Eligibility, Proposals Cycles, Deadlines, and Submission

Every proposal must have an eligible postdoctoral scholar identified. Eligible postdoctoral applicants:

• Must be within three years of earning their doctoral degree
  
• Must expect to complete their doctoral degree prior to the start of their fellowship

Competitive applicants for our Research Frontiers and Cybersecurity tracks will not currently be enrolled at or employed by Virginia Tech.

Individuals currently affiliated with Virginia Tech are eligible to apply to the Innovation and Science Policy and Research Ethics tracks.

Virginia Tech values diversity and continually strives to maintain and promote an inclusive learning, working, and research environment that embraces all students and employees. We are particularly interested in proposals including persons identifying with groups currently underrepresented in their field.

Work Location Requirement

The Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship program seeks to support postdocs holistically during their time at Virginia Tech. A key aspect of this program is the engagement Presidential Fellows have with one another via signature, in-person events.  

To ensure that postdocs can maximize their experience in the program, all selected Presidential Fellows are expected to reside within commuting distance of a Virginia Tech campus location during their two-year fellowship. 

The Science Policy and Research Ethics track is notably different in that a mentor and proposal topics have already been identified and outlined. For this reason, this track is intentionally more open-ended and does not require the submission of a three-page research proposal. 

The applicant will be asked to include CV and a one-page statement of interest with the application. The statement of interest should include a description of:

1. The candidate’s interest in the field of science policy or research ethics and integrity in the higher education setting
2. What they think the fellowship track will do to help them achieve their professional goals

In addition, candidates should describe their experience related to research integrity, compliance, science policy, and/or developing projects to answer research questions in their respective fields.

For candidates who have not yet completed their doctoral degree, please note that applications cannot be considered if the candidate will not complete their degree within 6 months of the deadline for the fellowship cycle. These applicants are highly encouraged to apply in the next fellowship cycle. 

Guidelines to assist in laying out a standardized proposal for submission:

When you submit your proposal via our application form, be prepared to provide: 

• Prospective postdoc’s name and email address
• Virginia Tech faculty mentor(s) name(s) and department/institute/unit affiliations
• Title of proposal
• Application Cycle (ex. Cycle 1, 2)  
• Targeted track: Research Frontiers, Cybersecurity, or Innovation
• Expected postdoc start date (if selected for the fellowship)

All proposals should be in 12-point Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins. The use of graphs, images, or other visuals to convey the research area and/or mentoring/training plan are allowed as long as the content of the proposal does not exceed 4 pages for the Research Frontiers or Cybersecurity Tracks and does not exceed 3 pages for the Innovation Track. The cover page and any associated references are not counted in the proposal’s page limit. 

In addition to the proposal document itself, a complete application should also include:

• Postdoc candidate’s CV
• An itemized budget with the proposed postdoc salary and cost share details

Use the example itemized budget template by copying and pasting the information in a new Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet. Note, proposed salaries and cost-shares will vary by field and research project.

Proposals will be evaluated using the following rubric: Innovation or Research Frontiers and Cybersecurity.

A successfull proposal to Virginia Tech's Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship program's Research Frontiers or Cybersecurity Tracks will be scored on the following criteria:

• A compelling research project and plan, developed in collaboration with a Virginia Tech faculty member or members who serve as primary mentor(s) to the postdoctoral candidate.
• A mentoring and training plan that speaks to how the postdoctoral candidate will build skills and expertise with support from their faculty mentor(s) to help them succeed in the next stage of their career.

We ask both components be submitted as a single proposal as they should be integrated into the overall postdoctoral experience for the candidate while at Virginia Tech.

In addition, Presidential Postdoctoral Fellows exist in a larger institutional context and are expected to be active participants in programmatic activities for the Fellows cohort, contribute to engagement, outreach, or mentorship within relevant communities at the university and beyond, and represent Virginia Tech in a manner befitting a future leader in their field.

Proposals should speak to these points in an integrative fashion as all of them contribute to the holistic development of Fellows and demonstrate the value we believe postdocs bring to their scholarly/research groups, the broader Virginia Tech community, and society as a whole.

A no-more-than 4-page proposal should be submitted that touches on the following points:

1: Overview of fellow’s project, qualifications, career goals, and approach to scholarly and societal impact at Virginia Tech and beyond (1-2 pages)

This section should be led by the prospective fellow in collaboration with their faculty mentor and contain:

• Brief description of the fellow’s project, including expected scholarly advances, its potential impact on society, and plans for engagement with broader communities;
  
• Brief description of the fellow’s qualifications for the project;
• Brief outline of how the fellow will add to representational diversity of the field, if appropriate; and
  
• Statement on how the fellowship will aid the fellow in their career goals.

2: Impact of the fellowship on the mentor’s and Virginia Tech’s research/scholarship/innovation (~1 page)

This section should be led by the faculty mentor and contain:

• Brief description of how the fellowship will enable the mentor to build capacity and grow their scholarship;
• Brief description of how the fellowship will grow Virginia Tech’s research portfolio and international recognition; and
  
• Brief description of alignment with a Research Frontier area or other goal specific to the “track.”

3: Mentorship plan for the fellow (~1 page)

This section should reflect both the prospective postdoc and faculty mentor’s voice and contain:

• Expectations for scholarly work to be completed;
• Opportunities for professional development and a timeline for implementation of the fellow's proposed goals or plan;
• Plans for the postdoc to contribute to Virginia Tech's scholarly community in the spirit of Ut Prosim - That I May Serve; and
  
• Description of principal investigator’s prior experience mentoring postdocs or ability to gain training or guidance for such mentorship.

Innovation Track proposals should be no more than 3 pages in length and touch on the following points:

1: Overview of fellow’s project, qualifications, and career goals (~1 page)

This section’s construction should be led by the prospective fellow in collaboration with their faculty mentor and contain:

• Brief description of the fellow’s project, including a description of the technology targeted for innovation/commercialization activities and the goal for the fellow regarding these activities during the fellowship
• Brief description of the fellow’s qualifications for the project or any qualifications specifically related to the innovation component of the Fellowship. This might include entrepreneurial experience or skills/knowledge related to startups or academic spinouts
• Brief outline of how the fellow will add to representational diversity of the field, if appropriatec
• Statement on how the fellowship will aid the fellow in their career goals

2: Impact of the fellowship on the mentor’s and Virginia Tech’s research/scholarship/innovation (~1 page)

This section should be led by the faculty mentor and focus on the potential to advance the commercialization of one or more technologies from Virginia Tech research. Specifically, it should contain:

• Brief description of how the fellowship will enable the mentor to build capacity and grow their scholarship and advance innovation and commercialization potential of a technology from the mentor’s research and innovation goals
  • Goals to be accomplished could include validating a startup opportunity and/or forming a new technology startup 
• Specify the percentage of the postdoctoral researcher’s time that will be applied to innovation and commercialization activities
  • The minimum effort for innovation and commercialization activities is 25% throughout the duration of the fellowship but where there is a clear commercialization opportunity identified by the mentor, a higher percentage of innovation activity will be favorable (50% or more)
• Brief description of how the fellowship will grow Virginia Tech’s research and innovation portfolio and international recognition

3: Mentorship plan for the fellow (~1 page)

This section should reflect both the prospective postdoc and faculty mentor’s voice and contain:

• Expectations for scholarly work to be completed
• Preliminary identification of specific innovation activities that will be conducted during the fellowship and a preliminary timeline for those activities
• Opportunities for professional development and a timeline for implementation of the fellow's proposed goals or plan
• Description of faculty mentor’s prior experience mentoring postdocs or ability to gain training or guidance for such mentorship

Proposals to the Research Frontiers, Cybersecurity, and Innovation tracks will be evaluated on:

• Ability to build towards Virginia Tech research presence and portfolio in goals for that “track”. 
• Ability to enhance research and scholarship of the mentor
• Ability to enhance the professional development of the postdoc
• Prospective postdoc's commitment to scholarly and societal impact at Virginia Tech and beyond
  
• Postdoc qualifications and the ability to diversify our research enterprise

Proposals to all tracks except the Innovation Track will be reviewed in two cycles each year. Innovation Track proposals are only reviewed during the Fall cycle each year. Expected fellowship start date for each cycle is described below, but may be extended in certain circumstances.