Appointments
Learn more regarding Guidelines for Faculty Titles.
For more information regarding apportionment, please see Apportionment Categories.
Professor
A tenured faculty member with a budgeted salary and generally 1.00 FTE; FTE less than 1.00 requires approval by the EVC or the IANR VC.
| Tenured | Yes |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Continuous |
| Renewable | Not necessary |
| Promotable | No |
| Apportionment | Combination of teaching, research, service, and/or extension (IANR only) |
| Length of Appointment | No Restriction |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department |
Associate Professor
A tenured or tenure leading faculty member with a budgeted salary and generally 1.00 FTE; FTE less than 1.00 requires approval by the EVC or the IANR VC.
| Tenured | Usually |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | Yes, if not Tenured |
| Appointment Type | Usually Continuous; Specific Term if not tenured |
| Renewable | Not necessary unless not tenured |
| Promotable | Yes |
| Apportionment | Combination of teaching, research, service, and/or extension (IANR only) |
| Length of Appointment | No Restriction |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department |
Assistant Professor
A tenure-leading faculty member with a budgeted salary and generally 1.00 FTE; FTE less than 1.00 requires approval by the EVC or the IANR VC. An Assistant Professor that is hired but does not have a terminal degree which was required for the position by start date will be given the title Instructor-NTT.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | Yes |
| Appointment Type | Specific Term |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | Yes |
| Apportionment | Combination of teaching, research, service, and/or extension (IANR only) |
| Length of Appointment | Max is 6 yrs. If tenure is not awarded, 7th year is final year as a special appointment. |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department |
Professor of Practice
A specialized faculty member with a budgeted salary and 0.50 to 1.00 FTE with primarily instructional duties.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Faculty Practice |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | No |
| Apportionment | Minimum 80% teaching; often 100% teaching. |
| Length of Appointment | 1-5 years (appointments of 5 years are encouraged) |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department; terminal degree or equivalent professional experience; evidence of: contributions to advancing learning, academic or professional instruction, very high performance standard, national visibility for candidate’s instructional activities and/or practice |
Associate Professor of Practice
A specialized faculty member with a budgeted salary and 0.50 to 1.00 FTE with primarily instructional duties.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Faculty Practice |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | Yes |
| Apportionment | Minimum 80% teaching; often 100% teaching |
| Length of Appointment | 1-4 years (appointments of 4 years are encouraged) |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes (if 0.50 or greater) |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department; terminal degree or equivalent professional experience; evidence of: contributions to advancing learning, academic or professional instruction, leadership in instructional activity |
Assistant Professor of Practice
A specialized faculty member with a budgeted salary and 0.50 to 1.00 FTE with primarily instructional duties. An Assistant Professor of Practice that is hired but does not have a terminal degree which was required for the position by start date will be given the title Instructor-NTT.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Faculty Practice |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | Yes |
| Apportionment | Minimum 80% teaching; often 100% teaching |
| Length of Appointment | 1-3 years (appointments of 3 years are encouraged) |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department; terminal degree or equivalent professional experience; demonstrated success in academic or professional instruction |
Research Professor
A specialized faculty member dealing primarily with research and generally funded by a grant or other extramural funds.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Faculty Research |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | No |
| Apportionment | Minimum 80% research; often 100% research |
| Length of Appointment | 1-5 years (appointments of 5 years are encouraged) |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes (if 0.50 or greater) |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department; earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree, sustained scholarly contribution; progressive development of independent research agenda, distinguished by excellence; expectation is for national visibility for candidate’s research high performance standard |
Research Associate Professor
A specialized faculty member dealing primarily with research and generally funded by a grant or other extramural funds.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Faculty Research |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | Yes |
| Apportionment | Minimum 80% research; often 100% research |
| Length of Appointment | 1-4 years (appointments of 4 years are encouraged) |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes (if 0.50 or greater) |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department; earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree, evidence of scholarly contribution; progressive development of excellence in research; evidence of leadership in research |
Research Assistant Professor
A specialized faculty member dealing primarily with research and generally funded by a grant or other extramural funds.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Faculty Research |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | Yes |
| Apportionment | Minimum 80% research; often 100% research |
| Length of Appointment | 1-3 years (appointments of 3 years are encouraged) |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes (if 0.50 or greater) |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department; earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree, experience and independence in research dissemination |
Senior Research Associate
A faculty member dealing primarily with research. This appointment type is used seldomly, typically only for those who have successfully served as a post doctoral research associate and need additional short-term employment.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Special |
| Renewable | Not typically |
| Promotable | No |
| Apportionment | Minimum 80% research; often 100% research |
| Length of Appointment | Up to 3 years |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes (if 0.50 or greater) |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department; earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree; at least three years of service as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, and a record of demonstrated superior performance in that position |
Postdoctoral Associate
A mentored faculty position, typically reserved for recent PhDs.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Special |
| Renewable | Yes, up to max of 5 years |
| Promotable | No |
| Apportionment | There are no restrictions on apportionment for postdoctoral associates. Typically these positions are "research postdocs" and so in most cases should be at least 80% research. |
| Length of Appointment | 1-5 years |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes (if 0.50 or greater), but no retirement |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department; earned doctorate |
Visiting Faculty
A faculty member visiting from another institution or whose extensive professional or other accomplishments warrant such a title. In some disciplines, a visiting assistant professor position may be used in lieu of a postdoctoral associate position.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Special |
| Renewable | Yes, up to max of 3 years within a 5-year period |
| Promotable | No |
| Apportionment | Combination of teaching, research, service, and/or extension (IANR only) |
| Length of Appointment | Usually 1-2 years, (maximum of 3 years within a 5-year period) |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes (0.50 or greater), but no retirement |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department; On leave from another institution; has substantial professional accomplishments; or is customary in the discipline in lieu of postdoctoral associate positions |
Lecturer
A faculty member hired for instruction purposes and 0.50 to 1.00 FTE.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Special |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | No |
| Apportionment | Almost always 100% teaching, but service performed by a Lecturer at the university or system level can be recognized via a service apportionment of up to 5%, with EVC or VC IANR approval. |
| Length of Appointment | 1-3 years; Appointments of two years are encouraged if there is need for the teaching capacity and guaranteed funding for the position. Appointments of three years are allowed only for Lecturers who have been continuously employed by UNL as Lecturers for at least 6 years, and are encouraged in this situation. An appointment for more than two consecutive years must have EVC or VC IANR approval. |
| Benefits Eligible | Yes (0.50 or greater) |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department |
Lecturer/T
A faculty member hired for temporary instruction purposes for a semester term.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Special |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | No |
| Apportionment | 100% teaching |
| Length of Appointment | Semester |
| Benefits Eligible | No |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department |
Courtesy Faculty Member
An unpaid faculty appointment restricted to individuals holding non-temporary employment elsewhere on campus or in the University of Nebraska system. Appointments are made to facilitate useful and productive relationships among individuals in different University units.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Special |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | No |
| Apportionment | N/A |
| Length of Appointment | Up to 5 years; terms of at most 3 years are strongly recommended |
| Benefits Eligible | Already eligible because of other appointment |
| Minimum Qualifications | Holds non-temporary appointment elsewhere on campus |
Adjunct Faculty Member
An unpaid faculty appointment that permits the establishment of a fruitful relationship between the individual and the appointing academic unit.
| Tenured | No |
|---|---|
| Tenure Leading | No |
| Appointment Type | Special |
| Renewable | Yes |
| Promotable | No |
| Apportionment | N/A |
| Length of Appointment | Up to 5 years; terms of at most 3 years are strongly recommended |
| Benefits Eligible | No |
| Minimum Qualifications | Decided by College/Department |
Additional faculty titles are also used in the Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources, including Extension Instructor, Assistant/Associate/(Full) Extension Educator, Assistant/Associate/(Full) Extension Professor, Assistant/Associate/(Full) Forester, and Assistant/Associate/(Full) Geoscientist. For more information, contact IANR.
Templates
Offer letters define the terms and conditions of employment for individuals who are being invited to accept a new position at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We ask that you use the templates linked to from this page, because they are designed to include language that defines the terms of the contract per the Board of Regents Bylaws, sets the promotion and tenure dates (if applicable) or employment term, guides the candidate to the benefits offered by the university and affirms the need for an individual’s employment eligibility. These templates allow for personalization of individual employment conditions, such as startup funding, teaching assignments, and other situations. They also communicate the parameters for future changes to employment terms. The letters serve as a key information source to potential faculty members and represent a significant first step in the process of new employee onboarding.
If you need to communicate something that is significantly different from what is included in the templates linked to from this page, please contact Faculty Affairs in the Executive Vice Chancellor's Office. We appreciate the opportunity to consult with you, especially prior to receipt of the letter in our office (if applicable).
- Faculty Hiring Package Checklist
- Faculty Hiring Package Checklist (Post-docs, Visiting Faculty, SRA hires)
- Faculty Renewal-Promotion Hiring Checklist
- Tenure-track (specific term) Appointments | DOC and resources
- Tenured (continuous) Appointments | DOC and resources
- Professor of Practice | DOC and resources
- Research Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor | DOC and resources
- Senior Research Associate | DOC and resources
- Postdoctoral Associate Appointments | DOC and resources
- Visiting Faculty | DOC and resources
- Lecturer Appointments | DOC and resources
- Lecturer/T Temporary Appointments | DOC and resources
- Academic Administrator Appointments | DOC and resources
- Courtesy Appointment | DOC and resources
- Adjunct Appointment | DOC and resources
- Summer Research or Practice Appointment Proceeding Tenured/Tenure-Track or Practice Appointment | DOC and resources
- Amendments I DOC and resources
- College Professorships / DOC and resources
Updated Feb 2024
Joint Appointments
Learn more about Joint Appointments.
Non-reappointment
Procedures and deadlines for Non-reappointment.
Graduate Faculty Status
Learn more about obtaining Graduate Faculty Status.