Apply to Be a Data Science Fellow

DDDI invites all post-doctoral fellows in the School of Arts & Sciences who are developing or using data science methods to apply to be a Data Science Fellow. If data science is a significant part of your research and you are interested in cross-disciplinary interactions, apply to become a Fellow. You will join an exciting group of postdocs spanning the social and natural sciences, will have weekly interactions with faculty and visitors, and will receive funding through one of two ways:

  1. Via DDDI support (up to 50 percent salary support) for up to three years. These could be postdocs already be at Penn or new hires. Faculty must recommend these postdocs to DDDI. More information for faculty can be found on our faculty instructions page.
  2. OR via a research fund (up to $5000 total) for one year to support your research (travel, equipment, visitors, etc.). These could be postdocs already at Penn or new hires. Stipend is subject for renewal.

Those who apply to the salary support program but are no longer considered will still be eligible to be considered for the research stipend.

Postdoc fellows regardless of funding source will be expected to:

  • regularly attend and contribute to our weekly postdoc meetings
  • participate in DDDI events and activities when possible
  • contribute a tutorial or research presentation to DDDI (once per semester)

Application Instructions

For those interested in applying to the stipend award, please submit the following 4 items along with your completed application form by following this link to the postdoc fellows submission page:

  • Describe how you use data science methods in your research. Maximum 1 page single-spaced. A reference list after the research statement can be included and will not count toward the 1 page limit.
  • Include links to 1-3 papers (published or working papers) that show your use of data science in your research
  • An updated CV
  • A statement from your postdoc advisor endorsing your participation in the DDDI fellows program (a one sentence acknowledgement is sufficient)

For those interested in applying to the partial salary support program:

  • Consult your prospective postdoc advisor to express interest and inform them about the salary support program
  • Faculty advisors must give us notice that you have been shortlisted as a postdoc (or already hired as a postdoc with them) and exemplify high data science related work, and request candidates to submit all the above materials for the stipend award INCLUDING 3 recommendation letters to them. Faculty should consult the faculty instruction page for our selection criteria and how to solicit postdoc positions through our salary support program.
  • Faculty advisors will forward all of the candidates’ materials to ddd-info@sas.upenn.edu or to our leadership board for consideration

Granting process

  • The first round of postdoc fellows will be selected by a DDDI committee from the applications submitted by January 31, 2023
  • Selections will be made in early February, with funds available as soon as the award is made

General application questions may be sent to ddd-info@sas.upenn.edu.

View our current postdocs on the Data Science Postdoc Fellows page.

We invite all postdocs to join the DDDI activities and events. Everyone can join our mailing list to stay up to date on new events.

Women in Data Science @ Penn Conference

Registration is free to all members of the Penn Community.

The University of Pennsylvania is proud to host the third annual Women in Data Science (WiDS) @ Penn Conference on February 9-10, 2022. WiDS Philadelphia @ Penn is an independent event that is organized by The Wharton School as part of the annual WiDS Worldwide conference organized by Stanford University and an estimated 200+ locations worldwide, which features outstanding women doing outstanding work in the field of data science. All genders are invited to attend all WiDS Worldwide conference events.

This year’s theme – This is What a Data Scientist Looks Like – emphasizes the diversity of data science, both in subject matter and personnel. A celebrated interdisciplinary event, WiDS @ Penn will welcome academic, student, and industry speakers from across the data science landscape.