Mindcore Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

MindCORE seeks to recruit outstanding postdoctoral researchers for our Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Scholars. Housed within the School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania, MindCORE is an interdisciplinary effort to understand human intelligence and behavior.

Designed for individuals who have recently obtained a PhD degree in psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, computer science or other cognitive science discipline, the MindCORE Fellowship is a springboard for early researchers as they establish their own research program. Fellows are expected to pursue collaborative relationships with faculty working across disciplines at Penn. These collaborations may take different forms from engaging in research projects with multiple faculty independently, to generating new collaborative research that brings multiple faculty together, to contributing to interdisciplinary discussion and reading groups. Find a list of current and former MindCORE Fellows here.

 

Benefits

Fellows receive a competitive salary, relocation allowance, health insurance, plus a modest research budget of $20,000. Fellows also benefit from access to the greater community of academics including visiting scholars plus leading research facilities equipped with cutting-edge instrumentation all on an urban campus in a vibrant city. Fellows are invited to join regular working group meetings within their field plus career development workshops aimed at young researchers, and will be provided with a mentoring committee. Funding is provided in one-year terms renewable for up to three years.

 

Eligibility & Application

Applicants must have formally completed all requirements of the PhD degree and provide a copy of their diploma at the time of appointment (typically July 1, 2024 – Jan 15, 2025). Penn has a cap of five years for total postdoctoral time across all institutions, so new PhDs or applicants with fewer than three years as a postdoc preferred. Candidates must submit a research statement that identifies at least three MindCORE faculty at Penn with whom the applicant would be interested in collaborating; along with a CV, and contact information for two referees. Applicants should be mindful of the interdisciplinary backgrounds of the reviewers and make the proposals clear to readers.

Submitted documents should be saved with candidate’s Lastname_Firstname.PDF in one PDF file in this order: research statement, CV, referees (name, affiliation, email address). Complete applications should be submitted along with some basic information using this form (will open in fall 2023).

We will begin accepting applications for the 2024 cycle in fall of 2023 with a December 2023 deadline.

 

Selection

All eligible and complete applications will be evaluated by the Selection Committee. Applications are judged on the following criteria:

    • Scientific excellence
    • Potential to contribute to or lead within diverse community
    • Scientific match and interdisciplinarity
    • Career potential

 

Click here for our Frequently Asked Questions document (PDF)

 

MindCORE seeks to award ~2 postdoctoral Fellowships per year. Positions may start as early as July 1, 2024.

 

Questions? Contact pennmindcore@sas.upenn.edu.  

 

 

Penn adheres to a policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected class. Background check required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.