postdoctoral

American  

[pohst-dok-ter-uhl] / poʊstˈdɒk tər əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to study or professional work undertaken after the receipt of a doctorate.

   postdoctoral courses.

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postdoctoral British  

/ pəʊstˈdɒktərəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating studies, research, or professional work above the level of a doctorate

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Etymology

Origin of postdoctoral

1935–40; post- + doctoral ( def. )

Explanation

Research or other work done after getting a PhD is postdoctoral. Your cousin must be pretty happy about the postdoctoral fellowship she got at the University of Hawaii. Surf's up! When you stay in school long enough to earn a doctorate degree (usually called a PhD or Doctor of Philosophy), you can describe the work, writing, and research you do as doctoral. It follows that related work done after that — but generally before getting a full-time academic job — is postdoctoral, since post- means "after." A postdoctoral student, for example, might work for a few years and teach some classes before pursuing a university teaching position.

Example Sentences

USC already has three other UAW-affiliated unions, representing part-time and adjunct instructors in the School of Cinematic Arts, graduate student workers, and postdoctoral scholars.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

Its rolling, five-year premium versus an S&P 500 index fund has been negative since 2016, though, according to Alexander Hübbert, a postdoctoral finance researcher at Stockholm University.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026

The study's co-authors included postdoctoral researchers Jordan Kueneman and Katherine Odanaka, undergraduate students Steve Hoge '24 and Cassidy Dobler '26, and lab technician Rachel Fordyce.

From Science Daily • May 28, 2026

Mack Baysinger is a geoscientist and science writer who most recently worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Aarhus University in Denmark.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

He was the first in his family to go to school, and when he learned about Henrietta as a postdoctoral fellow in Gey’s lab, he felt immediately connected to her.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot