Appointing a Postdoc

Non-Traditional Postdoctoral Appointments

Postdoctoral appointments at USF are a hybrid system of individuals who hold temporary and grant-funded line positions at the university. There are some departments at USF that use line positions as postdoctoral appointments for legacy reasons or others detailed below.

There are a few reasons for using line positions for postdoctoral appointees. The first reason would be benefits have historically been greater for the line positions. The retirement benefits for line positions are more generous for temporary employees and so some departments will use line positions as a way to attract postdoctoral appointees. Another reason for using line positions is that a market for postdocs in certain fields is very competitive.

Another reason to use line positions is that it gives the postdoc an opportunity to write and hold grants as principal investigator. USF Sponsored Research policy disallows postdocs from obtaining grants other than postdoc-designated grants because of the temporary nature of their appointment.

Finally, colleges may use line positions such as Research Associate or Research Assistant Professor as a step-up program into a tenure track position. This allows the greater benefits outlined above as well as salary increases. In most cases, these positions still satisfy the requirement of mentored research as outlined by NIH and NSF and these steps are completed within 5-7 years.