Memberships & Subscriptions
- Penn Postdoctoral Association (PPA)
- National Postdoctoral Association (NPA)
- Flamingo™ From SciPhD
- NCFDD
- News Subscriptions
Penn Postdoctoral Association (PPA)
The Penn Postdoc Association (PPA) is a community of postdocs at the University of Pennsylvania dedicated to promoting solidarity and support among postdocs across schools and institutions within the university system. We represent over 1,400 postdocs, welcoming postdocs from all 12 schools of the university, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Swarthmore College, and the Wistar Institute. Our mission is to enhance the postdoctoral experience at Penn by addressing shared interests and concerns through community building, career development and training, and advocacy for postdocs.
Membership in the PPA is free and open to all postdocs at Penn, no action required!
National Postdoctoral Association (NPA)
The University of Pennsylvania is a Sustaining Member of the National Postdoctoral Association. One of the greatest benefits is that you can become an Affiliate Member of the NPA for free! We encourage every postdoc to take advantage of this opportunity to help you network with other postdocs across the country and gain access to members only resources that can help further your career.
Signing up is simple, just click the "Join Today!" link above and complete the short form. Once you click “Submit” the NPA Staff will review your Affiliate membership within five working days, and you will receive an email when it has been approved.
As an NPA Affiliate Member, you are entitled to these benefits:
- Subscription to NPA e-alerts, a periodic news announcement, and The POSTDOCket, the NPA’s official monthly newsletter
- Reduced registration fees to the NPA Annual Conference & eligibility for the NPA travel award program
- Access to members-only NPA web content, such as career planning resources and policy information
- Access to NPA member groups to connect & network with fellow NPA members
- Opportunities to serve and contribute your expertise on a variety of NPA committees
- National representation on postdoctoral issues
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach the BPP Office at postdoc@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.
Flamingo™ From SciPhD
Additional Benefit through NPA
Are you deciding on the next step after your postdoc? Need help looking for jobs that excite you and then figuring out how to apply? The NPA is proud to partner with SciPhD and provide a free, permanent license for all NPA members to their online web application tool – Flamingo™.
Flamingo™ is SciPhD’s web application that guides you in finding jobs, importing those job descriptions, analyzing the job descriptions to identify the critical technical, business, and social skills, relating those skills to your own experiences and accomplishments, and generating a targeted resume for that job. In addition, Flamingo™ has an extensive resources section with crash courses in project management, leadership, communications, interviewing skills, negotiations, and much more.
In order for you to get your free license:
- Fill out the brief form on the NPA's website (link above)
- Sign up for one of SciPhD’s free one-hour Flamingo™ orientation and training sessions which will be provided via Zoom every month.
Upon completion postdocs will receive instructions on how to obtain their permanent license.
NCFDD
The NCFDD (formerly the National Center for Faculty Development Diversity) is an independent professional development, training, and mentoring community for graduate students, post-docs, and faculty members. Resources include webinars, courses, discussion forums, and other resources on topics ranging from preparing for the academic job market to crafting book, grant, and fellowship proposals.
Penn is an institutional member, and you can claim your individual account at no cost by clicking the "Activate your membership!" link above and completing the online registration form.
News Subscriptions
The Penn Libraries hosts subscriptions for several major news media websites, magazines, and mobile applications, at no cost to you! These typically require an initial website registration through PennKey authentication. Subscriptions include:
- New York Times
- Washington Post
- The Atlantic
- Le Monde
- Wall Street Journal
- Bloomberg.com
- Financial Times