About SFU Postdoctoral Positions
To become an SFU postdoctoral fellow you must first complete a PhD program.
Although not mandated by SFU Policy R. 50.03, postdoctoral fellows are normally appointed at within five years of completing their PhD.
As a Postdoctoral Fellow at SFU, you will be associated with one or more faculty colleagues for the purpose of research collaboration. The supervising faculty member usually provides the resources needed to support the collaborative research activities.
There are two categories of SFU PDFs:
Internal Postdoctoral Fellows salary is paid in whole or in part either from funds held by a University faculty member or from the University’s financial resources or a combination of the two will be appointed as an Internal PDF. An Internal PDF is an employee of the University.
External Postdoctoral Fellows have secured funding from an external funding organization or a fellowship program which is external to the University and whose salary is paid wholly from such funding will be appointed as an External PDF. External PDFs do not have an employment relationship with SFU. They work independently under the mentorship of a supervising faculty member at SFU.
The first step in applying for an SFU postdoctoral fellowship is to contact a faculty member who matches your research interests. Each department should have a list of faculty members and their research topics and postdoctoral fellowship applications are made directly to a specific faculty member(s).
Where to Apply for Positions:
- Check faculties/departments of interest to see if there are any postdoctoral fellows positions currently available at SFU
- Visit our list of local and external Postdoctoral Fellow Funding opportunities
SFU departments are responsible for appointing postdoctoral fellows after this consultation occurs.
- A PDF Appointment Form is required for both Internal and External PDFs. Upon receiving the completed form from the department, HR Research People Team (postdoc_appointments@sfu.ca) will begin the administrative set-up of the PDF, which includes sending the Offer of Employment letter (Internal PDFs) or Invitation letter (External PDFs).