Employment Opportunities
Opportunities for Postdoctoral Research
NASA Postdoctoral Program
The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly talented national and international individuals to engage in ongoing research programs at a NASA center, NASA Headquarters, or NASA-affiliated research institutes. These one- to three-year fellowship appointments are competitive and are designed to advance NASA's missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.
NPP is currently administered through the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). There are three deadlines per year for submitting applications: March 1, July 1 and November 1. For more information, see the ORAU-NPP website. For an up-to-date list of opportunities, see the NPP catalog and select "Goddard Institute for Space Studies" in the list of centers.
Other NASA programs for both graduate and postdoctoral fellowships are listed on the Science.NASA website.
University Postdoctoral Programs
Announcements are usually posted on the NASA GISS employment opportunities page for specific university postdoctoral research opportunities at our New York City location, most often through Columbia University and either its Climate School's Center for Climate Systems Research or the Dept. of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics. These opportunities (and instructions on how to apply) are officially announced via Columbia's academic recruitment website, and application must be made using that website. Enter "Goddard Institute" or "Center for Climate Systems Research" as keywords in that site's search form to look for current listings.
Fellowship opportunities at Columbia University for postdoctoral research in the Earth sciences may also be available through the university's Climate School. The program covers a diverse set of topics, offering opportunities at the Center for Climate Systems Research and at other Columbia Earth science units and departments. There is one application period per year, opening about September 1 and closing about October 31. Please see the Climate School postdoctoral program webpage for more information.
