UCLA

Our Mission

UCLA Postdoctoral Association (PDA) is a volunteer organization run by postdocs that aims to build, enrich, and support the larger community of postdoctoral scholars at UCLA. We provide opportunities for personal skill training, social events and community building, as well as outreach and advocacy. All UCLA postdocs are part of the PDA and are encouraged to have an active voice in our organization’s events, programs, and outreach efforts.

We want to hear from you! Please share your thoughts with us by mailing us at pdaucla@g.ucla.edu

As an organization, we are always striving to improve our mission, our reach, and our work – please don’t hesitate to reach out with suggestions or questions on this front. We value your input.

Ways to get more involved in UCLA PDA:

• Attend our programs

UCLA PDA holds at least 3-4 events per quarter with varying social, soft skills, personal development, and outreach themes. We advertise these programs through the Postdoctoral Scholars listserv, on our social media channels, as well as through our Slack community.

• Join our Slack channel and social media

UCLA PDA moderates a slack community open to all postdoctoral scholars at UCLA. We encourage you to join and use this platform to connect with other postdocs, especially those outside your departments. You can also use this platform to ask questions, advertise listings for sale or rent, monitor programming announcements, etc. It’s a great place to stay on top of all postdoc-relevant info!

We also encourage to follow us on twitter and instagram for updates about events!

• Volunteer for the PDA

As the PDA is a volunteer-run organization, we are always open to postdocs who wish to organize specific events, start a new program, or help out with tasks related to ongoing programs. You can volunteer as many or as few hours as you’d like. This is not only a great way to give back to our community but also helps you build the leadership and management skills that future hiring managers look for!

• Run for a PDA Executive Board position

If you’re looking for a year-long commitment to work with the PDA, you may consider running for a position on our executive board. The PDA executive board is elected annually and is currently composed of the following positions: Chair, Vice Chair of Operations, Vice Chair of Communications, Vice Chair of Advocacy & Campus Relations and Vice Chair of Community Engagement.