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).

Updated Jan 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.