Sabbatical and Professional Improvement Leave
Sabbaticals may be considered for tenure track faculty only. Clinical Health Science faculty may request a leave that resembles a sabbatical. Please see UW–Madison policy links, and SMPH Guidance documents below.
Policies and Guidelines
Faculty Sabbatical Leave Program
6-month and 12-month sabbatical leave plans are available to UW–Madison faculty who will engage in intensive study in order to become more effective teachers and scholars and to enhance their services to the University. Only tenured/tenure track SMPH faculty are eligible to apply. Clinical Health Sciences (CHS) faculty should review the SMPH OFAD guidance document for more information about requesting a similar leave.
SMPH OFAD Guidance on Funding for Sabbaticals (PDF)
This document provides guidance to SMPH faculty on obtaining funding for a sabbatical.
Resources
Five Steps to a Successful Sabbatical
Professors with recent sabbatical experience share their top pointers.
Jennifer Lundquist and Joya Misra provide recommendations for making the most of your year away from traditional campus duties.
NCFDDD How to Maximize Your Sabbatical: From Application Through Completion
[Please note that access to the resource requires a free account with NCFDDD]
Sabbaticals are (in many institutions) highly competitive and recipients are expected to use their time away from other academic duties and responsibilities to focus on their research agenda, with the resultant expectation of a tangible scholarly outcome. Unfortunately, competition can be very stress producing for many academics. While having “free time” can be wonderfully productive, it can sometimes cause anxiety or even paralyze productivity.
This webinar explores the above issues and create positive ways to deal with:
- Discovering what the sabbatical process is in your particular institution
- Making your application most attractive and competitive
- Planning on how to use the “free time” effectively and with the most benefit to both the applicant and the institution
- Dealing with rejection if sabbatical isn’t approved
Presenter(s): Peggy Jones, Associate Professor of Black Studies, and Associate Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the University of Nebraska
Strategies for Optimizing Your Sabbatical for Professional and Personal Growth
Dr. Bryn Harris reflects on optimizing the structure of a sabbatical to increase productivity.