All appointing units or PIs in the FAS who wish to appoint postdoctoral or postgraduate scholars must send formal invitation letters to candidates, laying out in detail the terms of their appointments. This is an FAS-specific requirement.
- All invitation letters must include the following language: "Consistent with current University policy, please note that postdoctoral and postgraduate appointments may be terminated early due performance or, following the initial appointment year, financial reasons."
- The FAS Dean's Office (fas.dean@yale.edu) must be copied on invitation letters.
- Department or program business offices and lead administrators must be copied on invitation letters.
- You may use the template below. Use of this template is not required, but all invitation letters must include the funding contingency language provided above.
Please note that this invitation letter is distinct from the initial communication and appointment letter required by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA). These are university-wide requirements and are administered by OPA.
- Initial Communication: As described on the OPA website, this is a communication sent via email to direct candidates to submit their application materials in Workday. Departments should send this communication to postgraduate and postdoctoral candidates only after the Workday requisition has been fully approved and officially opened by OPA. Once the requisition is posted, the req initiator will receive the communication in their Workday Notifications and must forward it to the candidate so they can submit their application in Workday.
- Appointment Letter: The appointment letter will be automatically generated in Workday once an application is approved.
Invitation letter template
[Date]
[Scholar Name]
[Scholar Address]
Dear [Scholar Name],
We are pleased to offer you a position as a [postdoctoral/postgraduate] appointee, with an anticipated start date of [date] and end date of [date]. Your total support for the initial period of training is expected to be [$$] from [source of funding]. Consistent with current University policy, please note that postdoctoral and postgraduate appointments may be terminated early due to performance or, following the initial appointment year, financial reasons.
At this time it is too early for us to initiate the formal online hiring process, but we will contact you within 2 months of your anticipated start date to begin this process. At that time, we will direct you to our online hiring system and will ask you to upload biographical information along with several documents (such as evidence of degree completion). We will also assist you with applying for a visa if you require one to enter the United States. Finally, please note that your position at Yale may be contingent upon a background check and the receipt of a visa to enter the U.S.
Further information
For questions about our department, please contact [admin name] at [phone number] or [e-mail]; you may send faxes to [fax number]. Also, visit [department/program website], https://postdocs.yale.edu, and https://fas.yale.edu for additional information about our [department/program], Yale, and New Haven.
Sincerely,
[Sponsoring faculty name and signature]
Cc: Department or program operations manager and lead administrator
FAS Dean’s Office (fas.dean@yale.edu)