Sheng Yen Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chinese Buddhism

With the generous support of the Sheng Yen Education Foundation, the Center for Buddhism and East Asian Religions (C-BEAR) in the Department of Religion at Columbia University is pleased to invite applications for a one-year postdoctoral fellowship, with the possibility of renewal for another year based on satisfactory performance and budgetary availability. The appointment will be at the rank of Postdoctoral Research Scholar, with the initial term of appointment July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.

The fellowship is intended to foster the academic careers of recent PhDs whose area of research is Chinese Buddhism. In addition to pursuing their own research, the fellow is expected to teach one course per year and take part in the regular events of the C-BEAR. It is envisioned that after the fellowship period, the fellow will continue their academic career in teaching and research on Chinese Buddhism.

Compensation includes a highly competitive annual salary, research fund, and health benefits. Additional financial support is available for the fellow to organize workshops, conferences or speakers’ series in their area of research. The fellow will be provided with office space, access to the library system, and other related administrative assistance.

Review of applications will begin on January 21^st, 2025 and continue until the position is filled

Columbia University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. The search committee is especially interested in candidates who, through their research, teaching or service, will contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community.

Qualifications

Applicants must have completed their Ph.D. degrees (deposition of the dissertation) by June 30, 2025, but no earlier than July 1, 2021. Candidates who do not yet hold a Ph.D. but expect it by June 30, 2025, should provide a letter from their home institution confirming their schedule to completion.

Application Instructions

All applications must be made through Columbia University’s Academic Search and Recruiting (ASR) system. Please provide the following materials:

1.         Curriculum vitae 
2.         Graduate school transcripts
3.         A personal statement of no more than 2,000 words outlining previous research (including dissertation), research the applicant plans to pursue during the fellowship period, future professional goals, as well as any other information deemed relevant to the application
4.         A one-page statement of teaching interests, along with two syllabi, one of which is for the lecture course “Chinese Religious Traditions” and the other for a seminar course of their own design
5.         A writing sample
6.         Three letters of recommendation. The applicant may enable ASR to generate an automatic email to the reference provider, politely requesting a letter of reference and offering a secure link to the ASR website where a letter can be uploaded quickly and easily. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Pay Transparency Disclosure

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training.  The above hiring range represents the University’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.