Postdoctoral Program

Research Awards

Postdoc Research Awards provide an opportunity for Allen School postdocs to pursue independent research projects to be carried out by undergraduates. Funding for these awards was initially supported by our postdoc best practices grant; however, for many years, the awards have been funded and administered internally by the Allen School.

Award purposes

1. For Allen School postdocs to gain experience managing the complete lifecycle of a research grant, from proposal through closeout, as well as develop skills mentoring undergraduate research assistants.
2. For Allen School undergraduate students to gain valuable insight into the research process and experience participating in academic research.

Award policies

• Postdocs may request up to $10,000 in funding for projects outside the current scope of their work as funded by their PIs/advisors. Projects should contribute to the postdoc’s professional development and research initiatives
• Postdocs have access to award funds for one year or until the end of their appointment, whichever comes first.
• Postdocs must follow the award guidelines when preparing their proposals.
• Award funds cannot be used to purchase food.
• At least one undergraduate researcher on the project must be recruited from within the Allen School. If a project involves more than one undergraduate, then the second student may be recruited from another department.
• Acknowledgements: If the proposal is funded and the work leads to a publication, please add an acknowledgment to your paper for the support of a “UW Allen School Postdoc Research Award”.
• Eligibility: postdoc must have participated in the most recent Review of Progress cycle (RoP takes place every April and every October).
  • Exception: postdocs who are ~5 months or fewer into their appointments and for whom it may be too early to substantively participate in the Review of Progress are exempted.

Resources for designing the project and writing the proposal

• Historically, most projects have spanned ~6-12 months and involved 1-2 undergraduate researchers.
• We recommend budgeting for labor first, and then budgeting for supplies, materials, and other costs.  Applicants are recommended to work with their advisers and/or grant managers to understand the actual costs of paying someone (hourly rate, overhead, etc.).
• Our proposal guidelines are modeled after the National Science Foundation’s Grant Proposal Guide. You may also find it helpful to consult the CRA’s tips on Writing a Compelling Proposal. 
• Many funding agencies have standardized formats for their proposals and strict expectations that they be followed, and may even reject proposals that do not follow their guidelines.  Think of the postdoc research award proposals as practice for the real thing and take care to follow the stated guidance or expectations for elements like formatting, appearance, and length of various sections.
• Make clear references to proposal prompts; for example, statements like “The broader impacts of this work are…” or “The intellectual merits of the project are…”.

We strongly encourage our Allen School postdocs to take advantage of this initiative to enrich their postdoc experience!