Academic Credentialing (Faculty Appointments)

New faculty members receive a conditional offer letter of employment which states the academic rank for which they are being proposed. It is important to note that this rank will only become official when it has been formally approved by the GSDM Faculty Appointments & Promotions Committee, the GSDM Executive Committee, the Dean of the School, or the Medical Campus Provost or University President (unmodified Associate Professor and Professor ranks only). Consequently, upon hire, all faculty shall be granted the temporary placeholder title of “Clinical Instructor”. Unless an individual already holds an academic rank at Boston University or receives their academic appointment prior to commencing employment at BU, there is no exception to this policy.

Academic credentialing is based on an individual’s education, experience and level of responsibility. Faculty rank criteria are outlined in the Boston University Faculty Handbook and also described in additional detail here. These criteria are used by the GSDM Faculty Appointments & Promotions Committee when evaluating applications for appointment to the faculty.

Faculty appointment dossiers will be submitted by the candidate’s department chair. The overall process is straightforward. Candidates will provide their chair with an updated electronic copy of their CV. Letters of professional evaluation will be solicited by the department and may not be provided by members of the School’s Faculty Appointments & Promotions Committee. Candidates may not see these letters per university policy. These letters shall come from individuals holding the same rank, or higher, for which the candidate is being proposed. Instructor appointments do not require evaluation letters.

For a complete overview of the faculty appointment and promotions process, please click here.

At the completion of the process, an individual’s awarded rank will be updated in Boston University electronic systems.

Medical Campus Faculty Contracts

There is no tenure on the Boston University Medical Campus. On the Medical Campus, full-time faculty appointments are governed by the Policy on Appointment and Continuance of Appointments for Full-Time Faculty on the Medical Campus as described in the Boston University Faculty Handbook.

This policy only applies to full-time employees in the standard professorial ranks. It does not cover the employment of instructors, part-time faculty, adjunct faculty, or volunteer faculty. For these cohorts, faculty are appointed for a maximum terms of 12 months. Part-time and volunteer faculty appointments are reviewed annually and may be renewed only at the recommendation of the Department Chair.

Research Faculty

Research track appointments are for the stated term of the appointment with no guarantee or expectation of renewal as per the Boston University Faculty Handbook.