International applicants are explicitly eligible and successful applicants requiring immigration sponsorship are referred to Cornell International Services. Applicants must receive a PhD relevant to the proposed project by the fellowship start and no earlier than 2025-05-01. Cornell PhD graduates and current Cornell postdocs are not eligible. Fellows must maintain primary residence in Ithaca.

The Cornell Atkinson Postdoctoral Fellowship supports early-career researchers whose scholarship can directly contribute to major sustainability challenges. Fellows work jointly with a Cornell faculty mentor and an external governmental, nonprofit or private-sector partner.

Benefits
Fellows receive a salary of USD 65,000 per year, full Cornell employee benefits and USD 12,000 per year for research and travel expenses. Appointments run for three years, with second- and third-year support dependent on satisfactory progress and funding availability. Fellows also participate in the Sustainability Leadership Program.

Requirements
Applicants need a PI-eligible Cornell Atkinson faculty mentor and an external partner adviser. Required materials include a 250-word project abstract, applicant-background statement, project description of up to 1,000 words, impact statement, CV and four recommendation letters from the Cornell mentor, external partner, doctoral adviser and another professional reference.

How to apply
Identify and secure support from an eligible Cornell faculty mentor and external partner. Complete the official online application and upload the required application PDF by 2026-10-20 at 17:00 Eastern Time. Ensure all four recommendation letters are sent separately by the same deadline.