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Q: Who is eligible to apply to the program?

A: Due to the nature of this grant-sponsored Fellowship, applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Additionally, applicants must defend and deposit their final, corrected PhD thesis prior to the start date. For the 2027 application cycle, it is expected that Fellows will start on or around September 1, 2027.

Q: I am a graduate student or current postdoc affiliated with Columbia University and/or the Zuckerman Institute, am I eligible to apply? 

A: Yes, all current Columbia students and postdocs who meet the other eligibility criteria are eligible to apply.

Q: Am I eligible to apply if I am currently a postdoc elsewhere and my PhD was conferred more than a year ago? 

A: Yes, you are still eligible to apply, though preference will be given for applicants who have completed their PhD less than one year prior to their start date. 

Q: How does the letters of recommendation process work?

Please note that Interfolio will request confidential letters of recommendation as one of the final steps of submitting your application. Letters should be submitted by your references directly. The application will ask you to submit the email addresses of your references. We encourage you to be in contact with your references to let them know that they should recieve an email from Interfolio with a link to upload their letter.

Q: When are letters of recommendation due?

A: The committee will start to review applications right away after the December 16, 2026 deadline. However, recommendation letters will be accepted until January 4, 2027 and will be included in the final review of your application. We encourage your references to submit their letters as soon as possible after you submit your application. If your reference does not receive a notification email from Interfolio within 24 hours of you submitting your application, please reach out to Interfolio's support team. If that does not resolve the issue, please contact [email protected].

Q: Can I have additional letters of recommendation submitted on my behalf? Can they come from the same institution?

Please submit only three recommendation letters: one from your PhD advisor and the other two from whomever you think best. Your second and third letter can come from the same institution as that of your PhD advisor.

Q: Who on the Columbia faculty are eligible as potential mentors for this T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship?

A: Only the 16 Columbia University Zuckerman Institute Principal Investigators listed on the Fellowship web page are eligible to serve as potential mentors for this fellowship.

Q: Is it required for me to be in contact and/or confirm my mentor(s) prior to submitting my application?

A: While we highly encourage you to connect with any potential mentors you would be interested in working with, it is not required. The review committee is aware that some mentors may not respond to inquiries prior to the submission of your application. 

Q: Do I have to know for certain the faculty that I am interested in working with before submitting my application?

A: While it is not necessary to have confirmed a faculty member to sponsor you, we do require you to identify potential faculty you would like to work with. Please see the question above regarding contacting faculty. 

Q: Is it required to have co-mentors for this Fellowship?

A: Yes, the fellowship is focused on training that combines experimental and computational/theory approaches for research on sensorimotor control. We understand that most candidates will have a primary mentor in the area closest to their current research and/or expertise, and that it may require both assistance and time to find a good match for their secondary mentor. Please include mentor suggestions in your application and we will assist in the process.  

Q: Can I be co-mentored by one member of the Zuckerman Institute faculty and a faculty member from another department?

A: Opportunities for mentorship are intended to be with the 16 Principal Investigators listed on the T32 grant and Fellowship web page, exclusively.