postdoctoral community: institutions, funding agencies/organizations, government, graduate schools and professional societies.
  
  
  
• Briefing Room
  Information on a variety of current policy issues for the postdoctoral community.
  
  
• Data on Postdocs Coming Soon!
  A priority area for the NPA is fostering the collection of reliable data on postdocs.
  
  
• Institutional Policies
  The NPA has developed policy recommendations to institutions to foster their key role in the support of postdocs.
  
  
• NPA Institutional Policy Database Under Construction
  A database jointly sponsored by the NPA and Sigma Xi, the Institutional Policy Database is a source of current data on institutional policies and practices relating to postdocs.
  
  
• Postdoc News Coming Soon!
  An archive of postdoc issues in the news.