Feinberg's promotion and tenure process occurs on an annual cycle, with approved promotion/tenure taking effect on September 1 of the year following application. The resources on this page are intended to help administrators navigate the process.
- Faculty proposed for promotion/tenure effective 9/1/2017 are still being reviewed. Outcomes will be communicated after the Provost has reviewed and made decisions, typically by mid-June.
- FSM will next be accepting applications for promotion/tenure effective 9/1/2018. Please review this page for information about the application process.
- The description of promotion criteria for faculty on the Research Track has been updated. Please view the Information Guide for Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure.
The Administrator's Role in the Promotion & Tenure Process
Department administrators are expected to coordinate the submission of a candidate's promotion/tenure dossier to the Faculty Affairs Office, which includes collecting the promotion/tenure dossier from the candidate, working with the Department Chair to establish and coordinate an internal departmental review process to evaluate the candidate's qualifications for promotion or tenure, and ensuring each promotion/tenure application is complete with supplementary documentation prepared/obtained by the department (e.g., evaluation from departmental APT Committee, recommendation letter from Department Chair, letters from external referees). Administrators often play an important role in advising faculty candidates on the promotion process and faculty may even look to you for guidance on how to strengthen their promotion/tenure applications. Given this, it is important that you become familiar with FSM's different faculty career tracks. The better you understand faculty career tracks and the expectations for achievement in each track, the better you will be able to support your faculty in their career advancement.
2017-2018 Promotion & Tenure Cycle
The Feinberg School of Medicine next will be accepting applications for the 2017-2018 cycle, with approved promotion/tenure taking effect on September 1, 2018. Department administrators are expected to coordinate the submission of a candidate's promotion/tenure dossier to the Faculty Affairs Office. Refer to the table below for an overview of the requirements.
Administrator Resources
Nomination Deadlines
Promotion and tenure nominations are due to Faculty Affairs Office on the following dates.
Promotions to NTE Assistant Professor: 11/3/2017
All other promotion/tenure nominations: 9/11/2017
Appointment Changes for Promotion Candidates Due 9/1/2017
Submit appointment changes (e.g., change in basis, domains, etc.) separately PRIOR to promotion requests, effective no later than 9/1/17. Exception: Changing from Undifferentiated to a specific career track can be requested in conjunction with the promotion. Evidence of a national search (as opposed to a waiver) is required for changes to the tenure-eligible Investigator track.
Promotion and tenure candidates should never contact referees to request their own reference letters. In cases where the department is responsible for soliciting letters, an administrator in the Department Chair's Office should contact the referees to request letters.
Request to external referees for promotion (letter template)
The documents below summarize the promotion criteria for each career track by rank and may be provided to referees to help them evaluate the candidate:
Investigator track (tenure track)
Clinician-Educator track (non-tenure-eligible)
Team Scientist track (non-tenure-eligible)
Research track (non-tenure-eligible)
Administrators should direct faculty to this page to download the required forms and document templates for the promotion dossier:
Prepare Your Promotion/Tenure Dossier
Administrators are encouraged to read that page as well, for it includes guidance from the FSM APT Committee on how to prepare each element of the dossier effectively. See also Promotion & Tenure: A Guide for Faculty.
Most departments have their own Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure (APT) committees that review promotion dossiers and make a recommendation to the Department Chair before she or he prepares a nomination letter. Where a departmental APT Committee exists, the Committee's report should be included as part of the promotion dossier.
Departmental APT Committee narrative for promotion (letter template)
