Junior Promotions

Guidelines for Junior Promotion from Lecturer to Assistant Professor

The Department of Psychiatry accepts applications for promotion to Assistant Professor from qualified candidates based on advanced education or sustained commitment to the academic mission. All faculty members intending to apply for promotion in 2023 are required to declare their intent to apply online by January 10, 2022. The submission deadline for complete packages is January 31, 2023.

Prior to initiating your request for promotion to the rank of Assistant Professor, you should meet with: (i) your Psychiatrist-in-Chief, and (ii) your University Division Director, to discuss your eligibility for promotion.

Please fill out the Assistant Professor Promotions - Intent to Apply form to declare your intent to apply.

Status-Only (non-MD) Faculty Members:

Status-Only faculty members requesting promotion do not follow the same procedure as Clinical (MD) faculty members. Status-Only faculty members should submit a new application at the new rank using the procedures outlined on the Faculty of Medicine’s Appointments Checklist.

Clinical (MD) Faculty Members:

1. Categories for Promotion
   • Candidates can be promoted to Assistant Professor under one of the following two categories:
   1. Advanced Degree: If the faculty member, who holds a lecturer appointment, completes a recognized graduate program (or advanced training deemed to be the equivalent of a Master’s program), he/she may be considered for promotion to the Assistant Professor. The program must have been completed as documented by successful defense of a thesis or awarding of the degree before submission of the request for promotion. It is expected that the candidate will have at least one or two published first author peer-reviewed publications at the time of request for promotion; or
   2. Sustained commitment to the academic mission: If the faculty member demonstrates a sustained commitment to teaching, research and/or creative professional activity over a period of time as a Lecturer (at least three (3) years), he/she may be considered for promotion to the Assistant Professor rank. An application based on teaching excellence and or creative professional development (CPA) should be supported by a teaching dossier and/or a CPA dossier as applicable.
2. Documentation
   1. Candidate’s detailed letter of request for consideration for promotion addressed to Dr. Benoit H. Mulsant, Professor and Chair. The letter MUST state which CATEGORY the candidate should be evaluated under – please refer to 2(i) & 2(ii) above.
   2. Candidate’s letter of support from his/her hospital Psychiatrist- in-Chief.
   3. Candidate’s letter of support from his/her University Division Director.
   4. Two additional letters of support (internal or external) that attest to the candidate’s academic activities (eg. teaching, research and/or creative professional activity).
   5. Candidate’s initial or updated U of T Academic Job Description
   6. Candidate’s initial U of T Academic Appointment letter.
   7. Candidate’s updated Curriculum Vitae: WebCV format is mandatory.
   8. A Teaching Dossier, including teaching scores and evaluations. Note that this is now a requirement for Junior Promotion applications, per the Operations Manual of the Faculty Appointments Advisory Committee (FAAC), updated August 2017. For information on components of a teaching dossier, please see Appendix B of the FAAC Manual.
   9. Mentorship Status Report form
   10. A CPA Dossier (*optional, if applicable only*)
   11. Note: Candidates who hold additional appointments in Departments other than Psychiatry should also submit a letter from the cross-appointing Chief, Chair or Dean in support of their promotion.
3. Electronic Copy Submission – Instructions for uploading to Laserfiche
   1. All electronic documents are to be submitted via the Clinical Appointments & MD Promotions from Lecturer to Assistant Professor online Application Form. 
   2. Complete the information requested on the Application form that appears. For the Question – What type of University appointment are you applying for? SELECT – Promotion from Lecturer to Assistant Professor
   3. Attach all relevant required documents in the appropriate area for Uploading files. Please be sure to name your attachment(s) with the appropriate document name, prefaced by your last name, i.e., Smith_PIC_Letter_of_Support, Smith_Updated CV, etc.
   4. Submit the form – DEADLINE – January 31, 2023.

If there are any questions regarding procedures, documentation, or deadlines, please contact Karelle Pickersgill at psych.appoint@utoronto.ca.