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About Us

The purpose of the Office of Postdoctoral Scholar Affairs (OPSA) is to provide guidance and expertise, foster professional advancement and enrich the community for postdoctoral scholars.

OPRSA Purpose

OPSA was founded in 2007 under the Office of Research Affairs and serves almost 1300 postdoctoral scholars (postdocs), and over 800 visiting scholars that represent 66 countries and over 70 departments and research units. OPSA also oversees the Postdoctoral Association (PDA), which is an official Academic Advisory Group to the university, composed of postdocs who volunteer their time to enhancing the postdoctoral experience at UC San Diego.  

As one of the most established university offices representing postdocs and visiting scholars, these populations enjoy a vast amount of resources through OPSA efforts, such as the groundbreaking programs Postdoc Dependent Care Travel Grant and EPIC Bootcamp. These programs were featured in the UC Postdoc Newsletter - Vol. 17 (PDF). 

Moreover, the Postdoc Dependent Care Travel Grant garnered national attention as it is the first of its kind in the country and will be featured as a best practice in the forthcoming Pregnant Scholar handbook, an NSF-funded resource run by The Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings College of the Law.  

Due to these efforts, OPSA staff has been awarded 2017 Diversity Champions, 2011-2012 (PDF) & 2016-2017 (PDF) Exemplary Staff Employee of the Year, and Innovation Grants. Our postdoc professional development program has also been recognized by the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) for 2023.