CIRES Visiting Fellows Program — Fellowship

CIRES — the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences — is a partnership between the University of Colorado Boulder and NOAA that has run since 1967. More than 900 people work there, across ten CU Boulder departments and eight NOAA laboratories, on weather and climate, wildfire and water, polar change, air quality and solid Earth science.

The Visiting Fellows Program brings outside scientists to Boulder to work alongside them. Fellows keep their own research project and pair with a CIRES Fellow or Senior Research Scientist who acts as sponsor; the interdisciplinary work that comes out of that pairing is the point of the award. More than 350 scientists have passed through the program over the past 50 years.

There are two routes. Postdoctoral researchers within four years of their PhD get a two-year salaried fellowship.

Mid- to senior-career scientists on leave from their own institution get a sabbatical stay of three to twelve months. Both are funded mainly through the CIRES cooperative agreement with NOAA, and both require being in Boulder.

Benefits & funding

Salary of $70,000 for the first year, with a second-year increase in line with campus merit raises.
Two-year appointment.
Research budget of up to $8,000.
A modest relocation stipend, covering the individual only.
A laptop, paid for outside the research budget.
Three to twelve months in residence at CIRES or on related field research.
Lodging reimbursement of up to $2,500 per month.
Research budget of up to $8,000, typically spent on travel, conference registration, abstract fees, materials and supplies.
A laptop.

Eligibility

A PhD in a field related to CIRES research. You may apply while finishing, but the degree must be complete before the fellowship starts.
No more than four years past the PhD at the time of application. CIRES says exceptions can be made for time out for caretaking or other exceptional circumstances.
Past and current CU Boulder graduate students and postdocs are not eligible.
Current and former CIRES Visiting Fellows are not eligible.
An appointment at an academic or research institution, normally mid- to senior-career.
No CU Boulder affiliation in the past ten years — graduate student, postdoc, researcher, affiliate, sabbatical visitor or faculty.
Priority goes to candidates based outside the greater Boulder scientific community.
At least three months in residence; vacation and conference travel do not count toward it.
One to three CIRES Fellows or Senior Research Scientists must agree to sponsor the application.
International candidates apply the same way as everyone else; CIRES human resources handles visas for those selected.
No nationality, residency, age or gender restriction is stated.

Can you apply?

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Education required
PhD

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Application process

1
Read the CIRES Strategic Plan and the list of CIRES Fellows and Senior Research Scientists, and pick one to three as potential sponsors.
2
Write to them individually. CIRES advises against generic messages and suggests a reminder after a week or two if there is no reply.
3
Wait for the window to open. The 2026–2027 cycle opens in October; exact dates are posted on the program page.
4
Prepare a two-page CV in NSF format, a cover letter (one to two pages for postdocs, two pages maximum for sabbatical applicants, 12-point type) and a research proposal of no more than three pages including figures, references excluded.
5
Postdoctoral applicants also upload transcripts — unofficial copies are accepted — and enter contact details for three referees. Do this early; letters can arrive before the rest of the application is finished.
6
Submit through the online application at insidecires.colorado.edu/visitingfellow. Chrome is the preferred browser, and the form can be saved and returned to.
7
Decisions come in spring. The fellowship must begin within nine to ten months of the offer, and no deferrals are granted.

Program timeline

October
applications open for the 2026–2027 cycle; CIRES has not yet posted the exact dates.
2 January 2026
deadline for the most recent cycle. The 2024–2025 cycle closed on 2 January 2025 at 11:59 p.m. MST.
One week after the deadline
letters of recommendation due.
Spring
decisions. CIRES says the number of awards for the 2026–2027 cycle will be set in spring 2027, depending on available funds.
Within nine to ten months of the offer
the fellowship must begin. No deferrals.
Visiting Fellows present at the CIRES Rendezvous science symposium, or arrange a seminar before finishing.
May