Supplementary guidelines for promotion to professor

Introduction

This document contains supplementary guidelines of the Faculty of Languages concerning promotion from senior lecturer to professor. For relevant sections of the Rules of Procedure of Uppsala University, please refer to UFV 2019/1673, revised on 2024-11-07.

Instructions to applicants are attached to the document. Applicants are encouraged to prepare the application in accordance with Appendix 1. The instructions can be used by the external experts as guidance.

Process

A permanently employed senior lecturer who wishes to apply for promotion to professor must notify the faculty officer. The Faculty of Languages’ recruitment committee decides whether to approve the application for further evaluation following an initial examination. If the recruitment committee decides to reject the application, it must give reasons for this decision.

As part of the process, the recruitment committee will conduct an interview with the applicant in addition to considering the written documentation. The applicant should also give a short presentation of completed research, plans for future research projects and their

General comments on assessment criteria

The same eligibility requirements and assessment criteria apply to promotion from senior lecturer to professor as those for appointment as a professor. As stated in Uppsala University’s Appointment Regulations under 4.2 Assessment Criteria, Section 18, “Domain/faculty boards may adopt definitions of expertise specific to the domain/faculty. These complement and further specify the definitions of expertise found in sections 19–30.”

Of the six assessment criteria for the appointment of teachers set out in the Appointment Regulations, four are of relevance to the Faculty of Languages: research expertise, teaching expertise, administrative expertise and management expertise.

Although the Appointment Regulations permit only the first two to be considered necessary, all four criteria must be taken into account for promotion from senior lecturer to professor at the Faculty of Languages. According to the Appointment Regulations, administrative and management expertise constitute assessment criteria in appointments that involve or may come to involve administrative work or management.

Among the four assessment criteria, research expertise has a special status. In an overall assessment, research expertise is therefore a necessary requirement. The fact that an applicant has particularly strong teaching, administrative or management expertise does not mean that the requirement for research expertise may be lowered. In particular, achievements from the last 10 years should be taken into account.

1. Research expertise

UU AR 4.2.1 Research expertise

Section 19 Research expertise constitutes an assessment criterion in the appointment of professors, senior lecturers and associate senior lecturers.

Section 20 Research expertise refers to research qualifications. In assessing research expertise, research quality must be the primary consideration. The scope of research, primarily in regard to depth and breadth, must also be afforded consideration. Furthermore, consideration must be given to the capacity to plan, initiate, lead and develop research and education in the third cycle, the ability to obtain funding for research in competition, as well as the demonstrated capacity to interact with others both within academia and in the wider community.

UU AR 5.1.1. Eligibility and assessment criteria (professor)

Section 31 Research expertise must have been demonstrated by the applicant’s independent research contributions and by achievements that are of very high quality by international standards. The applicant must have demonstrated expertise in planning, initiating, leading and developing research; an ability to obtain research funding in competition; and well-documented expertise in supervising third cycle (doctoral) students. The applicant’s contributions to the international and national scientific community must be assessed on the basis of such criteria as the quality and scope of scholarly publications. The international track record required must be assessed in light of the nature and specific circumstances of the subject.

Faculty of Languages

Research expertise must be assessed on the basis of the grounds set out in Section 31 of Uppsala University’s Appointment Regulations:

1. independent research contributions of a very high quality;
2. ability to obtain research grants in competition;
3. well-documented ability in supervising doctoral students;
4. expertise in planning, initiating, leading and developing research.
   
   

The Faculty of Languages’ assessment is based on the following aspects.

Independent research contributions

The research production should demonstrate both breadth and depth and document a clear research development. In connection with promotion, a clear research progression is an important assessment criterion, meaning that independent research contributions must significantly exceed what is required for docent status, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The applicant must be able to explain how the progression requirement has been fulfilled.

The research results must be of high quality and have made an impact on the research community. The production may consist of both books and articles of varying lengths depending on the publishing traditions of the discipline, but should quantitatively correspond to at least three doctoral theses.

The production should be largely published in recognised and peer-reviewed publication channels for the subject area with a high national and international circulation.

Research grants in competition

The applicant must be able to document success as lead applicant in obtaining external research grants from research councils, foundations or similar organisations for project research. This does not include research funded by the higher education institution’s own core funding (e.g. research time as part of a post), internal strategic initiatives within the university or scholarships.

Particular importance is attached to having secured external research funding not only for one’s own research but also for that of others.

Doctoral-level supervision

The applicant must have been principal supervisor of at least one doctoral student up to and including the thesis defence or be able in their application to document equivalent depth and breadth of experience of supervision at doctoral level, unless there are special grounds for an exception. If the applicant has not been principal supervisor, the scope and content of the supervision must be clearly stated. In such cases, the applicant should describe supervisory experience from other levels. External experts must explicitly state their opinion on whether the applicant’s qualifications show equivalent depth and breadth of experience of supervision at doctoral level, with reference to Section 32 of the Appointment Regulations concerning requirements for training in teaching and learning.

The applicant must have completed at least three weeks of doctoral supervision training.

Planning, initiating, leading and developing research

The appointment requires research expertise and commitment beyond the individual’s own research, such as the ability to develop research fields, take responsibility for research environments and successfully complete projects. The applicant is also expected to be active in the research community through several and varied positions of responsibility in research, such as responsibilities as external examiner and examining committee member, expert, referee (for journals), editorships, membership of scholarly editorial boards, etc. (see Appendix 1).

Experience of collaboration with actors outside the higher education sector is desirable.

2 Teaching expertise

UU AR 4.2.2 Teaching expertise

Section 21 Teaching expertise constitutes an assessment criterion in the appointment of professors, senior lecturers and lecturers.

Section 22 Teaching expertise refers to educational qualifications. In assessing teaching expertise, teaching quality must be the primary consideration. Consideration must also be given to the scope of teaching experience, in terms of both breadth and depth. Furthermore, consideration must be given to the capacity to plan, initiate, lead and develop education, and to the ability to base teaching on research. Teaching expertise should also include the ability to collaborate and engage with the wider community through education.

UU AR 5.1.1. Eligibility and assessment criteria (professor)

Section 32 Teaching expertise must have been demonstrated by an extensive educational portfolio in accordance with Section 22. Furthermore, the applicant must demonstrate well-documented expertise in supervision at first cycle (undergraduate) level, second cycle (Master’s) level and third cycle (doctoral) level.

A prerequisite for considering that the applicant has teaching expertise is that the applicant has completed at least ten weeks of teacher training for higher education that is relevant to the organisation and its activities, or has equivalent knowledge. If there are special reasons, the teacher training for higher education may be undertaken during the first two years of employment. The teacher training must include third cycle (doctoral student) supervision.

Faculty of Languages

Teaching expertise must be assessed on the basis of the grounds set out in Sections 22 and 32 of Uppsala University’s Appointment Regulations:

1. own teaching: quality, breadth and depth;
2. expertise in planning, initiating, leading and developing teaching and education.

The Faculty of Languages’ assessment is based on the following aspects.

Own teaching: quality, breadth and depth

The applicant should have documented and broad experience of Bachelor’s and Master’s level education, various teaching formats and supervision of independent projects.

The applicant must have shown the ability to base their teaching on research.

The applicant must have completed at least 10 weeks of training for teachers in higher education, including training as a doctoral student supervisor.

The applicant must present their teaching qualifications in such a way that the quality and scope can be assessed.

Ability to plan, initiate, lead and develop education and teaching

The appointment requires teaching expertise and commitment beyond the applicant’s own teaching, such as the ability to develop courses and programmes, implement teaching projects, produce teaching materials, participate in teaching conferences and educational evaluations, be a member of working groups and consultative bodies, hold positions of responsibility such as director of studies, programme coordinator or subject coordinator (see Appendix 1).

Experience of collaboration with actors outside the higher education sector is desirable.

3. Administrative and management expertise

Administrative expertise concerns the ability to efficiently organise, plan and prioritise work within given time frames. Administrative qualifications must be documented in the form of testimonials concerning administrative contributions, such as operational planning and resource management, as well as active participation in working groups, committees and boards.

UU AR Eligibility and assessment criteria

Section 27 Administrative expertise constitutes an assessment criterion in appointments that involve or may come to involve administrative work.

Section 28 Administrative expertise is demonstrated, for example, by the ability to plan, organise and prioritise work in an efficient and appropriate manner, and the ability to specify and keep to time frames. Such expertise includes overall operational planning, the ability to manage resources in a way that reflects operational priorities, and the ability to work in a structured manner based on awareness of goals and quality.

Section 29 Management expertise constitutes an assessment criterion in appointments that involve or may come to involve management, i.e. responsibility for directing operations and/or staff.

Section 30 Management expertise is demonstrated by the ability to lead operations and staff, make decisions, take responsibility and motivate others, providing them with the conditions needed for efficient achievement of shared goals. Expertise may also be demonstrated by the ability to coordinate the group, to help create a sense of involvement, participation and job satisfaction, and to deal with conflicts.

Faculty of Languages

Administrative and management expertise must be assessed on the basis of the grounds set out in Sections 28 and 30 of Uppsala University’s Appointment Regulations:

1. ability to plan, organise, prioritise work and manage resources;
2. ability to manage activities and staff, motivate and create good conditions for others.

Since administration and management are largely carried out in Swedish, the applicant must be able to use Swedish as a working language.

Planning, organising, prioritising work and managing resources

As part of an overall assessment for promotion, special consideration should be given to roles with responsibility for education and educational development.

Managing activities and staff, creating conditions

Management expertise and commitment beyond the individual’s own research and teaching are of particular merit for appointment. This can be demonstrated by the ability to manage activities and staff effectively and to take responsibility for achieving common goals, as well as the ability to create conditions for developing activities and contributing to a positive work environment.

Management expertise can also be demonstrated by knowledge of and training in management and/or experience of involvement in the management of a unit/department/faculty/university.

Leadership can also be demonstrated through roles in academic networks and associations.

Consideration should also be given to whether the applicant has actively participated in working groups at departmental, faculty, disciplinary domain or university level (see Appendix 1).

Guidelines for external experts assessing applications for promotion to the rank of professor

To assist the external experts in their assessment of the candidates, they are referred to the Appointment Regulations for Uppsala University and the Faculty’s supplementary guidelines.

When assessing an application for promotion to the post of professor, particular emphasis shall be placed on academic competence. Equivalent attention shall be given to the assessment of teaching competence as to that of academic competence. If the applicant has not been the principal supervisor of at least one doctoral student who has successfully defended their thesis, the external experts shall explicitly state whether the applicant’s qualifications demonstrate a corresponding depth and breadth of experience in supervising at research level.

Each expert is to submit an individual report on the applicant’s academic and teaching competence. In addition to a review of the applicant’s qualifications, the experts are to assess their academic and teaching competence, as well as other relevant competences. An expert review need not result in approval; rather, the report must be based on the criteria mentioned above. The conclusion must provide a balanced assessment of all the grounds for evaluation: academic, teaching and other qualifications. The statement must comprise at least 2,000 words and result in the expert clearly taking position on the candidate’s eligibility that follows logically from the argumentation.

The expert reports are addressed to the recruitment committee and sent to the faculty officer, via the e-recruitment system or by email to sprakfak@sprakvet.uu.se.

In accordance with Swedish law, the expert reports become public documents once they have been received by the university. The experts are expected to participate (via video link or telephone) in the recruitment panel’s meeting to discuss the case, but not in the panel’s decision-making.

Any conflicts of interest between the applicant and the experts, such as supervision or co-authorship, should be brought to light early in the recruitment process.

If the recruitment panel finds that the reports do not meet the panel’s requirements – for example, regarding the assessment of the applicant’s teaching merits – the reports may be returned for further information.

When assessing academic competence, experts must carry out a substantive quality assessment of the publications cited. The expert assessment must not be limited to a purely quantitative evaluation, such as the number of international publications, citation indices, etc. In this regard, consideration must also be given to engagement with the wider community, popular science activities, research communication, etc.

When assessing the applicant’s teaching qualifications, consideration should be given to teaching experience (including supervision and examination) in relation to, for example, different levels, teaching methods, responsibility for courses, pedagogical leadership, etc. Furthermore, the applicant’s teacher training, pedagogical development work and research into education, the production of teaching materials, educational planning and educational administration should be taken into account. The applicant’s self-reflection should also be commented on, as well as their efforts in pedagogical collaboration.

With regard to administrative and managerial merits, reference is made to Sections 28 and 30 respectively of the Regulations on Appointments. Factors that may form the basis for the assessment of these merits include the applicant’s ability and experience in personnel, financial and educational administration, decision-making and management, as well as experience from activities outside higher education.

Appendix 1

Instructions to applicants

Below is a list of activities that can be included in the qualifications. Some are requirements for promotion while others form part of an overall assessment. The instructions are intended to support applicants in the preparation of their applications.

Applications must include the following components: CV, research qualifications, teaching qualifications, management expertise and administrative expertise. See Guidelines for Applicants in the Recruitment of Teachers (SPRÅKFAK 2012/64, Appendix 2).