Skip to main content
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Faculty Affairs Office

Team Scientist Gateway to Promotion

Career advancement for faculty appointed on the Team Scientist career track occurs through demonstrating achievement and earning recognition in one of a possible two domains of specialization: 

  • Research
  • Education
     

Planning Your Journey

Click on your current academic rank to learn how to prepare for your next promotion.
  

Below are resources to help current Assistant Professors navigate their career and plan for promotion to Associate Professor. At Feinberg, we expect that faculty hold the rank of Assistant Professor for a minimum of 6 years before promotion to Associate Professor, but there is no deadline by which you must be promoted. The guidance below establishes milestones for those who aspire to obtain promotion by the 6-year mark, but is just as useful for those whose journey is a different length.

Key Focus: Establish academic collaborations and produce scholarly work products within your primary domain that results in regional recognition. For those whose primary domain is research, contribute to multiple research teams/collaborations to demonstrate the critical contribution of your expertise and academic independence.
  

 I'm building towards promotion...
Years 1-4 (or later) as Assistant Professor

 I'm ready to apply for promotion!
Middle of Year 4 (or later) as Assistant Professor

Promotions always take effect on September 1 of a given year, and Feinberg has a structured annual review cycle that, in combination with your department's internal review process, may kick off as early as 20 months before the effective date of an approved promotion. In other words, plan to start the formal application process about 1.5 years before you are promoted.

Key Considerations for Promotion to Associate Professor

  1. Will you have held the rank of Assistant Professor for at least 6 years on the date your promotion becomes effective? (E.g., if applying for promotion effective 9/1/2025, you should hold the rank of Assistant Professor for at least 6 years by that date)
  2. Have you developed scholarly work products consistent with your primary Team Scientist domain?
  3. Do you have evidence of a regional reputation? View the external professional recognition page for guidance.
  4. Can you list 6-8 external referees at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor (who are not close collaborators and who do not have a training connection to you) who could write letters of reference in support of your promotion? See the Referee List page for guidance.

Initiate the Application Process

If you answered yes to all of the questions above, then you may be ready to apply for promotion! Here are the next steps:

  1. Contact your department leadership to make them aware you wish to be considered for promotion.
    • It is a good idea to have a draft of your Feinberg CV and your referee list prepared at this stage for review by department leadership, who can advise you on readiness for promotion and let you know about your department's internal process for nominating promotion candidates.
    • Make sure you and your leadership are in agreement as to the primary domain that is the basis for your application. Your leadership will prepare nomination documents that also reference the domain, so you want to make sure documents from all sources are in alignment.
  2. View the Annual Promotion Cycle page to understand the timeline, prepare your packet, and access resources for the current promotion cycle. 

Below are resources to help current Associate Professors navigate their career and plan for promotion to full Professor. At Feinberg, we expect that faculty hold the rank of Associate Professor for a minimum of 5 years before promotion to Professor, but there is no deadline by which you must be promoted. The guidance below establishes milestones for those who aspire to obtain promotion by the 5-year mark, but is just as useful for those whose journey is a different length.

Key Focus: Maintain or expand academic collaborations and obtain national recognition based on your activities and scholarly work products in your primary domain. For those whose primary domain is research, contribute to multiple research teams/collaborations to demonstrate the critical contribution of your expertise and academic independence.
   

 I'm building towards promotion...
Years 1-3 (or later) as Associate Professor

 I'm ready to apply for promotion!
Middle of Year 3 (or later) as Associate Professor

Promotions always take effect on September 1 of a given year, and Feinberg has a structured annual review cycle that, in combination with your department's internal review process, may kick off as early as 20 months before the effective date of an approved promotion. In other words, plan to start the formal application process about 1.5 years before you are promoted.

Key Considerations for Promotion to Professor

  1. Will you have held the rank of Associate Professor for at least 5 years on the date your promotion becomes effective? (E.g., if applying for promotion effective 9/1/2025, you should hold the rank of Associate Professor for at least 5 years by that date)
  2. Have you developed scholarly work products consistent with your primary Team Scientist domain?
  3. Do you have evidence of a national reputation? View the external professional recognition page for guidance.
  4. Can you list 6-8 external referees at the rank of Professor (who are not close collaborators and who do not have a training connection to you) who could write letters of reference in support of your promotion? See the Referee List page for guidance.

Initiate the Application Process

If you answered yes to all of the questions above, then you may be ready to apply for promotion! Here are the next steps:

  1. Contact your department leadership to make them aware you wish to be considered for promotion.
    • It is a good idea to have a draft of your Feinberg CV and your referee list prepared at this stage for review by department leadership, who can advise you on readiness for promotion and let you know about your department's internal process for nominating promotion candidates.
    • Make sure you and your leadership are in agreement as to the primary domain that is the basis for your application. Your leadership will prepare nomination documents that also reference the domains, so you want to make sure documents from all sources are in alignment.
  2. View the Annual Promotion Cycle page to understand the timeline, prepare your packet, and access resources for the current promotion cycle.