PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARD

Cycle 1

 

Application Opens: January 15, 2025

Application Due: February 15, 2025

Acceptable Funding Date Range: March 1, 2025 - June 30, 2025

 

 

Cycle 2

 

Application Opens: May 15, 2025

Application Due: June 15, 2025

Acceptable Funding Date Range: July 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

 

 

Cycle 3

 

Application Opens: September 15, 2025

Application Due: October 15, 2025

Acceptable Funding Date Range: November 1, 2025 - February 29, 2026

 

Applicants can apply for up to a maximum of $500.00 to be used towards reimbursement for professional development activity-related expenses (e.g., travel, workshop/conference/training registration fees).

• Must be a current postdoctoral fellow (job code: 1438) at CU Denver or CU Anschutz
• Must be a current postdoctoral fellow at the time of your proposed professional development activity.
• Your professional development activity must fall within the specified acceptable date range.
• You cannot have received a PDA Professional Development Award within the past 2 years.
• You must make a public presentation or act of service. Your plan for this presentation/service will be scored. Some examples of possible presentations or acts of service include:
  • Presenting your work at Postdoc Research Day
  • Giving a seminar at the Postdoc Seminar Series about things you learned at the conference/workshop that may be useful in the career development of other postdocs
  • Giving a seminar on your work at a departmental seminar series
  • Writing an article about your conference/workshop experience in the PhD Post
  • Organizing or participating in a volunteering or outreach even

Note: Current members of the PDA-PDA committee are NOT eligible for this funding opportunity

Note: Currently, PDA-PDA award funds cannot be used for reimbursement of childcare expenses. 

• The application website does NOT save your answers as you go, so we recommend that you prepare and save your work in a word document and then copy and paste into the application.
• If you are co-presenting with another applicant, please submit two separate applications independently and alert the PDA via email.
• Your application will be scored for proper grammar and punctuation. To make sure you get maximum points, contact The Writing Center on campus for assistance in editing your application.
• No supporting documentation is required (this is different from previous application cycles).
• Fill out your applications carefully and completely. Applications that are incomplete, incorrect, or not meeting the deadline requirements will be administratively disqualified.​

Common Reasons for Disqualification

• An applicant has already received a PDA Travel Award or PDA-PDA this fiscal year or in the previous fiscal year.
• Failure to include the correct University of Colorado employee ID number as part of the online application.
• Application is written to fund research or scholarly production instead of attendance at a conference/workshop or similar professional development activity.
• No plan for presentation or service is provided.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are eligible professional development opportunities?

A:  Eligible professional development opportunities include, but are not limited to, conference attendance for presentation of research, conference attendance for networking and professional growth, clinical training events, in-person and virtual workshops and trainings (e.g., statistical methods workshops).  

​​​Q: I received my PhD degree more than five years ago, can I apply for the PDA-PDA?

A: Yes. As of January 2016, we no longer have any restriction on the number of years since receiving your PhD. However, you must be classified as a Postdoctoral Fellow (Job Code: 1438).

Q: I want to go to a workshop on professional development. Can I apply for a PDA-PDA?

A: Yes. If the relevance of the conference/workshop to your career development is fully addressed, we are open to supporting travel to any academic or non-academic conference/workshop.

Q: May I apply for the PDA-PDA if I am attending a conference in the Denver Metro Area?

A: Yes, you may still apply.

Q: May I apply for the PDA-PDA before I submit a conference abstract? I need the Award to attend the conference/workshop.

A: Yes, you may still apply for the PDA-PDA before you apply to the conference/workshop. However, funding is only available for reimbursement AFTER you have attended the professional development activity.

Once an application has been submitted, it cannot be altered. If you have extenuating circumstances, please contact the PDA as soon as possible.

 

If you are a faculty member at CU Denver or CU Anschutz and you would like to contribute to the review process, please contact the PDA at PostdocAssociation@ucdenver.edu.

 

 

Reviewers

 

Reviewers are CU Denver and CU Anschutz faculty members from diverse fields of study. Applications should be written so that a faculty member from any discipline can understand the importance of attending the conference/workshop. Each application is reviewed by at least two faculty reviewers who are not familiar with the applicant.

 

 

Scoring

 

Each application is given a point value. Funding levels are determined by a combination of most points awarded and funds available for the current cycle.

 

The questions "Significance to Postdoctoral Training and Field of Study" and "Plan for Public Service and/or Presentation at CU Denver or CU Anschutz" are worth the most points. Proper spelling and grammar is also judged.

 

Members of the PDA-PDA Committee oversee the reviewing process and facilitate communication with applicants and faculty reviewers, but do not review applications. 

Please note that, at this time, the PDA-PDA Committee members are strictly required to follow guidelines that they:

 

• will not provide copies of application materials
• will not accept late applications
• will not allow an application to be edited after it is submitted
• will not participate in the competition for PDA-PDA

​

 

Scoring Breakdown

PDA Professional Development reviewers will assign points to each application based on the following:

• Significance to Postdoctoral Training (up to 15 points)
• Public Service/Presentation Plan (up to 10 points)
• Grammar and Organization (up to 5 points)
• First Time Presenting at a National Conference (yes = 1 point)
• Other Professional Development Funds are Unavailable (yes = 1 point)

Maximum Possible Score is 32 points.

It takes approximately 2-3 weeks for applications to be reviewed and for funding decisions to be emailed. We thank you in advance for your patience. 

If your PDA-PDA application has been funded, you will be notified via your official university email address, and you will be sent detailed, step-by-step instructions in the notification for claiming reimbursement. You will complete your expenses either through the University’s Travel Card or using your own out-of-pocket funds, and then turn in receipts afterwards for reimbursement. ​​​​

 

Once conference/workshop is completed, you will have 30 days to submit for reimbursement.

Use the step-by-step instructions, sent to you in the notification, to create an expense report in the University’s Concur system. Once the process has been completed with all approvals, your reimbursement is electronically sent to your bank account (the same account where your payroll is distributed each month).

Before submitting reimbursement, you must provide proof of attendance at the eligible professional development activity.