Call for Applications: Postdoctoral Fellowship (2025-26) Program for Stanford Postdocs

Do you believe research has a role to play in addressing the world’s most pressing social problems?

About Stanford Impact Labs

Stanford Impact Labs inspires leaders in government, business, the nonprofit sector and higher education to work together to tackle the world’s most complex social problems with new evidence and practical solutions.

We support teams of scholars and practitioners working together to develop, test, and expand new solutions to stubborn challenges. We run innovative programs to support scholars to develop the skills and capabilities they need to pursue research that delivers public impact. We are also committed to building a broader culture of public impact in higher education so that social science —when paired with, and informed by, first-hand experience in communities—can do more for more people.

We encourage interested postdoctoral fellowship applicants to read more about our approach. 

Postdoctoral Program

Applications are now open to Stanford postdoctoral scholars for the 2025-2026 Stanford Impact Labs Postdoctoral Fellowship program. The fellowship is a professional development program for Stanford postdocs who are passionate about using research to address social problems, are motivated to engage with partner(s) outside of the university setting, and are eager to join a cohort of other postdocs working in parallel to leverage their research expertise to tackle challenging social problems. 

Once a month, fellows will gather for interactive, activity- and discussion-based workshops designed to engage postdocs in identifying and refining their understanding of a particular social problem and how their research contributes towards solutions; mapping and forging external partnerships and building a shared agenda of research; and developing an operational plan for giving life to their vision of impact and partnership. This curriculum is designed with acknowledgement of the gap that often exists between the skills and knowledge required to do impactful research in partnership, and the skills and knowledge that traditional doctoral programs focus on.

Workshops are led by professional staff, with contributions from guest faculty already working in this space. The Stanford Impact Labs team has designed the workshops to be stimulating, engaging, and practical, so as to guide fellows closer to their vision of impact-focused research. Fellows also attend quarterly cohort social events, as well as an annual retreat.

Please note: This is a professional development opportunity for postdocs who are already at Stanford to gain skills and knowledge relevant to conducting solutions-oriented, partnership based research. It’s also an opportunity to create community with like-minded postdocs from across the university who are committed to making an impact through their research. This is not a program that sets up postdocs with already established research projects or positions, and there is no funding associated with this program.

Eligibility & Criteria

This program is open to researchers who are already employed, or will be employed, as postdoctoral scholars/fellows/researchers at Stanford University as of October 1, 2025 and at least until June 1, 2026. We welcome applications from postdocs in any academic discipline, in any department on campus.

We seek candidates who: 

• Have some familiarity with and interest in solutions-oriented, partnership-based research. This could be demonstrated by past research experience and/or the research focus of the lab they work with at Stanford;
• Hold a belief in the role of science as a tool for tackling social problems;
• Are open-minded, flexible, and humble; and
• Exhibit a desire to engage with, and contribute toward, a cohort of postdocs committed to achieving outcomes beyond the university.

Additionally, candidates must be able to commit to attending all cohort sessions (held in person on Stanford’s campus), a commitment of about 2 hours per month, October 2025 - June 2026, and a two-day retreat November 13 and 14, 2025. Workshop curriculum is cumulative, therefore it is essential that all members are present. Cohort sessions are scheduled taking into account all cohort members’ availability (with the exception of the pre-scheduled retreat in November), and all sessions are catered with food and drinks.

Applications will be evaluated by a panel of Stanford Impact Labs staff, Stanford faculty, and Stanford Impact Labs postdocs. 

Timeline

• Applications due: Wednesday, August 13, 2025
• Fellowship cohort selected: September 2025
• Fellowship begins: October 2025

Application Materials and Instructions

To apply, please download the application at the link and send your completed application as a single PDF with subject line “Last Name_SIL Postdoc Application” to silpostdoc@stanford.edu by Wednesday, August 13, 2025. 

More Information 

Learn more about the fellowship from postdocs who have participated in the program in prior years. You can find their names and details on our website. 

Please note: This is a professional development opportunity for postdocs who are already at Stanford to gain skills and knowledge relevant to conducting solutions-oriented, partnership based research. It’s also an opportunity to create community with like-minded postdocs from across the university who are committed to making an impact through their research. This is not a program that sets up postdocs with already established research projects or positions, and there is no funding associated with this program.

Questions? Contact Alex Carr at acarr2@stanford.edu.