Guidelines & Policies
Guidelines & Policies
*THESE SECTIONS ARE ALWAYS BEING UPDATED. PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATOR OR CONTACT THE OFFICE IF YOU CANNOT FIND SOMETHING.*
- HMS/HSDM Salary/Stipend Levels
These salary scales are only applicable to postdocs hired by the pre-clinical departments on the HMS Quad campus; hospital affiliates may have a different salary scale.
The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, in consultation with the pre-clinical Chairs, Human Resources, the Dean for Research Operations and Global Programs, and the Office for Postdoctoral Fellows, aim to set the minimum salary at or above the prevailing NIH NRSA Fellowship scale. Please note that several of our faculty are HHMI Investigators and will use the HHMI Postdoc Salary Scale for their fellows in place of the HMS scale.
Postdoctoral Salary/Stipend Guidelines go into effect on July 1 at the beginning of each Fiscal Year (FY).
Postgraduate Years of Experience(PGY) | FY '23July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023 | FY '24July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 | FY '25-27 (July 1 – June 30) |
0 | $ 60,000 | $ 65,000 | $ 72,000 |
1 | $ 61,000 | $ 66,000 | $ 74,000 |
2 | $ 62,000 | $ 67,000 | $ 76,000 |
3 | $ 63,000 | $ 68,000 | $ 76,000 |
4 | $ 65,000 | $ 70,000 | $ 76,000 |
5 | $ 67,000 | $ 72,000 | $ 76,000 |
6 | $ 69,000 | $ 74,000 | $ 76,000 |
7+ | $ 71,000 | $ 76,000 | $ 77,500 |
*SPECIALIST ROLE Postgraduate Years of Experience(PGY) | FY '23July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023 | FY '24July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 | FY '25-27 (July 1 – June 30) |
0 | $ 75,000 | $ 80,000 | $ 87,000 |
1 | $ 76,000 | $ 81,000 | $ 89.000 |
2 | $ 77,000 | $ 82,000 | $ 91,000 |
3 | $ 78,000 | $ 83.000 | $ 91,000 |
4 | $ 80,000 | $ 85,000 | $ 91,000 |
5 | $ 82,000 | $ 87,000 | $ 91,000 |
6 | $ 84,000 | $ 89,000 | $ 91,000 |
7+ | $ 86,000 | $ 91,000 | $ 92,500 |
Determining Salary Level (PGY)
According to the NIH Stipend Guidelines, which we recommend, the salary/stipend level (PGY) for the entire first year of support is determined by the number of full years of relevant postdoctoral experience when hired. Relevant experience may include research experience (including industrial), teaching, internship, residency, clinical duties, or other time spent in a health-related field beyond that of the qualifying doctoral degree. When these issues arise, we generally advise that labs/departments use the same criteria as the NIH. The presence of eight discrete levels of experience, however, does not constitute an endorsement of extended periods of postdoc research training.
Benefits for postdocs at Harvard vary depending on the postdoc’s employment classification (employee, stipendee, or direct-pay). To participate in many of Harvard’s benefits, you must be:
- Employed on a regular University payroll
- Receiving a paycheck from Harvard
- Working at least 17.5 hours per week or paid at a base annual rate of at least $15,000
Click HERE for information about Benefits for Postdocs
Click HERE for information about how benefits are handled upon exit/termination (with exception of vacation payout and Harvard-sponsored retirement).
The Office of Community Support, Non-Discrimination, Rights and Responsibilities works to advance Harvard’s commitment to providing an environment where each of us feels safe to participate fully in University life—whether studying, teaching, conducting research, or working to support our individual and collective goals.
Harvard University is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the University community is excluded from, or denied the benefit of, any University program or activity because of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity
The University’s policies prohibiting sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct are designed to ensure a safe and non-discriminatory educational and work environment, while complying with all federal regulations and state laws.
Harvard University has a Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment Policy, which applies to all Harvard students, faculty, staff, postdocs, Harvard appointees, and third parties.
Find out more HERE
Title IX Resource Coordinator for HMS Staff and Quad-based Postdocs: José Martinez, Director of HR Compliance and Professional Conduct. Title IX Resource Coordinator for HMS Staff and Quad-based Postdocs: Mark Addison, Program Officer for Nondiscrimination & Professional Conduct.
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is committed to convening and nurturing a diverse community of individuals dedicated to promoting excellence and leadership in medicine and science through education, research, clinical care and service. Our unique perspectives, talents, experiences and contributions as HMS students, trainees, faculty, staff and administrators are the foundation and drivers of our excellence.
More information can be found HERE
Statement of Mutual Respect and Public Discourse at Harvard Medical School - adopted September 2020
HMS expects everyone in the research community to foster a rigorous, ethical, safe and healthy research environment. The Office of Academic and Research Integrity offers support and policies for Research Integrity and Professional Integrity.
The University's policy on drugs and alcohol in the workplace is designed to address the University's concern for the health and well-being of its employees, and to ensure that the Harvard community complies with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989. Complete policy.
The OPF has developed tools and programming to support the implementation of individual development planning (IDP). We encourage annual planning meetings between postdoctoral fellows and their mentors and provide templates and guidance for these meetings. The OPF also provides boilerplate language for NIH and NSF submissions and updates that address requirements for professional development and IDP utilization. The OPF has also increased its outreach to faculty, partnering with the Quad Faculty Development Committee to offer faculty workshops and training in the effective use of individual development planning in the lab. The potential impact of widespread and coordinated faculty participation in the IDP process are better retention, faster time to training completion, documentation of progress/issues, better working relationships, and a mutual understanding of research and career path.
Postdoctoral fellows are granted the academic title of "Research Fellow" in their academic appointing department. The academic appointment and title provides you with a Harvard University ID badge and privileges associated with officers of Harvard University. Your academic appointment as a "Research Fellow" is an annual appointment that commences at the time of your arrival and is renewable on July 1st of each year to end on June 30th of the following year or until your postdoctoral training is completed.
A "Research Fellow" is described in the Faculty of Medicine Handbook (http://fa.hms.harvard.edu/FoMhandbook) as an "individual who holds an advanced degree in an appropriate field and who are conducting mentored research with members of the faculty as postdoctoral fellows to develop their research ability and skill." Your appointment record is maintained by the HMS Office of Human Resources (HR) in the University's HR/Payroll/Benefits system, Peoplesoft.
To search the handbook by a keyword, it is recommend that you open the document within your web browser and use Document Keyword Search by selecting "Control + F" (or "Command + F" on Mac). The search field option will open in the upper right-hand corner (lower left-hand corner on Mac).
Please Note: This appointment is merely the conveyance of an academic title. Although "Research Fellows" working in the Medical School’s affiliated hospitals and institutions may have a HMS appointment, they are generally not paid by Harvard and their salary and benefits derive and are administered through their place of work.
To hold an appointment as a Research Fellow, the candidate must have received a doctoral degree at the time of appointment. Ordinarily, the candidate will have earned a doctorate recently. Acceptable verification is either a certificate of completion from the degree-granting institution or a letter from the institution’s registrar. Such documentation should state that all requirements for the doctorate have been successfully completed and should verify the date the degree has been or will be conferred. If the candidate received their degree from Harvard, written verification from the chair or director of graduate studies, on department letterhead, may suffice.
If a department cannot capture the date of conferral, the individual should be hired as an Associate, Academic at the expected postdoc salary. Once the degree date has been confirmed, the individual is transferred from Associate, Academic to the appropriate postdoc job code. Thereafter, proof of degree is submitted to the department HR coordinator and entered into PeopleSoft.
Vacation and Holidays: Similar to Faculty, full time Research Fellows who serve on a 12-month basis are allowed all University Holidays and up to an additional 20 days of vacation per year at a time arranged with their supervisor. This time may not be accrued from year to year, and there can be no payout of unused vacation time when an appointment ends.
Sick Days: Sick leave may be taken as needed. If illness extends beyond two weeks then documentation from a doctor may be required to qualify for short term disability coverage.
LEAVES OF ABSENCE
Leave of Absence
Please contact the HMS HR Leave of Absence specialist: Antonia Gonzalez, (617) 432-1024 or via email: leave_ofabsence@hms.harvard.edu
Reasonable Accommodations
Harvard University explores requests from post-doctoral candidates and post-doctoral fellows with disabilities for workplace reasonable accommodations under the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act as amended, and other applicable disability laws.
A reasonable accommodation is any reasonable change or adjustment to a job or work environment that permits a person with a disability to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, or to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by staff without disabilities. For example, a reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to:
- Acquiring or modifying equipment or devices
- Job restructuring
- Modified work schedules
- Removing physical barriers in a work area
The reasonable accommodation process, following the guidelines established by Title I of the ADA as amended, is a collaborative and interactive process between the employee, Human Resources, the manager/department head, and/or other subject matter experts such as University Disability Resources.
While Harvard considers an employee’s self-report and looks to providers and the supporting medical documentation they provide for a number of things (e.g., to determine whether an individual has a disability, the nature of functional limitations that relate to the essential functions of the person’s job, and how long those limitations are expected to persist), ultimately, Harvard is responsible for determining and providing an effective accommodation, which may not be the one requested or preferred by the individual. For more information regarding this process, please refer to the Reasonable Accommodation Fact Sheet.
Harvard Medical School is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation(s) for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities.
To make a workplace accommodation inquiry or request or to schedule a no-obligation meeting to learn more about the reasonable accommodation request process, contact Antonia Gonzalez at leave_ofabsence@hms.harvard.edu or call 617-432-1024. Requesters should request accommodations as early as possible, since they may take time to implement.
HMS follows the NIH-NRSA guidelines on defining Full-Time training. Briefly Postdoctoral Research Fellows are required to pursue their research training full time. Full-time is generally defined as devoting at least 40 hours per week to research training activities, or as specified by HMS in accordance with our own policies. Beyond the full-time training, fellows and trainees may engage in part-time employment incidental to their training. Fellows and trainees may spend on average, an additional 25% of their time (e.g., 10 hours per week) in part time research, teaching, or clinical employment, so long as those activities do not interfere with, or lengthen, the duration their training. Additionally, FAS, HSPH, and HMS/HSDM adhere to the following: Additional activities 1) should not conflict with their research obligations; 2) are not inconsistent with the terms of their visa, if applicable; and 3) are not inconsistent with the terms of their fellowship or grant, if applicable. Postdoctoral Fellows are expected to seek approval from their faculty mentor and to follow the Policy on Conflict of Interests and on Outside Professional Activities.
A fellowship is any amount paid or allowed to, or for the benefit of, an individual to aid such individual in the pursuit of study or research. As Research Fellows at Harvard Medical School are non-degree seeking trainees, any fellowship amount received is considered taxable income. For more information, please see the Tax Services website. Please be aware that the Tax Services unit and the HMS/HSDM Office for Postdoctoral Fellows cannot administer individual tax advice in paying income taxes and you are strongly encouraged to seek the assistance of tax professionals.
Virtually all postdoc fellowships funded from U.S. sources are subject to income tax because they pay for living expenses. However, often fellowships and traineeships are not subject to automatic tax withholding. This is most often true with “direct-paid” fellowships -- fellowship stipends that are paid directly to the postdoc -- although it is sometimes the case with fellowships that are paid through the institution.
Those fellowships without automatic tax withholding are still subject to the IRS requirement that income tax be paid on a regular basis throughout the tax year, and not all at once at the end of the year. Thus, postdocs without withholding should make estimated tax payments each quarter in order to avoid a penalty.
Postdocs on fellowships must also file a tax return between January 15 and April 15 for the previous tax year. Postdoc fellows and trainees may receive a W-2 or 1099-MISC Form reporting their total fellowship income, or they may receive no summary form at all.
Tax Resources for International Postdocs - Please see the HIO website FAQ section: Tax Filing Information from HIO: https://www.hio.harvard.edu/general-tax-information
For international postdocs, make sure to visit the Harvard International Office's website on taxes and social security: http://www.hio.harvard.edu/taxes-social-security
All laboratory personnel (including postdocs) are required to take environmental, health and safety training courses to include common regulatory training requirements for their job category and additional training specific to the type of work they will be performing in the lab. Postdoctoral fellows must complete the mandatory training prior to receiving a Harvard ID card as is outlined in the Risk Assessment Form.
The EH&S Training Management System was replaced in July 2016 with the Harvard Training Portal. This university-level Training Portal includes all your prior EH&S and other Harvard training history, and enables you to keep track of your training assignments, take web-based trainings and register for classroom trainings. For more details and FAQs, see http://ehs.harvard.edu/training
Annual Refresher Courses: Postdocs are required to take annual refresher training courses in Blood Borne Pathogens and Hazardous Waste. These courses may be can be accessed through the EH&S Harvard Training Portal website.
If you are a Postdoctoral Fellow engaged in research at Harvard Medical School you are required to participate in RCR training. The Division of Medical Ethics within Harvard Medical School holds a course annually. More details can be found on the website: http://bioethics.hms.harvard.edu/rcr-responsible-conduct-research. The website also provides information about other RCR courses in the area.
Send an e-mail to RCR@hms.harvard.edu to be notified when the next series of sessions is scheduled.