Salary and Stipend

Effective October 1, 2025, the minimum pay for any new appointment as Postdoctoral Researcher at the University must be at least $62,232 per year ($5,186 per month) in line with the NIH’s NRSA minimum stipend level.

Minimum Salaries for Postdoctoral Scholars
Effective 2025, following an announced increase in the NIH’s NRSA minimum stipend level, any Postdoctoral Scholar whose salary is below the new minimum must have their salary raised at least to that minimum ($62,232 for 2025). Such raises to an increased salary minimum must be completed no later than October 1 of the year of the announced increase in the NIH minimum, to align with the October 1 start date of the NRSA fiscal year. The University may permit an extended deadline beyond October 1 for required salary increases to be completed, in the event that an NIH stipend increase is announced fewer than three months prior to October 1.

Criteria for Postdoctoral Scholar Salaries
Within the boundaries of the University’s pay guidelines, units are responsible for establishing the criteria for determining the salaries of individual Postdoctoral Scholars within the norms of the unit. Such criteria may include, but are not limited to, the individual’s qualifications, experience, performance as a Postdoctoral Researcher, funding availability in the discipline, and competitive salaries and stipends paid by other universities.

When a salary is established for a Postdoctoral Scholar, equity among all appointees in the three Postdoctoral Researcher titles within the academic unit shall be taken into consideration.

If a Postdoctoral Scholar’s salary has been adjusted upward in the middle of their term due to an increase in the University pay minimum (as described above), the faculty mentor is not obligated to then provide an additional salary increase at the time of the Postdoctoral Scholar’s next reappointment (if the Postdoctoral Scholar is indeed reappointed) and may schedule subsequent pay increases to align annually with the date on which the Postdoctoral Scholar had their pay raised to an increased minimum. For example, if a Postdoctoral Scholar is initially appointed in March and receives a salary increase to an increased pay minimum on October 1 of that year, the mentor may reappoint the Postdoctoral Scholar in March of the next year while scheduling the Scholar’s next salary increase for the following October 1. Mentors are thus not obligated to provide two raises in a 12-month period.

If permitted to by their unit, faculty mentors may provide merit increases at additional points in the year at their discretion, i.e., if a Scholar is appointed in March and receives a salary increase to an increased pay minimum on October 1, the mentor may provide an additional salary increase prior to October 1 of the following year, if their unit permits.

Merit, as well as any raise in the University pay minimum, shall be taken into consideration when determining the precise salary increases provided to individual Postdoctoral Scholars.

Provision of Minimum Pay Level for “Postdoctoral Fellows – Paid Direct”
When an extramural agency establishes a stipend level at a rate less than the unit-established pay minimum (which must equal at least the current University pay minimum), and the University elects to proceed with such an appointment, the unit is required to provide additional funding to bring the pay level of the Postdoctoral Fellow – Paid Direct up to the established minimum. The mentor is required to arrange the additional funding before the appointment start date.

Exceeding the Maximum
The maximum pay for a Postdoctoral Researcher is $91,800. The Provost may approve a salary for a Postdoctoral Scholar or a stipend for a Postdoctoral Fellow above the top of the authorized scale in exceptional instances.

Stipend Supplementation
A Postdoctoral Researcher in the Postdoctoral Fellow or Postdoctoral Fellow – Paid Direct title may have his or her stipend supplemented with additional funding beyond the scale minimum. Supplementation must conform to the terms of the fellowship or traineeship. The sum of the stipend and supplemental funding may not exceed the maximum of the scale and must be consistent with the criteria for determining the appropriate pay level of Postdoctoral Researchers in the particular unit.

Postdoctoral Fellows and Postdoctoral Fellows – Paid Direct may receive increases in their stipend after their start date in accordance with the provisions of the extramural funding agency. If a Fellow is renewed beyond an initial term, the unit/mentor must ensure that upon renewal the Fellow’s pay meets at least the University pay minimum that is in effect at that renewal date. The mentor is required to arrange any additional funding needed to bring the Fellow up to the established minimum by the renewal date.