Postdoctoral Compensation Guidelines (Updated)
TO: | Boston University Faculty and Staff |
FROM: | Gloria Waters, Vice President and Associate Provost for Research Sarah Hokanson, Assistant Provost for Professional Development & Postdoctoral Affairs |
DATE: | May 25, 2022 |
SUBJECT: | Postdoctoral Compensation Guidelines (Updated) |
UPDATE: Since we originally distributed the memo below on Wednesday, May 18, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a minor revision, raising their minimum salary and stipend level for postdoctoral scholars by an additional five dollars. To avoid confusion and proposals sent back for revision, we are amending this year’s minimum salary from $54,835 to $54,840.
Every year, the Office of Research reviews the minimum salary and stipend levels for Boston University postdoctoral scholars (postdocs), per our Postdoctoral Scholars Policy. In this process we compare our practices to our peers and national standards to ensure fair and competitive compensation for all the University’s postdocs.
BU and many of our peer institutions look to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award minimum stipend level as a salary and stipend benchmark for postdoc compensation. NIH recently announced it is raising the minimum from $53,760 to$54,835 $54,840, a two percent increase. Therefore, as of September 1, 2022, BU’s minimum postdoc salary and stipend level will be $54,835 $54,840. However, new proposals submitted through Sponsored Programs will require postdoc salaries to be budgeted at $54,835 $54,840, effective immediately. We encourage faculty and units that wish to raise their postdocs’ salaries or stipends in advance of Thursday, September 1 to do so.
While this new salary and stipend level is in line with our local peers, our goal is to provide the most supportive and competitive training environments possible for our postdocs. We acknowledge that this is one of the lowest recorded increases in NIH salary and stipend levels in recent years and is below the three percent merit increase typically budgeted in most grant proposals. Boston is also a particularly expensive place for our postdocs to live relative to other locations across the country, and the NIH minimum does not currently take location or cost of living into account. We hope that faculty and units that are able to offer more competitive salaries and stipends (above this minimum) and annual merit increases will do so in support of our postdoc community.
If you have questions about the Postdoctoral Scholars Policy or the minimum salary and stipend levels for postdocs, please contact Sarah Hokanson, Assistant Provost for Professional Development & Postdoctoral Affairs, at sch1@bu.edu.