Postdoctoral Positions at UT-Austin

I)   Postdoctoral Fellow –

1. The "Postdoctoral Fellow" position is a temporary training position for recent PhD graduates. At UT, you can be appointed as a Postdoctoral Fellow for up to 5 years, and you must have received your PhD within 3 years of your initial postdoc assignment.
2. Full-time Postdoctoral Fellows are eligible to receive the same benefits as all UT faculty and staff: insurance (medical, dental, vision, life, disability, long term care, flexible spending account); paid annual, sick, and holiday leave; and participation in a retirement program: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits.html

II)   Research Affiliate Postdoctoral –

1. You become a "Research Affiliate Postdoc" when you (as a postdoc fellow) are awarded a fellowship or traineeship from an external agency or organization.  You may be paid directly from the granting agency, or through a University account administered by the Office of Sponsored Projects. Your payments aren't made through the University payroll system (which means that the University is not withholding taxes on these payments). See the "Becoming a Research Affiliate" section for more details.
2. As a Research Affiliate Postdoc,  you are not considered "benefits eligible", but even so, you can enroll in certain health insurance plans that are part of the University’s group insurance program: https://hr.utexas.edu/current/insurance/plans/rapostdoc_fellow.html . However, you have to pay the insurance premiums yourself. See the "Becoming a Research Affiliate" section for more details.

Note: Postdoctoral assignments have a max of 5 years, and this includes time spent in both Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Affiliate – Postdoc positions, and time spent as a postdoc at other institutions.