a) possess a Ph.D., or foreign equivalent, conferred less than five years ago; however, extenuating circumstances, including health and family care, will be considered on a case-by-case basis for exceptions to this requirement;

b) have an appointment that will not total more than five years of service as a postdoctoral researcher, including previous postdoctoral positions at other institutions (exceptions for certain long-term NIH training appointments are possible);

c) have a source of funding, e.g., institutional grant/contract or similar award, evidence of equivalent external support or personal funding; and

d) pursue a program of research and training under the direction of a faculty member or equivalent senior scholar.

1) All individuals hired at Berkeley for a postdoctoral position must be offered these positions by the Principal Investigator (PI) in writing, with the terms and conditions clearly stated, and copied to the department chair, school dean, or organized research unit director, depending upon which unit accounts for the PI’s funding.

2) All initial and continuing appointments must be made in the Visiting (___)-- Postdoctoral series (Title Code 3370).

3) The minimum negotiated salary must be $2,000 per month, unless an academic unit has established a higher minimum salary. This guideline is effective January 1, 1999, for new appointments or on the annual 1999 renewal date for continuing appointments. The only regular exceptions to this minimum salary rate for full-time appointments will be for individuals on National Institutes of Health (NIH) training grants, or for comparable salaries on other NIH fund sources, or on external postdoctoral awards.

4) All such individuals should be appointed at 100% time. Any exceptions to this must be approved by the cognizant dean. Further, if a postdoctoral position is appointed at less than 100% time, the principal investigator must make the appointee aware in writing that only that percentage of time needs to be worked on the project for which he or she is being compensated. By agreement appointments for postdoctoral appointees or trainees must be eliminated. Effective immediately, no further such appointments may be made.

5) Postdoctoral appointees working on extramurally sponsored agreements may be appointed initially for up to three years, subject to the availability of funding. With the approval of the cognizant dean, an extension to a fourth year (and more rarely, a fifth year) as a Visiting (___)--Postdoctoral is possible.

6) If appointed for a third year, the postdoctoral appointee must be reviewed for a merit increase, although merit increases can be proposed after the first year. Should an extension be necessary beyond the third year, a written performance review will be required.

7) It is realized that certain disciplines have established an upper limit of six years for the postdoctoral experience. In these truly rare cases, an exceptional appointment for a sixth year in an appropriate non-visiting academic title may be requested through the established campus recruitment process and with appropriate, detailed justification. Under no circumstances can an individual hold an appointment beyond one year in the non-visiting title without a full-scale recruitment and search.

8) Individuals on traineeships or external postdoctoral awards may receive a supplement to bring their total compensation up to the minimum salary of $2,000 per month or to comparable salaries within a department or school. Any supplemental compensation must be consistent with the terms of the award/fellowship. Use of extramural funding for stipends must be consistent with the terms of the contract or grant.