Appointments

Learn more regarding Guidelines for Faculty Titles.

For more information regarding apportionment, please see Apportionment Categories.

Professor

A tenured faculty member with budgeted salary and generally 1.00 FTE

Tenured Yes
Tenure Leading No
Appointment Type Continuous
Renewable Not necessary
Promotable No
Apportionment Combination of teaching, research, service, and/or outreach
Length of Appointment No Restriction
Benefits Eligible Yes
Minimum Qualifications Decided by College/Department

Associate Professor

A tenured or tenure leading faculty member with budgeted salary and generally 1.00 FTE

Tenured Maybe
Tenure Leading Maybe
Appointment Type Continuous or Specific Term
Renewable Not necessary unless not tenured
Promotable Yes
Apportionment Combination of teaching, research, service, and/or outreach
Length of Appointment No Restriction
Benefits Eligible Yes
Minimum Qualifications Decided by College/Department

Assistant Professor

A tenure leading faculty member with budgeted salary and generally 1.00 FTE. 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 Continuous
Appointment Type Specific Term
Renewable Yes
Promotable Yes
Apportionment Combination of teaching, research, service, and/or outreach
Length of Appointment Max is 6 yrs. If not tenured, 7th yr. is final yr. and on a special appt.
Benefits Eligible Yes
Minimum Qualifications Decided by College/Department

Professor of Practice

A non-tenure track faculty member with a budgeted salary and generally .50 to 1.00 FTE with primarily instructional duties

Tenured No
Tenure Leading No
Appointment Type Faculty Practice
Renewable Yes
Promotable No
Apportionment Usually 100% teaching; minimum 80%
Length of Appointment 1-5 years
Benefits Eligible Yes (if .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, very high performance standard, national visibility for candidate’s instructional activities and/or practice

Associate Professor of Practice

A non-tenure track faculty member with a budgeted salary and generally .50 to 1.00 FTE with primarily instructional duties

Tenured No
Tenure Leading No
Appointment Type Faculty Practice
Renewable Yes
Promotable Yes
Apportionment Usually 100% teaching; must have minimum 80% teaching
Length of Appointment 1-4 years
Benefits Eligible Yes (if .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 non-tenure track faculty member with a budgeted salary and generally .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 Usually 100% teaching; must have minimum 80% teaching
Length of Appointment 1-3 years
Benefits Eligible Yes (if .50 or greater)
Minimum Qualifications Decided by College/Department; terminal degree or equivalent professional experience; demonstrated success in academic or professional instruction

Research Professor

A non-tenure track 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 Usually 100% research; must have minimum 80% research
Length of Appointment 1-5 years
Benefits Eligible Yes (if .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 non-tenure track 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 Usually 100% research; must have minimum 80% research
Length of Appointment 1-4 years
Benefits Eligible Yes (if .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 non-tenure track 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 Usually 100% research; must have minimum 80% research
Length of Appointment 1-3 years
Benefits Eligible Yes (if .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 non-tenure track faculty member dealing primarily with research, typically those who have successfully served as a post doctoral research associate.

Tenured No
Tenure Leading No
Appointment Type Special
Renewable Yes
Promotable No
Apportionment Usually 100% research; must have minimum 80% research
Length of Appointment 1-3 years
Benefits Eligible Yes (if .50 or greater)
Minimum Qualifications Decided by College/Department; earned doctorate or appropriate terminal degree

Postdoctoral Associate

An “other faculty” appointment dealing primarily with research.

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 .50 or greater but no retirement)
Minimum Qualifications Decided by College/Department; earned doctorate

Visiting Faculty

A non tenure-track faculty member visiting from another institution or whose extensive professional or other accomplishments warrant such a title (special)

Tenured No
Tenure Leading No
Appointment Type Special
Renewable Yes
Promotable No
Apportionment Combination of teaching, research, service, and/or outreach
Length of Appointment Three years within a 5 year period
Benefits Eligible Yes (.50 or greater but no retirement)
Minimum Qualifications Decided by College/Department; On leave from another institution or has substantial professional accomplishments

Lecturer

A non-tenure track faculty member hired for temporary instruction purposes and generally .50 to 1.00 FTE

Tenured No
Tenure Leading No
Appointment Type Special
Renewable Yes
Promotable No
Apportionment 100% teaching
Length of Appointment 1-3 years; see template for details and restrictions
Benefits Eligible Yes (.50 or greater)
Minimum Qualifications Decided by College/Department

Lecturer/T

A non-tenure track faculty member hired for temporary instruction purposes for a semester term and generally .50 to 1.00 FTE

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

A non-tenure track faculty unpaid 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 No Max
Benefits Eligible Already eligible because of other appointment
Minimum Qualifications Holds non-temporary appointment elsewhere on campus

Adjunct Faculty Member

A non-tenure track faculty unpaid 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 No Max
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).

Updated June 2022

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.