Clinician-Educator Gateway to Promotion
Career advancement for faculty appointed on the Clinician-Educator career track occurs through demonstrating achievement and earning recognition in two of a possible five domains of specialization:
- Clinical impact and recognition
- Teaching and education
- Original research
- Health services management
- Community engagement
Planning Your Journey
Click on your current academic rank to learn how to prepare for your next promotion.
Below are resources to help current Instructors navigate their career and plan for promotion to Assistant Professor. There is no deadline by which you must be promoted and no minimum time period you must serve as an Instructor before promotion. The guidance below establishes milestones for those who aspire to obtain promotion in 2-3 years, but is just as useful for those whose journey is a different length.
Key Focus: Produce scholarly work products that include authoring peer-reviewed or other scholarly publications
I'm building towards promotion...Years 1-2 (or later) as Instructor
- Know (or update) your two domains, which establish the criteria used to evaluate you for promotion
- Become familiar with the Promotion & Tenure Information Program and Information Guide for Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure
- Use the Feinberg Faculty Portal to maintain your faculty profile
- Sign up for teaching opportunities in the medical student curriculum. If teaching and education is one of your domains of specialization, then teaching medical students is a service expectation.
- Maintain your Feinberg CV and Record of Teaching on an ongoing basis; consider using the Feinberg Faculty Portal to track your career activity for these purposes
- Develop scholarly work products (including peer-reviewed publications); visit the Faculty Career Development Resource Directory to identify career development opportunities
- Use the annual performance review process to discuss your career plans with your department chair or division chief and obtain feedback on your progress towards promotion
- Achieve board certification in your specialty (if applicable)
I'm ready to apply for promotion!Year 1.5 (or later) as Instructor
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 Assistant Professor
- Have you developed scholarly work products, including authorship on peer-reviewed or other scholarly publications?
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:
- 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 two domains that form 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.
- 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 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: Pursue activities and produce scholarly work products within your two chosen domains that result in regional recognition.
I'm building towards promotion...Years 1-4 (or later) as Assistant Professor
- Know (or update) your two domains, which establish the criteria used to evaluate you for promotion
- Become familiar with the Promotion & Tenure Information Program and Information Guide for Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure
- Seek out research career development support through Grant Writing Coaching Groups, the NIH Peer Review Program, or Navigating the Research Enterprise.
- Use the Feinberg Faculty Portal to maintain your faculty profile
- Sign up for teaching opportunities in the medical student curriculum. If teaching and education is one of your domains of specialization, then teaching medical students is a service expectation.
- Maintain your Feinberg CV and Record of Teaching on an ongoing basis; consider using the Feinberg Faculty Portal to track your career activity for these purposes
- Develop scholarly work products within your two domains; visit the Faculty Career Development Resource Directory to identify career development opportunities
- Use the annual performance review process to discuss your career plans with your department chair or division chief and obtain feedback on your progress towards promotion
- Begin to identify external referees who hold the rank of Associate Professor or Professor and think about how to build relationships. See the Referee List page for guidance.
- Grow your reputation regionally; view the external professional recognition page for guidance
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
- 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)
- Have you developed scholarly work products consistent with your two Clinician-Educator domains?
- Do you have evidence of a regional reputation? View the external professional recognition page for guidance.
- 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:
- 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 two domains that form 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.
- 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: Obtain national recognition based on your activities and scholarly work products in your two chosen domains.
I'm building towards promotion...Years 1-3 (or later) as Associate Professor
- Know (or update) your two domains, which establish the criteria used to evaluate you for promotion. If your career focus has shifted since your last promotion, you may change domains for your next one.
- Become familiar with the Promotion & Tenure Information Program and Information Guide for Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure
- Use the Feinberg Faculty Portal to maintain your faculty profile
- Sign up for teaching opportunities in the medical student curriculum. If teaching and education is one of your domains of specialization, then teaching medical students is a service expectation.
- Maintain your Feinberg CV and Record of Teaching on an ongoing basis; consider using the Feinberg Faculty Portal to track your career activity for these purposes
- Develop scholarly work products within your two domains; visit the Faculty Career Development Resource Directory to identify career development opportunities
- Use the annual performance review process to discuss your career plans with your department chair or division chief and obtain feedback on your progress towards promotion
- Begin to identify external referees who hold the rank of Professor and think about how to build relationships. See the Referee List page for guidance.
- Grow your reputation nationally; view the external professional recognition page for guidance
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
- 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)
- Have you developed scholarly work products consistent with your two Clinician-Educator domains?
- Do you have evidence of a national reputation? View the external professional recognition page for guidance.
- 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:
- 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 two domains that form 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.
- View the Annual Promotion Cycle page to understand the timeline, prepare your packet, and access resources for the current promotion cycle.