Where to Find Postdoc Positions and Fellowships

If you are finishing your PhD and thinking about a postdoc, you have probably had this moment: you open a browser, type “postdoc positions,” and get buried under a pile of results that are half expired, half irrelevant, and not organized in any useful way.

I have been there. When I was on the postdoc market, the hardest part wasn’t writing the applications. It was figuring out where the opportunities were in the first place. Postdoc openings are scattered across job boards, university offices, funding agencies, and individual lab websites, and nobody hands you a map.

So I put together the list I wish I’d had. It includes 42 websites for postdoc jobs, research funding, and fellowships across the United States, Canada, the UK and Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East. Don’t try to check all of them. Skim through, pick the ones that fit your field and the places you’d actually want to live, and bookmark those.

1. General academic job boards

These are the broad platforms. Some of them, like EURAXESS and Nature Careers, cover many fields and countries, so they are a good place to start before you narrow down.

• EURAXESS: the European Commission’s portal for research jobs and funding across Europe
• Nature Careers
• ResearchGate Jobs
• FindAPostDoc
• Academic Positions
• PostdocJobs
• NIH Office of Intramural Training & Education (OITE): research and postdoc positions at the U.S. National Institutes of Health
• NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships: U.S. National Science Foundation funding for postdocs
• Science Careers

2. United States: university postdoc offices

Most major universities have a postdoc office, and their websites are often more useful than you’d expect. Besides job listings, many post fellowship deadlines, career resources, and sometimes openings at other institutions too.

• Harvard University: despite the name, this page lists postdoc opportunities well beyond Harvard
• Stanford University Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
• UC Berkeley postdoc positions
• Yale University Office for Postdoctoral Affairs
• MIT Office of Postdoctoral Services
• UC San Diego Office of Postdoctoral Scholar Affairs
• Johns Hopkins University postdoctoral fellows (Krieger and Whiting schools)
• Cornell University Office of Postdoctoral Studies

3. Canada

• Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS)
• Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships: one of Canada’s most competitive (and generous) postdoc fellowships
• University of British Columbia Postdoctoral Fellows Office

4. United Kingdom and Europe

Europe has a rich ecosystem of research institutes and fellowship schemes. Some, like Marie Skłodowska-Curie, are built around you proposing a project with a host, rather than applying to an existing position.

• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) jobs
• The Royal Society grants
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA)
• Wellcome research funding
• University of Oxford jobs
• University of Cambridge Postdoc Academy
• EMBL Postdoctoral Programme
• Max Planck Society career programs
• Helmholtz Association careers
• CERN research programmes
• EPFL job openings
• Leibniz Association jobs
• ETH Zurich funding for postdocs

5. Australia and New Zealand

• University of Sydney careers
• University of Melbourne careers
• University of Queensland careers
• University of Auckland careers

6. Asia

• JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
• National University of Singapore careers
• Chinese Academy of Sciences jobs
• Indian Institute of Science postdoctoral fellowships

7. Middle East

• KAUST postdoc positions

A few things I learned along the way

Job boards are a good start, but they are only part of the picture. Here is what I’d tell a friend who is just starting their search:

Follow the people, not just the websites. A lot of postdoc positions never make it to a big job board. They show up on a lab’s website or in a quick post from the PI on social media. If there are researchers whose work you’d love to be part of, keep an eye on their lab pages and their accounts.

Reach out, even if nobody is hiring. This one felt awkward to me at first, but it matters. A potential mentor may not have an open position right now and still be happy to apply for a fellowship with you. A short, specific email about why their work connects to yours can open doors that a job listing never would.

Get your materials ready early. Have your CV, research statement, cover letter, and list of references in good shape before deadlines start piling up. Then tailor them for each position. A generic research statement is easy to spot.

Know what kind of position you’re applying for. There is a big difference between a funded postdoc position (the money already exists, and you’re applying for the job) and a fellowship (you’re applying for the money, usually with a host lab lined up). The timelines, materials, and strategy are quite different.

Read the eligibility rules carefully. Many fellowships have restrictions on citizenship, how many years since your PhD, research field, or where the work must take place. Check these first so you don’t spend a week on an application you aren’t eligible for.

Check your field’s professional association. Most disciplines have their own job board, run by the main professional society, such as the American Sociological Association, the Population Association of America, the Gerontological Society of America, or the Council on Social Work Education. These boards often mix postdocs with tenure-track and research jobs, and they list positions you won’t find on the big general sites. If you’re not sure where to start, ask your advisor or look at where recent graduates from your program found their jobs.

Search beyond the word “postdoc.” The same kind of job can be called a Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Fellow, Research Associate, or Postdoctoral Scholar, depending on the country and institution. Try all of them.

One last note: programs, eligibility rules, and deadlines change often, so always check the official website for the latest information before you apply.

Good luck with the search. It can feel long and uncertain, but the right fit is out there. I hope this list saves you a few hours of searching.