Word
postdoctoral
Phoneticspost·doc·tor·al
/ˌpoʊstˈdɑkˌtɝəɫ/
Definition
adj. relating to research or study that someone does after they have finished their PhD. It describes a specific stage in a person's university career.
adj. relating to research or academic work conducted after the completion of doctoral studies. Typically used attributively to modify nouns like 'research', 'fellowship', or 'position'.
Examples
“She is looking for a postdoctoral position in biology.”
“After finishing his PhD in history, he applied for several postdoctoral fellowships to continue his research on ancient trade routes.”
“The university offers a competitive postdoctoral program designed to bridge the gap between doctoral graduation and a permanent faculty appointment through intensive independent research.”
Examples
simple
“She is looking for a postdoctoral position in biology.”
contextual
“After finishing his PhD in history, he applied for several postdoctoral fellowships to continue his research on ancient trade routes.”
complex
“The university offers a competitive postdoctoral program designed to bridge the gap between doctoral graduation and a permanent faculty appointment through intensive independent research.”
Usage
Typically placed before the noun it modifies; often shortened to 'postdoc' in informal academic speech.
Real-World Examples
Common in science writing
“He began studying the Tar Pits' relatively understudied reptile and amphibian collections while working there as a Postdoctoral Fellow.” “This eventually led them to Shalaby, a postdoctoral fellow who specializes in plasma physics.” “Droplet-like condensates form and dissolve as cells need them, bringing selected proteins, RNA and other molecules together to coordinate biochemical reactions, said Takumi Matsuzawa, a postdoctoral researcher in physics.” “Another recent study from the same JWST research program, led by Caltech postdoctoral scholar Matthew Belyakov (PhD '26), offers independent support for the idea that Neptune once possessed an earlier satellite system.” Etymology
From post- + doctoral.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/postdoctoral