There are two classes of membership in the Graduate Faculty at the University of Pittsburgh. Regular membership shall be recommended for full-time faculty or part-time tenured/tenure-stream members of the University faculty or academic staff with faculty status who are approved to direct graduate study and research at all levels. Adjunct membership shall be recommended for persons whose primary responsibility is outside the University but who hold a part-time faculty or adjunct appointment and are approved to direct graduate study and research at all levels.
The competence to direct graduate study and research at all levels is the primary qualification for membership in the Graduate Faculty. The Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences nominates T/TS faculty for Graduate Faculty status on the basis of a departmental recommendation and an assessment by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies of their experience and current work in graduate education and their engagement in the frontiers of research, scholarship, and creative activity as indicated in scholarly publications and other forms of scholarly productivity.
The completion of a doctoral dissertation, while highly desirable, is not in itself sufficient evidence of qualification for membership in the Graduate Faculty. At the same time, faculty members without an earned doctorate are not automatically excluded and may be designated if they have exceptional qualifications by virtue of experience and accomplishment.
Appropriately qualified faculty members who are neither Regular nor Adjunct members of the Graduate Faculty may be assigned by their department chairs (if approved by the Graduate Faculty of the department) the responsibility for the teaching of graduate courses and the direction of master’s level research. With the permission of the Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, they may serve as additional members on doctoral dissertation committees, provided that the primary members, three internal and one external, are Graduate Faculty members. These responsibilities can provide some of the experience required for later appointment to membership in the Graduate Faculty.
Procedure for Nomination to the Graduate Faculty
Appointment to membership in the Graduate Faculty is made by the Provost of the University.
The Provost reviews all nominations before final approval and appointment. This review is based upon the qualifications to teach and direct graduate research at all levels in accordance with the objectives of the degree programs.
All nominations for Regular or Adjunct membership in the Graduate Faculty must originate in the department offering graduate degree programs. All Regular Graduate Faculty members in the department must be polled, and the nomination must be signed by at least six of the Graduate Faculty members, the department chair, and the dean of the school making the nomination. If there are fewer than six Graduate Faculty members in the unit, additional support (including signatures) should be obtained from Graduate Faculty members in closely related areas of the University.
If a department or school nominates for Regular membership in the Graduate Faculty an individual whose primary appointment is in another department, the nomination must include the concurrence of the department of primary appointment.
After consideration by the faculty in a department, the department chair should convey the department’s nomination for Regular or Adjunct membership in the Graduate Faculty to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research.
The chair should e-mail the following materials for each nominated faculty member to the Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies at jsadecky@pitt.edu:
- 1-2 page cover letter addressed to me detailing the reasons your graduate faculty used to propose that the faculty member be named to the graduate faculty, particularly your assessment of the quality of the faculty member’s work as a graduate student teacher, mentor, supervisor, and/or committee member, and their engagement in the frontiers of research, scholarship, and creative activity. If you are proposing graduate faculty status for multiple faculty members at one time, there must be a separate cover letter for each.
- An up-to-date C.V. that includes research experience, scholarly publications, graduate courses taught, service on graduate committees, graduate student advising and supervision (including research directed) and other relevant experience.
- “Nomination for Membership – The Graduate Faculty” form. Make sure all fields are complete. Digital signatures are preferred, and may be executed through Adobe or DocuSign. The form may be hand-signed and scanned if it is not possible to get digital signatures.
Nominations that are approved will be forwarded to the Office of the Provost. If a nomination is denied, the Associate Dean will contact the department chair.
For additional information, please refer to The Faculty Handbook and University Policy 02-02-13, Graduate Faculty Qualifications.
The Dietrich School’s Doctoral Dissertation Committee Policy (effective October 14, 2021) can be accessed here.