NYU Shanghai Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

About the Program

NYU Shanghai ("the University") recognizes that the training of postdoctoral fellows is an essential component of our research mission and the postdoctoral fellowship program is established with the following goals in mind:

1. Support Emerging Scholars: Offer talented early-career researchers opportunities to develop their academic profiles, leading to future faculty positions and research funding.
2. Enhance Research Capacity: Provide funding and support for postdoctoral research that aligns with the university's strategic goals.
3. Foster Collaboration: Encourage partnerships among scholars, between research centers, across NYU’s global network, or across fields, to promote diverse perspectives and methodologies.

To know more about NYU Shanghai’s research centers, institutes, faculty, please visit https://research.shanghai.nyu.edu/.

Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Details »

Awards

NYU Shanghai awards up to twelve fellowships each year. Full-time residence in Shanghai is required. Appointments are for one- or two-year terms, beginning in January or September each year. Renewal is possible. Fellows must have an assigned mentor, who is a full-time NYU Shanghai faculty. This is the case even when affiliated with a research center/institute. The fellows are expected to develop their individual training plan with their mentor and annual review is required.

Terms of employment at NYU Shanghai are comparable to NYU New York and other U.S. institutions.

Fellowship Terms

The NYU Shanghai’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Fellows are expected to:

• Successfully complete their fellowship assignment at NYU Shanghai
• Dedicate their scholarship towards producing high quality research
• Regularly meet and collaborate with their mentors
• Actively participate in research and professional advancement events and NYU Shanghai campus life
• Teaching opportunities may be available but not required

Eligibility

The fellowship program is open to all areas of study at the University. Individuals who meet the following criteria are eligible to apply:

• Must have received a PhD degree when their employment contract with NYU Shanghai starts;
• Must be within three years of PhD degree conferral when their fellowship starts at NYU Shanghai, with the aggregate amount of time spent as a postdoc not to exceed three years;
• Strong research potential and evidence of scholarly excellence.

Application Requirements

Proposals should be submitted electronically as a single PDF document.

Application deadline

• April 15th, 2026 for decisions April 25th, start date as early as 8/1/2026 [For current NYU Shanghai postdocs seeking renewal only]
• September 1st; for decision November 1st, for start date as early as 1/1/2027
• January 1st, for decision February 20th, for start date as early as 9/1/2027

Review Procedures

Applications will be reviewed by an internal faculty panel, selected and chaired by the Vice Provost for Research.

Evaluation Criteria

1. Candidate academic background, publications and awards
2. Alignment in research and mentorship with hosting faculty/ center
3. Alignment with university strategic goals and prior support to the hosting faculty/ center is a consideration, if the prior two criteria are equal.

Inquiries

Please direct inquiries to shanghai.postdoc@nyu.edu.