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Faculty Application Instructions »
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Overview
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE December 1, 2023.
Each year, the College of the Environment is allocated a limited number of quarters of sabbatical. The total number of sabbaticals in any one year is limited by the Legislature. Faculty members who meet certain eligibility criteria (described below) may apply for this sabbatical annually each fall quarter.
Note that salary while on sabbatical may be full or partial depending on the period of the sabbatical and whether the faculty member has full or partial state funding. A complete sabbatical consists of one of the following options:
(1) One year – Two-thirds salary (67%) for a sabbatical of three quarters (or four quarters if the applicant’s basic appointment is annual, 12 months);
(2) Three-fourths salary (75%) for a sabbatical of two quarters; or
(3) Full salary (100%) for a sabbatical of one quarter.
Sabbaticals are awarded to coincide with the normal academic quarter dates:
- Autumn quarter: 9/16 – 12/15
- Winter quarter: 12/16 – 3/15
- Spring quarter: 3/16 – 6/15
- Summer quarter: 6/16 – 9/15*
(*Note: If state funds are not normally used to pay salary in the summer, they cannot be used for sabbatical.)
The sabbatical may be spread out over more than one academic year (e.g., one quarter in each of three successive years); the faculty member then is eligible for an equivalent amount of sabbatical (e.g., one quarter) seven years after the year in which the initial portion of the sabbatical was taken. When a complete professional sabbatical is intended to be spread out over more than one academic year, a new sabbatical application should be submitted for each year. This information should be included in the sabbatical plan submitted with the application.
The Dean’s Office distributes information and application instructions concerning sabbatical to the college during Autumn Quarter. Applications are prepared by the individual faculty members and are provisionally approved or denied by the school director or department chair; the applications are then forwarded to the Dean’s Office for competitive review. There is one annual consideration period for review of sabbatical applications by the Dean’s Office, normally occurring at the end of Autumn Quarter. Applications should be submitted at least 9 months in advance of the date of the proposed sabbatical.
A faculty member who wishes to apply for sabbatical will prepare an application dossier (described in the Faculty Application Instructions below) and forward it to their department chair/school director.
The chair/director will review the application and prepare a cover letter citing their independent recommendation related to the sabbatical. The chair/director will submit the entire package to the Dean.
The application and chair/director’s letter will be reviewed by the Dean, who will then submit a recommendation to the Vice Provost for Academic Personnel. The Provost of the University of Washington has final authority to grant sabbatical upon recommendation from the President.
Faculty members are generally notified of their sabbatical award status during winter quarter.
Eligibility Criteria
Per the UW’s Professional Leave Policy, a faculty member is eligible for a sabbatical leave not earlier than the seventh year of service to the University or not earlier than the seventh year after return from a previous sabbatical. Leave Without Pay taken by a faculty member for 6 months or more at 50% FTE or more will extend the period of time before they are eligible for sabbatical. Assistant professors in clock managed positions are not eligible for sabbatical leave until after they have been reviewed and approved for tenure and/or promotion. The earliest a faculty member who has had a prior sabbatical leave may apply for the next leave is in the sixth year after returning from prior sabbatical leave, and such leave could not begin until the seventh year following the return from the sabbatical leave year. Thus, a faculty member who has returned from their last sabbatical leave more recently than spring quarter 2017 is not eligible to apply for a leave for the 2023-24 academic year.
In keeping with the University’s policy on sabbatical leave, the College of the Environment determines sabbatical eligibility for lecturers by the number of years of full-time instruction that lecturers have performed in the College. Just like tenure track faculty, lecturers are eligible for a sabbatical not earlier than the seventh year of full-time service. They are not eligible to take sabbatical leave during the terminal year of appointment and therefore cannot apply for sabbatical leave during the year prior to their terminal year of appointment. However, those who are in the terminal year of their appointment may apply for a sabbatical leave, with approval contingent upon the renewal of a multi-year contract in addition to meeting the other eligibility criteria. Lecturers may spread their sabbatical leave out over more than one academic year (e.g., one quarter in each of the three successive years), but none of these quarters may be scheduled for later than the year prior to the terminal year of appointment.
Faculty members are encouraged to contact the Dean’s Office or Academic Human Resources for assistance in determining their eligibility for sabbatical. Assistant Professors are not eligible for sabbatical until they have been reviewed and approved for tenure/promotion.
Faculty Application Instructions
The following documentation is required of the applicant:
- The UW’s Faculty-Application-for-2024-25-Sabbatical-Leave
- A letter addressed to the applicant’s Chair/Director that includes a statement of evidence of productivity in scholarly or creative work and a brief review of professional activities.
- A detailed sabbatical plan to be appended to both the Faculty Application for Sabbatical Leave and the letter to the Chair/Director, which includes the following information:
- A detailed statement of the applicant’s plans for utilizing the time requested, including the time sequence for completion of any project or plan.
- The names of foundations or institutions, if any, with which the applicant expects to be affiliated during the sabbatical.
- Special resources available for the proposed project/plan.
- The source and amount of any supplementary grants or salary.
- A current CV.
- Any other materials as requested by the unit and/or that the applicant believes may provide useful context. (e.g., letter of support, letter of invitation from a host institution)
While not included with the application, applicants for sabbatical should note that a statement regarding the value of the applicant’s project in terms of benefit to the institution, including evidence of productivity in scholarly and creative work and a brief review of professional activities should be submitted to the Provost upon return from sabbatical.
Role of the Department Chair/School Director in the Application Process
Upon receipt of an application for sabbatical, the department chair/school director will prepare either:
- A memorandum of support that highlights the plan’s merit and anticipated benefit to the University, expresses confidence in the applicant’s ability to accomplish the sabbatical plan, and confirms the administrative feasibility of the leave; or
- A memorandum stating the rationale for denying the sabbatical application
The department chair/school director will forward all copies of the entire application dossier (see above), along with their letter to the Dean of the College of the Environment by December 1, 2023, via email to envhr@uw.edu.
On the basis of information provided by the applicant about financial support from outside sources, the details of their financial support from the University will be worked out by the applicant’s department chair/school director in accordance with the formula for sabbatical.
Dean's Office Contact:
