Memberships

Through your postdoctoral affiliation with CU Boulder, you have access to free memberships and organizational resources. If you have any questions, please email opa@colorado.edu.

Postdoctoral Association of Colorado Boulder (PAC Boulder)

The (PAC Boulder) was formed in 2004 to serve the needs of individuals holding postdoctoral positions at the 鶹Ƶ or in the national labs collaborating on campus research projects. PAC Boulder is an association run by postdocs for postdocs with a goal to foster professional advancement through programming, support services, and networking opportunities for all postdocs (and to have a little fun along the way!). PAC Boulder offers travel awards, social events, networking opportunities like FRIPS (Front Range Industry & Postdoc Summit) and much more! If you are interested, email pacboulder@gmail.com.

Versatile Ph.D.

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, Career Services, the Graduate School, and CIRES have partnered to offer postdoctoral associates and fellows across campus access to Versatile PhD. Versatile PhD is the largest online community dedicated to non-academic and non-faculty careers for PhDs in the humanities, social sciences, and STEM.

All postdoctoral associates and fellows on campus have access to the gamut of Versaitile PhD offerings to:

  • Read inspiring first-person stories by experienced non-academic PhDs.
  • Learn about many non-academic career options and explore them in-depth.
  • See authentic examples of résumés and cover letters from PhDs who secured their first jobs away from faculty track.
  • Become part of a thriving, supportive online communitywhere you can participate in discussions andnetwork with PhDsoutside the academy.
  • Attend local meetups to further develop relationshipsto help get your post-academic career started.

Access Instructions

  1. Log in to
  2. Go to the Career Center tab (at the top of the page)
  3. Click on Resources
  4. Open the Versatile PhD article, click setup my account
  5. Register for your free premium account

Once you have been authenticated through Handshake, .

National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity

The National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) is a mentoring community designed to help faculty make a successful transition from postdoc to professor. NCFDD offers a variety of trainings, courses, webinars, writing programs, and other online resources for professional development and career success. An overview of offerings is below.

  • - 10 key skills necessary to thrive in the academy.
  • - over 130 webinars with topics ranging from academic publishing to healthy relationships in academia.
  • - register for our upcoming challenge toexperiment with daily writing, online community, and supportive accountability.

All CU Boulder faculty, postdocs, and graduate students are encouraged to utilize this resource.

To discover what NCFDD can do for you, follow these two simple steps:

  1. Activate your membership by and entering your information.
  2. Once your account is activated, you can review and for events, courses, and webinars.

National Postdoc Association

The provides advocacy and toolkits for postdocs, mentors and institutions. To sign up, and follow the registration process. Once you click “Submit” the NPA Membership Manager 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:

  • NPA e-alerts, a periodic news announcement, andThe POSTDOCket, the NPA’s official monthly newsletter
  • to search and apply for jobs, upload your resume/CV, and create job alerts
  • Reduced registration feesto 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 toto connect & network with fellow NPA members
  • Discounts to some services and products.
  • Opportunities to serve and contributeyour expertise on a variety of NPA committees
  • National representation on postdoctoral issues

Association for Women in Science

CU Boulder is an institutional partner of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). AWIS is the largest multidisciplinary organization for women in STEM dedicated to achieving equity and full participation of women in all disciplines and across all employment sectors. AWIS reaches more than 100,000 professionals in STEM around the world.

AWIS is a testament to CU Boulder's support of diversity in STEM. AWIS provides undergraduate/graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty with professional development and leadership training to foster success.

As a result of CU Boulder’s partnership with AWIS, all interested undergraduate/graduate students and postdoctoral scholars enrolled in a STEM program are eligible to receive a one year FREE membership in AWIS. All you need to do is register here:

AWIS Membership Benefits

As an AWIS member you have access to a number of programs and services:

  • AWIS Magazine, our award-winning magazine – covering research, workplace trends, career advancement and our work in Washington, DC.
  • Washington Wire, our monthly e-newsletter providing a digest of “hot-topic” articles covering careers, education, science and technology work-life satisfaction, health, events and opportunities.
  • The AWIS Insider, our monthly e-newsletter providing updates on AWIS initiatives, programs and services as well as our advocacy efforts.
  • Exposure to a variety of career opportunities in industry, government, non-profit and academia through the AWIS Career Center.
  • Leadership and talent development training through our live and on-demand webinars.
  • Your local chapter or affiliate group which is the AWIS Boulder Affiliate Group – where you can interact with other AWIS members and expand your network.

AWIS Chapters and Affiliates

Women form their own professional (and nonprofessional) organizations to:

  • Work for the achievement of equal opportunities and rights in reaching their professional goals
  • Promote, recognize, and act on women's perspectives in the professional fields
  • Train women in the administrative and political aspects of their professions
  • Promote consciousness arousal among the women of a particular group

Additional information regarding chapters and affiliates may be found on the AWIS website at .

Other Membership Opportunities

The offers networking events, seminars and workshops to its members. Other memberships available include the Women in Science & Engineering (WISE) and the (AAUW).