Part-time (or short-term) postdoctoral appointments at Brown are uncommon. In accordance with the Handbook for Academic Administration, postdoctoral appointees are appointed for terms of one to three years and may hold postdoctoral positions at Brown for a maximum of five years.

Appointments and reappointments to positions covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement must be for a minimum term of one year. This guidance does not apply to Dean’s Faculty Fellows or to Brown doctoral students who have completed their PhD and are immediately appointed solely for specific assignments (see Article 7, Section C).

In exceptional circumstances, a one-time appointment extension of less than one year may be approved if necessary. Any part-time postdoctoral appointment must be approved by the cognizant dean’s office.

IMPACT ON BENEFITS

Please note that part-time status may affect eligibility for certain benefits. For example, postdoctoral appointees whose appointments fall below 50% FTE are not eligible to accrue vacation time. 

Part-time appointees also are not eligible for the fourteen paid sick days that are described elsewhere for eligible PDRAs and Postdoctoral Fellows. Instead, postdoctoral appointees whose appointments fall below 100% FTE are eligible for 5 days of sick time under the Rhode Island Sick and Safe Leave Act.

Part-time appointees also should review the impact that their FTE may have on their medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums (if eligible) by reviewing the rates provided by University Human Resources (scroll down to “Faculty and Staff”). 

Defining and Calculating FTE

FTE (full-time equivalent) is determined based on the total number of hours worked per year, as reflected in the postdoctoral appointees’s Workday profile.

To calculate FTE, multiply the number of hours worked per week by the number of weeks worked per year. 

For example, for a four-month postdoctoral appointment working 37.5 hours per week, the calculation would be as follows:

37.5 hours per week × 17.36 weeks = 651 total scheduled hours per year

At Brown, a full-time schedule is based on 1,950 hours per year. Therefore:

651 ÷ 1,950 = 0.334 FTE (33.4% FTE).

Questions

Departments and postdoctoral appointees are encouraged to consult the Benefits Office within University Human Resources at benefits_office@brown.edu, as well as Employee and Labor Relations at employeeandlaborrelations@brown.edu, for guidance.