Postdoc Appointments

Types of Appointments

There are three (3) different types of postdoc classifications at Harvard:

1. Employee Postdocs are funded by a Principal Investigator, are on Harvard payroll, and are considered “benefits-eligible.” The benefits available to this group are listed in the table below and in this presentation from the Benefits Office.
   
   
2. Stipendee Postdocs have been awarded an individual fellowship, are on Harvard payroll, and are considered “benefits-eligible.” The benefits available to this group are listed in the table below and in this presentation from the Benefits Office.
   
   
3. External Postdocs are paid directly by an outside institution, agency, or government, do not appear on Harvard payroll, are NOT “benefits-eligible,” do not have access to any of the benefits listed in the benefits chart below, and have access only to either of the following health insurance plans:

Postdoctoral appointments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences may be on Harvard payroll (“paid” category), or funded independently (“unpaid” category). Unpaid positions include those on fellowships that are paid directly to the fellow and those on the payroll of another institution. Paid appointments may be as internal, employee postdoctoral fellows (when the postdoctoral fellow is supported by research grants and contracts under the direction of a Harvard Principal Investigator) or as external, stipendiary postdoctoral fellows (when a fellowship is awarded to a postdoctoral fellow and is managed by Harvard University, with the fellow paid through Harvard). (Source: 2014-2015 FAS Appointment and Promotion Handbook)

For more information about the different types of postdoctoral appointments, please see the Research Appointments Matrix, compiled by FAS Research Administration Services.