DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
HOW TO HIRE AN ACADEMIC EMPLOYEE
Note: Appointments to these ranks are Dean delegated.
Postdoctoral Scholar
The postdoctoral experience emphasizes scholarship and continued research training for
individuals who have recently completed a doctoral degree. The Postdoctoral Scholar
conducts research under the general oversight of a faculty mentor in preparation for a
career position in academe, industry, government, or the nonprofit sector.
 Initial Appointments are for one year. Although the appointment is from year-to-year,
you may choose to request the visa for up to 3 years if you have the funding.
 A person may serve a maximum of 60 months as a Postdoc.
 Postdocs must be employed at 100% time.
 Postdoc Salary Scale: http://www.ap.uci.edu/salary/CurrentScales/postdoc.pdf
Project Scientist
Project Scientist series titles are given to those appointees who make significant
contributions to a research project. Appointees may be ongoing members of a research
team or may be employed for a limited period of time to contribute high-level skills to a
specific research program. Appointees are not required to carry out independent research
or develop an independent research reputation. Ordinarily, appointees will carry out
research with supervision by a member of the Professor or Professional Research series.
 Appointees may engage in University and public service; they do not have teaching
responsibilities.
 The Project Scientist series differs from the Professional Research series in that the
former need not demonstrate the same capacity for fully independent research or
research leadership required of the Professor series and Professional Research series.
 Appointees are expected to have a broader range of knowledge and competency and a
higher level of independence than appointees in the Specialist series, whose
appointment and advancement depend on the technical contributions that they make
to the work of the research team.
 Project Scientist Salary Scale: http://www.ap.uci.edu/salary/CurrentScales/projSci.pdf
Specialist Series – this title is also used to hire “volunteers”
The Specialist series is used for academic appointees who are engaged in research in
specialized areas and who do not have any teaching responsibilities.
 Specialist Tool Kit: http://www.ap.uci.edu/Specialist%20Toolkit.pdf
 Specialist Salary Scale: http://www.ap.uci.edu/salary/CurrentScales/spec.pdf
Search
Job postings must be approved by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity. The Personnel
Analyst will work with you to get the ad approved and posted. Provide the Personnel Analyst
with the text for the job posting and the list of journals and web sites (if any) where you want it
published. It typically takes two weeks to get an ad approved, and then it must be posted on
the UCI job site for a minimum of 30 days.
All applications are received via the online Recruit system. The PI is responsible for reviewing,
ranking, and interviewing the candidates before a final selection is made. See the Personnel
Analyst for Recruit training.
If the scholar has already been identified (no search needed), he/she can be hired using the
generic Pharm Sci pool ad. The candidate must apply to the appropriate pool ad via Recruit,
and the PI must then review and comment on all pool ad applicants in Recruit.
Note: Searches are not required for without salary (WOS) employees.
Tentative Offer
Once your final candidate has been identified you may extend a tentative offer, contingent
upon both establishing the individual's right to work according to the immigration laws and the
successful processing of an academic appointment file. You will want to provide postdocs with
this link to Grad Division’s Postdoc Information page; it provides checklists and benefit
information: http://www.grad.uci.edu/postdoctoral-scholars/index.html
Information and Documents Needed for Appointment & Visa Files
From the PI:
 Appointment, Funding & Visa Information:
- Scholar Name & E-mail
- Proposed Title, Rank & Step (Postdocs do not have a rank & step)
- Salary (100% time rate) – see salary scales referenced above
- Percent Time
- Initial Term Dates – start & end dates (Postdocs must be one year)
- Funding Information
Note: The Personnel Analyst cannot proceed with the appointment file until the
funding has been finalized with the Finance Analyst/bookkeeper.
- Visa status
 Copy of tentative offer letter/e-mail, if applicable
 English Language Proficiency Certification Form (foreign scholars only):
http://www.ic.uci.edu/Forms/English%20Language%20Proficiency.pdf
 Review and comment on all applicants in Recruit
Note: not required when hiring a without salary (WOS) employee
 Department Letter (not needed for Postdocs)
The Personnel Analyst can provide a template.
From the Scholar:
 AP-9*
 AP-99*
 External Funding Documentation (in US dollars), if applicable
J1 Scholars
 Form A: http://www.ic.uci.edu/Forms/FormA.pdf
 Copies of the biographical information passport pages for scholar and his/her
dependents
H-1B Scholars – See the Checklist for Prospective Employees:
http://www.ic.uci.edu/Forms/H-1BChecklistforProspectiveEmployees.pdf
TN Visa – Nothing to do at this time
*Link to AP forms: http://www.ap.uci.edu/Forms/index.html
Timeline
Once the above information and documents have been received, within 5 business days the
Personnel Analyst will assemble an appointment file (and visa application, if applicable) and
obtain required signatures. The appointment file is then forwarded to the “Dean” for final
approval, which typically takes about 4 weeks. Visa applications are sent to the International
Center and typically take 3 months (J1) to 6 months (H-1B) to process. Please keep this in mind
when proposing a start date.
FLOWCHART
PI decides to hire an academic employee:
1) PI consults with the PersonnelFLOWCHART
Analyst for the appropriate title, salary,
and benefit eligibility information.
2) PI talks with the Finance Analyst to finalize funding.
Note: If there is to be non-Pharm Sci funding, the appropriate
bookkeeper must be consulted and funding approved.
SEARCH (if needed):
PI provides the Personnel Analyst with the text for the job
posting. The ad will be posted on the UCI website once
approved by OEOD. PI may choose to post the (approved)
ad in journals and on other web sites.
PI reviews applications submitted via Recruit, then ranks and
interviews candidates. Once the final selection is made a tentative
offer may be extended to the scholar.
PI provides the Personnel Analyst with appropriate information to assemble an
appointment (and visa) file.
The Personnel Analyst works with the PI and scholar to obtain the appropriate
documentation to assemble the appointment and visa files.
Appointment file to AP/Dean
Visa application to Int’l Center
FINAL APPROVAL(S) RECEIVED
The Personnel Analyst will notify the scholar and PI and arrange for new hire
paperwork to be processed.
Scholar checks in with Int’l Center (if applicable) and then meets with Pharm Sci
staff to process new hire forms.