The President’s Postdoctoral Scholars Program (PPSP), supported by the Office of the President, was launched in January 2018 to recognize highly qualified postdoctoral trainees across all scholarly disciplines, who will become leaders in their fields. The program supports the scholarly efforts and training of terminal degree holders (MFA, PhD, and others) who wish to pursue careers in research and creative inquiry, as well as providing professional development and networking opportunities.
This fellowship opportunity includes up to two years of salary support and full benefits provided by the Office of the President and the scholar’s faculty mentor, department, and/or sponsor college. PPSP Scholars receive dedicated funds each year to support research, creative expression, and professional development-related expenses and also relocation support in the first year to assist with moving to Columbus, OH.
Application Information and College Liaisons
Applications for the 2026 cohort of scholars will soon open.
Submission Deadlines
- Form of Intent: Monday, December 1, 2025, 5:00 PM ET
- Faculty, please make sure you discuss your nomination with your college liaison at least 2 weeks before this deadline so that they have time to consider your request!
- Full Nomination Package: Friday, December 19, 2025, 5:00 PM ET
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS
- The PPSP award is for up to two years (Year 1: 2026-2027, Year 2: 2027-2028). Colleges and/or hiring departments will have to provide assurance that there is a commitment to fund the awardee for a full two years.
- The minimum salary for PPSP Scholars is $61,008. Faculty mentors can hire their PPSP Scholars above this level, if they have the financial means and willingness to do so.
- This is a collaborative initiative. The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs provides $55,079 in funds to cover 66% of a PPSP Scholar's salary and benefits at the University's minimum postdoc salary. The remaining 34% as well as any salary above the University's minimum must be covered by the proposed faculty mentor(s), hiring unit, and/or sponsor college. At the current salary minimum and fringe benefit rate (36.2%) for A&P equivalent staff, this amount is $28,014.
- In addition to the partial salary support, OPA also provides $5,000 per year towards the postdoc's research and professional development.
- Though not a requirement, ideal faculty mentors are those who have previous experience mentoring postdocs and terminal degree trainees. The inclusion of co-mentors is encouraged for anyone who does not have a substantial track record of mentoring postdocs and/or terminal degree trainees. See the eligibility criteria section for more information. Co-mentors should be faculty at The Ohio State University.
- The nominating faculty mentor must have a conversation with their college liaison (listed below) to discuss how they will cover the potion of salary and benefits not provided by the OPA. This discussion should occur at least two weeks before the form of intent is submitted.
- PPSP Scholars who are selected must be hired into Post Doctoral Scholar (Job Code 8806) roles at Ohio State University and be paid a minimum salary of $61,008. No exceptions will be made in the upcoming cycle.
College Liaisons
Nomination Information
Step 1: Submit form of intent
The form of intent must be submitted by the faculty member. Please preview this file for more information on what is needed for this form.
Note:
- Please make sure to discuss the funding plan with your college liaison before submitting the form of intent.
- Submitting the form of intent requires Ohio State University name.# to login.
- Forms of intent are due by Monday, December 1, 2025, 5:00 PM (ET).
Step 2: Gather nomination materials
All submissions must include the following:
- Nominee’s curriculum vitae.
Please make sure that the CV does not include personal information such as social security numbers, visa or passport numbers, pictures, summary of personal details such as nationality, date of birth, marital status, and number of dependents, or a list of hobbies and interests. These items may be common CVs from other countries but in the US these items are omitted to protect candidates from discrimination and to comply with data security protocols. - Education and background statement written by the nominee.
1-2 pages, single spaced with the following included:- Information about the applicant’s personal background and career trajectory.
- List of career goals and an explanation of how this position will enhance the applicant’s career development.
- Justification of the choice of career goals and selection of a sponsoring faculty member and Ohio State.
- Discussion of the broader impacts of the proposed activities.
- No templates for this statement will be provided.
- Broader Impacts statement from the nominee.
In 500 words, the nominee should describe the broader impact of their scholarship on their research discipline, higher education, and society. No templates for this statement will be provided. - Three letters of recommendation emphasizing the nominee’s potential as a scholar.
Letters of recommendation should be sent directly to the faculty member nominating the candidate, as these letters must be submitted with the complete nomination package as a PDF file. Do not send them to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. - Nomination letter from the faculty mentor/sponsor.
Letter should describe the expected impact of the applicant on the sponsor’s scholarly program and the likely impact on scholarship in the discipline. No templates for this statement will be provided. - Trainee track record.
- Faculty in fields with a tradition of postdoc training: A table listing the last 10 postdocs trained by the nominating faculty member and their training outcomes is required. If the faculty member has trained fewer than 10 individuals, list them all. If the faculty nominator does not have at least 5 previous mentees, we highly encourage the inclusion of a co-mentor, who has more expertise mentoring postdocs, but this is not required. Please use the Experience Mentoring Postdoctoral Trainees form to report the training record of both the mentor and co-mentor (separate forms for each faculty member need to be uploaded in a single PDF file).
- Faculty in fields for which postdoc training is uncommon or new: A table listing the last 10 doctoral/MFA scholars trained by the nominating faculty member and their training outcomes is required. If the faculty member has trained fewer than 10 individuals, list them all. If the faculty nominator does not have at least 5 previous mentees, we highly encourage the inclusion of a co-mentor, who has more expertise mentoring postdocs and terminal degree trainees, but this is not required. Please use the Experience Mentoring Doctoral/MFA Trainees form to report of both the mentor and co-mentor (separate forms for each faculty member need to be uploaded in a single PDF file).
- If a co-mentor will be included, please submit:
- A letter of support from the co-mentor.
- The co-mentor must be a faculty member at Ohio State.
- Postdoc or doctoral/MFA training record of the co-mentor using the Experience Mentoring Postdoctoral Trainees form. Please indicate in the form that this is for a co-mentor.
- Evidence of formal mentoring training by a professional society, National Research Mentoring Network or similar entity needs to be provided for the nominating faculty. This training has to take place by the nomination deadline.
- Note: if multiple co-mentors are included, please aggregate all of the materials listed above and submit them as one PDF in the nomination system.
- Nominee’s Individual Development Plan.
Suggested resources: STEM fields(opens in new window) and/or Humanities and social science fields(opens in new window). These free, online resources offer a step-by-step process for creating an IDP. - Mentoring plan for the first year.
The plan is based on the nominee’s individual development plan (a subsequent plan will be required when applying for year two of funding). Download Mentoring Plan: Year 1. - Up to three examples of the nominee’s scholarly efforts. (e.g., publications, works of artistic expression, etc.)
Step 3: Submit full nomination
- Nominations must be submitted by the faculty member.
- Materials must be submitted as PDF files.
- Note: once you have submitted the Form of Intent, the next screen will tell you if your proposed candidate qualifies for the PPSP competition. For candidates who qualify, the link to submit the full nomination packet shows up on the confirmation screen once your form of intent has been submitted. You can also access the nomination system post-form of intent by using this link (https://orapps.osu.edu/postdocfellowships/nominate). This link will only work for faculty whose candidate qualified post-form of intent submission.
- Nominations must be received by Friday, December 19, 2025, 5:00 PM (ET).
For more information about the selection process, including information on evaluation criteria, see the section below.
Contact Us
Please reach out to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at osupostdocs@osu.edu with any questions or concerns regrading the nomination process.
Funding and Eligibility
Funding
Awards will provide salary support, benefits (including health insurance) and $5,000 for research-related and travel expenses. Each award is for two years and the second year will be released upon demonstration of academic/research productivity and career development progression (as evidenced by successful implementation of a mentoring plan).
Awardees must be appointed as Post Doctoral Scholar (Job Code 8806) at Ohio State University with a minimum salary of $61,008 per year and a university A&P benefit rate (FY26 rate: 36.2%). No exception will be made to this process this year. Postdocs participating in this program must be hired within departments at Ohio State as Post Doctoral Scholars (job code 8806) and be considered employees of Ohio State.
EACH YEAR:
- The Office of the President will provide $55,079 to be used towards the salary and benefits and an additional $5,000 is provided to the PPSP scholar to support their research activities during the year.
- The sponsor college, hiring unit, and/or faculty mentor must guarantee to cover the remaining balance of the salary and benefits. With FY26 benefit rates for A&P staff (36.2%), and a minimum salary of $61,008, this amount that must be covered is $28,014.
Eligibility Criteria for Nominees
NOMINEES MUST:
- Have obtained a PhD or other appropriate terminal degree by the nomination deadline or later, from an accredited university before the start of postdoc training.
- Be able to begin their postdoc position at Ohio State between July 1, 2026 and January 4, 2027.
- Complete an individual development plan (IDP). Suggested resources: STEM fields and/or Humanities and social science fields. Note, the IDP is necessary for the mentoring plan.
- Obtain sponsorship from an Ohio State tenure-track faculty member who is willing to serve as their primary mentor.
- Show evidence of superior academic achievement (such as research or creative expression outcomes, honors or other academic designation).
- Demonstrate a commitment to a career in research and creative expression (preference will be given to candidates who wish to pursue academic careers).
Note:
- Nominees who are currently working at Ohio State as postdocs must have been hired after December 1, 2023.
- Ohio State graduate students are eligible but preference will be given to external candidates. Ohio State graduate students who are interested in applying to PPSP must have a faculty mentor nominate their application, who is not their dissertation advisor or a member of their dissertation committee.
Eligibility Criteria for Nominating Faculty
Nominating faculty must:
- Be an Ohio State tenure-track faculty member.
- Nominate only one person.
- Not be the candidate’s PhD or terminal degree advisor or a member of their dissertation committee.
- Submit a mentoring plan based on the candidate’s individual development plan (IDP).
- Participate in next year’s PPSP competition cycle's review efforts.
- Note: Faculty members whose nominee received this award last year cannot nominate anyone this year.
- Additionally, nominating faculty members are strongly encouraged to meet the following criteria based off of the decision tree found below:
- Faculty in fields with a tradition of postdoc training: Have experience training postdocs. If the nominating faculty member does not have postdoc training experience, they are encouraged to pursue formal mentoring training from a professional society (e.g., National Research Mentoring Network or similar entity). Proof of pursuing and/or completing training should be submitted with the nomination package. Additionally, we strongly encourage prospective faculty mentors without five years of experience to include a co-mentor who has mentored at least five postdocs previously.
- Faculty in fields for which postdoc training is uncommon or new: Have trained at least five doctoral/MFA students. They should provide a list of terminal degree mentees in the form provided for postdoc training experience. If the nominating faculty member does not have the required doctoral/MFA training experience, they are encouraged to have received formal mentoring training from an entity in their field or related discipline (e.g., formal training through the National Research Mentoring Network or similar entity) and to include a co-mentor who has the experience as outlined above who has mentored at least five doctoral/MFA students.
- The role of the co-mentor is to be a resource for the postdoc and their mentor. The co-mentor’s experience in mentoring scholars in their field qualifies them to advise on how to mentor the candidate towards independence, and to expand the postdoc's mentoring network. The co-mentor does not need to be involved in the research plan (although this is not forbidden).
Selection and Evaluation
Selection Process
Faculty reviewers will evaluate the nominees based on the following criteria:
- Evidence of high ability for scholarship and/or research as reflected by their scholarly record. Interdisciplinary areas of scholarship/research are preferred.
- Proven track record for obtaining external and internal funding.
- Well-articulated career goals consistent with a research/scholarship career.
- Evidence of leadership, initiative and mentoring skills.
- Capacity to network effectively (measured by the extent and quality of their professional network).
- Solid understanding of the diversity, equity and inclusion issues within their own discipline and across the U.S. Experience with and commitment to diversity and inclusion programs is highly valued. Familiarity with Ohio State’s discipline-related programs and initiatives in this area is a plus.
- Strong letters of recommendation.
Faculty reviewers will evaluate the mentoring environment based on the following criteria:
- Evidence of prior successful postdoctoral mentoring (measured by the outcomes of previous postdoctoral trainees; or graduate trainees depending on the discipline).
- Mentoring philosophy consistent with research on good mentoring practices.
- Verification of ethical standards for conducting research beyond responsible conduct of research training.
- Evidence that the nominee will be provided with sufficient opportunities to acquire the skills necessary to become an expert in an agreed upon area. The mentoring plan has to be compatible with the nominee’s IDP.
- Confirmation that the nominee will be provided with required guidance and mentoring.
- Clear understanding of the need for a mentoring network for the nominee that includes faculty, peers and staff on and off campus.
- Support for professional development in areas such as writing, communication, mentoring, time management, etc.
Previous President’s Postdoctoral Scholar Program Recipients