The University of Wisconsin–Madison is proud to train over 800 postdoctoral trainees who are performing research in fields ranging from astronomy to the humanities.
Postdocs are vital to UW–Madison’s research enterprise and require specialized mentoring and training resources, support and opportunities that differ from those provided to undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and faculty. The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs seeks to address this need.
Mission
The UW–Madison Office of Postdoctoral Affairs strives to enhance the postdoctoral experience by:
- Providing postdoctoral trainees with access to robust professional development training.
- Assisting faculty in the recruitment, mentoring and professional development of postdoctoral trainees.
- Advocating for postdoctoral trainees and optimizing the postdoctoral training experience.
- Educating the campus community on issues related to postdoctoral training.
- Collaborating with local offices and national organizations to address the unique needs of all parties involved in the postdoctoral training enterprise.
Postdocs hold three job titles on our campus: research associate, postdoctoral fellow and postdoctoral trainee.
History
The School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) Office of Postdoctoral Studies was formally established in the summer of 2012 with the appointment of the office’s first Director, Dr. Alan C. Rapraeger, Professor of Human Oncology. The office was created in order to serve postdocs and their mentors within SMPH, although the services that the office provided were informally available to other schools and colleges across campus.
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education, in partnership with the SMPH, recognized that all UW–Madison postdocs would greatly benefit from the robust set of support services provided by the SMPH Office of Postdoctoral Studies. In July 2015, the UW–Madison Office of Postdoctoral Studies was therefore established.
In July 2025, the office was renamed the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) and moved to the Graduate School. With the move of OPA to the Graduate School, the Dean of the Graduate School was also appointed Vice Provost for Postdoctoral Affairs.