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Junior Promotions

Are you a Status-Only (non-MD) faculty member?

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.

Guidelines for Junior Promotion from Lecturer to Assistant Professor - Clinical (MD) Faculty

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 2024 are required to declare their intent to apply online by Monday January 13, 2025. The submission deadline for complete packages is Monday February 17, 2025.

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.

Categories for Promotion

Candidates can be promoted to Assistant Professor under one of the following two categories:

Advanced Degree
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 (eg. 1-2 years of fellowship or secondary-level resident training), he/she may be considered for promotion to 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
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 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.

Required Documentation

Your complete submission (of all required documents below) cannot exceed 75 pages in length.

1. Candidate's 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 (see above - Advanced Degree vs Sustained commitment to the academic mission)

2. Self-Reflection form

3. Candidate's letter of support from his/her hospital Psychiatrist-in-Chief

  • If the candidate is applying on the basis of sustained commitment to teaching, teaching excellence must be highlighted. If teaching is not at the level of excellence (eg. only a limited number of TES with slightly below/average scores), this will not be considered excellent.
  • If the candidate's teaching scores are low compared to the mean, or if the teaching evaluations include unfavourable comments, please address and explain in your support letter.

4. Candidate's letter of support from his/her University Division Director

5. and 6. Two additional letters of support (internal or external)

  • The two additional letters should attest to the candidate's academic activities (eg. teaching, research and/or creative professional activity)
  • Reference letters should be on letterhead and signed
  • Referees should be at equivalent rank to rank being sought, or higher
  • The letters can come from internal references (ie. faculty in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto) or external references

7. Candidate's U of T Academic Position Description (APD)

  • The candidate must include their original APD, or an updated APD if it has been changed since the initial appointment

8. Candidate's initial U of T academic appointment letter of offer

9. Candidate's updated Curriculum Vitae (WebCV format is mandatory)

  • WebCV format is mandatory
  • Please remove blank sections where there is no relevant activity
  • Please ensure all details are complete (dates reflected accurately; publications cited appropriately; role in grants clear and reflected properly)

10. 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.

  • Tip: If your Teaching Evaluation Scores (TES) are low compared to the mean, please address and explain. If your teaching evaluations include unfavourable comments, please address and explain.

  • Tip: Do not submit appendices of individual evaluations from rounds/seminars/conferences etc. These types of non-TES evaluations must be summarized in a summary table or plot (see FAAC manual page 18, or summary table example)

  • Tip: Do not submit teaching slides.

  • Tip: For non-clinician teachers, not all components of the teaching dossier will be relevant. At minimum, non-clinician teacher candidates should at least include:
    • A statement of the candidate’s approach to teaching, including an assessment of the impact of teaching activities
    • A listing of all teaching and assessment activities, with number of hours and audience numbers involved

11. (optional, if applicable) CPA dossier

  • Candidates applying for promotion based on excellence in creative/professional development (CPA) must include a supporting CPA dossier.

12. (if applicable) Support letter from the cross-appointing Department Chair

  • 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.

View and download a printable version of the required documentation.

Additional Requirements

1. Your complete submission cannot exceed 75 pages in length.

2. All Junior Promotion candidates in the Department of Psychiatry must have completed TIDE Unconscious Bias training (or equivalent).

3. All Junior Promotion candidates in the Department of Psychiatry must have attended New Faculty Orientation

If you have not completed requirement #2 or #3, you must attend the next Orientation and TIDE training in Fall 2025 (likely Oct/Nov), and wait until the 2026 Junior Promotion application cycle. Stay tuned to Psychnews for date and registration announcements.

Electronic Submission - Instructions

All electronic documents are to be submitted via the online Application Form.

  • For question 3 "What type of appointment are you applying for now?" --> select "Promotion from Lecturer to Assistant Professor"
  • Upload all relevant required documents with your online application. Please be sure to name your attachment(s) with the appropriate document name, prefaced by your last name ie. Smith_PIC_Letter_of_Support
  • Submit the application by the Monday February 17, 2025 deadline

For any questions regarding procedures, documentation, or deadlines, please contact karelle.pickersgill@utoronto.ca