Appointment Guidelines

Postdocs at Weill Cornell Medicine are appointed with one of the following titles: Postdoctoral Associate In (Department), Fellow In (Department), or Visiting Fellow In (Department). Postdocs are appointed to one year terms for no more than five years. In special cases, a sixth term may be granted with permission of the Dean in order to complete any remaining research.

Postdoctoral Scholars are appointed to the non-faculty academic staff according to the guidelines in Section 5 of the Academic Staff Handbook.  Requests for appointments for postdoctoral trainees must be sent to the Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) and must include the following documents in order:

  • Recommendation for Appointment form

The form must be dated and signed by the Chair. Indicate type of appointment: New, Promotion, Reappointment, etc.

  • Letter of Recommendation from Chair to Dean

Please note that a single letter of recommendation from the Chair may be submitted to recommend a large number of individuals to the same training position with the same effective date on the basis of established and consistent criteria.

  • Curriculum Vitae and Bibliography

Must be in Weill Cornell Medicine format, must be signed and dated. Template for Non-faculty Academic Staff.

  • One letter of recommendation from a previous employer or academic evaluator


Must be the original, not a copy.

  • An offer letter to the appointee from the Chair

Template offer letters can be found under "Document Drafts" on the OFA web site. Note: Before sending letter to appointee, a draft of the letter should be sent to the Office of Faculty Affairs for approval. Once returned to you, place on Chair's stationery for signature).

  • Letter of Recommendation from Supervisor (e.g. PI) to Chair: Academic Employment Form.

Confirm that the proposed salary for the postdoctoral trainee conforms to the Minimum Stipend Policy. Send to hr-infomanagement@med.cornell.edu

Additional steps when appointing new postdoctoral trainees:

  • Housing application

If appointee desires to live in Weill Cornell Medical College housing, the Department Administrator or Principal Investigator should initiate a Postdoctoral Associate Housing Application by completing the first part of the application.

 

Visa application


If appointee is not a US citizen or green card holder, contact Immigration if you have questions.  Otherwise, J-1 Exchange Visitors and H-1B Specialty Occupation Workers forms can be downloaded. Scan the signed RFA and offer letter and send to Immigration via e-mail for all appointees who require a Visa.