Academic Credentialing

New faculty members receive a conditional employment letter which states the faculty academic rank for which they will be proposed. It is important to note that this rank is only official when it has been formally approved by the GSDM Faculty Appointments & Promotions Committee, the GSDM Executive Committee, the Dean of the School, and the Medical Campus Provost or University President (Associate Professor and Professor ranks only, unmodified). Consequently, upon hire, all faculty are temporarily listed in the University’s employment system with the title “Clinical Associate” or “Research Associate” depending on their role. Unless individuals already hold an academic rank at Boston University or receive their academic appointment prior to commencing their employment at BU, there is no exception to this policy.

As with any major university, academic credentialing is based on an employee’s education, experience and expected 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 an individual’s application for appointment to the faculty.

The application for faculty appointment will be submitted by the employee’s department Chair. The paperwork is relatively straightforward. Candidates should supply their Chair with an updated electronic copy of their CV (preferably in Adobe Acrobat format) and the names of professional references whom the Chair may contact for letters of support. In general, letters should not come from members of the School’s Faculty Appointments & Promotions Committee, and should be provided by individuals who hold the same rank, or higher, for which the employee is being proposed. The number of letters required for each rank is as follows, with clinical track appointments not requiring letters from individuals outside of BU (although letters from external evaluators are highly recommended and welcomed).

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

Only when an individual’s rank is formally approved will their rank be appropriately updated for display in Boston University enterprise systems.

Medical Campus Faculty Contracts

There is no faculty 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 outlined 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.