academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

a predoctoral fellow is a person combining study for a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

with some form of paid research or work, in other words a paid doctoral student. The term is only used in some parts of the world.

Europe (EU)

Across EU, typically a pre-doctoral fellow is somebody already registered in a PhD program at a host university to work together with a full professor in a certain topic of research. Upon completion of the research work and other requirements (e.g. graduate courses/exams, see:

all but dissertation "All but dissertation" (ABD) is a term identifying a stage in the process of obtaining a research doctorate, most commonly used in the United States. In typical usage of the term, the ABD graduate student has completed the required preparatory ...

), the pre-doctoral fellow can submit the thesis to the doctoral committee for review and upon passing the review is asked to defend the thesis in a public presentation for conferral of PhD degree.

North America (USA/Canada)

In the USA a predoctoral fellow (pre-doc) is a researcher who has a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

(or equivalent university graduate education), but not a

, but is enrolled in a preparatory program at university for admission to PhD (doctoral degree program) and often granted a stipend. As the name implies, predoctoral fellows often use their time as a fellow to develop their skills and résumé before applying to

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

for a doctoral degree. They differ from other research employees (research associates) in that they primarily pursue research, rather than maintain the day-to-day function of a research facility, and may have external funding to support their research or educational activities, but typically are also reliant on the support of a research mentor whose lab they work in. {{Citation needed, date=March 2017, reason=Reliable source needed for the whole sentence Predocs also refer to predoctoral (that is, before Ph.D.) research positions held at universities and research institutions as a transition, to doctoral studies. In recent times, for instance, the path to a PhD in Economics and Business often contemplates a period of research assistantship for faculty or researchers at universities and research institutions. Such predoc research assistantship programs are available at many universities, business schools, and research institutions.PREDOC: Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers
/ref>

References

Educational stages