Postdoctoral
Stipend Levels for FY04
Preamble
Several
recent developments have led to a revised approach to guidelines
for stipend levels for Postdoctoral Fellows (PDFs).
These events include:
(1) a new set of NIH guidelines for NRSA (National Research
Service Awards) postdoctoral stipends that involve substantial annual increases
above present levels;
(2) the lack of supplements for existing NIH research grants
to accommodate the new stipend levels; and
(3) the minimal increases in grants awarded by NSF and other
Federal agencies.
As
a result fiscal realities have created increasingly disparate
financial situations for faculty, depending upon their
source of support. In view of these considerations, a decision
was made in the fall of 2001 that the recommended minimum
stipend levels would no longer be based on NIH guidelines.
It
is important to remember that recommended stipend levels
represent minimums. Penn investigators are also expected
to comply with any postdoctoral stipend guidelines that
are promulgated by their sponsors, if these sponsor-specified
guidelines exceed the Penn minimum stipend levels.
Recommended Minimum
Stipend Levels for Penn FY04
(Penn
FY: July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004)
1. Beginning
postdoctoral fellows, with no prior experience at Penn,
will be paid a minimum of $30,880. This represents a 3%
increase above the minimum for FY03.
Levels
for all years are:
Years
of Experience Compensation
FY04
00 30,880
01 31,807
02 32,761
03 33,744
04 34,756
2. Those
current postdoctoral fellows who receive stipends in excess
of the minimum should also receive an increase of at least
3%.
Other
Items
- Stipends
should be adjusted upwards during the course of the
Penn fiscal year, either at the time of the annual
postdoctoral reappointment, at the time of the annual
grant renewal, or at the beginning of the NIH fiscal
year.
- Individual
Schools can set their own stipend levels above those
recommended in this revision.
- For
FY04, University of Pennsylvania postdoctoral stipend
levels apply to all postdoctoral fellows.
- Under
postdoctoral policy, no one should hold a postdoctoral
position at the University of Pennsylvania for more
than five years.
--Neal
Nathanson, Vice Provost for Research
Almanac, Vol. 49, No. 14, November 26, 2002
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