Promotion to Professor

Promotion from associate professor to professor Level 1

Promotion from associate professor to professor is the step into a senior academic position that:

recognises sustained, outstanding performance, achievements and contributions to your department or school, the university and your discipline
reflects further responsibility and personal development
provides the basis for future promotion to professorial levels 2-4.

Candidates are expected to have met 6 core and 2 optional criteria for their selected pathway as outlined in Table 3.

Candidates are advised to discuss their progression application with their line manager and, if appropriate, mentor.

This will enable candidates to:

seek feedback on performance
gain ideas on how to approach an application and select appropriate optional criteria
discuss examples that may best evidence how you have contributed to your chosen criteria
reflect on the experience of others and how they have progressed through our pathways
develop and prepare an effective application.

Seeking feedback more widely and exploring the experience of other academic colleagues will also help you to develop an effective application.

Professors are not automatically associated with specific managerial and/or administrative responsibilities unless these are associated with their own research team or group. As senior members of staff, professors are expected to make a major contribution to the development and implementation of department/school and University academic activities. These activities may change over time and may include leadership of research centres, institutes, networks, partnerships or other relevant activities as defined by, and agreed with, the Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of School/Department, in consultation where necessary with the PVC Research.

Criteria and expectations at grade SS1 professor

Appointment or promotion to professor level 1 (SS1) is based on meeting 6 core and 2 optional criteria.

C = core criteria for pathway

There is no expectation that evidence offered in an application will include all of the examples provided here - they are provided for guidance on the type of evidence that will be relevant only. Some examples will be more relevant than others for each individual, e.g. some roles or areas of work will provide more opportunity to generate income or research outputs, and applicants will have other relevant evidence to put forward.

Pillar	Criteria	Evidence of achievement may include	E	E/KE/PP	E/R
Education	High quality teaching practice informed by scholarship and/or research	High quality and inclusive UG/PGT teaching practice through module/programme outcomes, assessment and student progression for lectures, tutorials, practicals, studio, fieldwork or placements. Excellent student feedback, prizes or awards for teaching, good feedback from external examiners or peer review. External/extracurricular student activities that contribute to student learning experience. High quality, sustained PGR supervision with successful outcomes as DoS and SS; external examining of PGR. Teaching inspired by scholarship and/or research activities. Leading on developing and delivering an inclusive student experience through high quality teaching.	C	C	C
	Curriculum enhancement	High quality, externally recognised contribution to programme curriculum development that has a positive impact on recruitment, retention, progression, completion and/or employability outcomes of students. Continual high quality, externally recognised programme level development incorporating scholarship and/or research activities. Externally recognised significant enhancement of PSRB, professional practice or partnership requirements, course accreditations or other quality assurance processess.	C
	Innovation in teaching	Continual development of teaching practice through innovation leading to improved delivery and/or outcomes using IDEAS framework. CPD or scholarly activity to build high quality pedagogic knowledge and significant impact in practice within Brookes and externally. Innovative use of new technologies or development of educational resources demonstrating impact across Brookes and/or externally. Externally recognised development of the discipline or professional practice. Contribution to department/school activities to promote EDI in education.	C
Academic citizenship	Collegiate and collaborative approach	To lead and participate in university administrative processes, including membership and chairing of committees, panels, working groups, project work and quality assurance processes. To support the induction of new colleagues and mentor and coach colleagues in building skills and pursuing their careers. A leading role in support of student recruitment and experience e.g. open days, outreach and graduation ceremonies. Acting as a role model for your chosen career pathway.	C	C	C
	Student engagement, recruitment and outreach	Leading contributions to student engagement to improve / enhance student outcomes, progression or experience. Contribution to student recruitment activities such as open days, applicant days, conversion activities. Leading on UK or International educational partnership activities. Leading on contributions to outreach activities including widening participation, inclusion and diversity initiatives.
	External stakeholder engagement	Working to enhance/strengthen our relationship with external organisations such as professional practice partners, PSRBs. External examining, professional bodies, national or international organisations/bodies, peer review bodies and our local communities. To represent the University on appropriate external bodies and be a positive advocate for the University, its interests and aims. Contribute to your field and academia through peer review, editorial processes, external examining etc.
	Self-development	Your involvement in the EXPLORE scheme and/or external training and development programmes to enhance knowledge and skills to support you in your career pathway. Holding an Advance HE Principal Fellowship, National Teaching Fellowship or CATE award.
Leadership	Leading and developing others	To take responsibility for leading and delivering an area of the University’s work and/or to take on a significant leadership role. Provide visible commitment to and engage with the University’ strategic aims and the objectives and priorities of your faculty. Helping to develop the careers of others e.g. as a mentor or by contributing to the Educational Leaders Forum or EXPLORE scheme as a guest speaker, reviewer or observer. To identify ways to improve practice and deliver the University’s mission and strategic aims, proactively and positively engaging with internal leaders to drive continuous improvement in teaching, learning, student experience, research and knowledge exchange (as appropriate to pathway). To provide academic leadership to your discipline or teaching of your discipline or professional practice at national and international levels (e.g. conferences, validation processes).
Leadership	Team, project or partner management	Leading subject/programme coordination across a team ensuring the planned quality of teaching and learning is achieved. Developing and leading on projects/initiatives at school/department of faculty level. Management of core educational, professional practice or employer partnerships locally, regionally or International. Management/coordination of large RIKE teams or networks including research centres or institutes, large collaborative programme grants involving multiple partners.
Knowledge Exchange and Professional Practice	High quality outputs and income from KE, innovation, enterprise, or associated with professional practice	Leading on non-academic (and academic) outputs (e.g. reports, white papers, policy papers), demonstrating influence and impact among partner and stakeholder communities where appropriate. Leading the creation and use of tools, resources and training that are adopted among the intended user communities. A sustained track record of generating income to deliver KE, innovation, professional practice, and/or enterprise activities from different sources (e.g. academic, industry, NHS, third sector etc).		C
	External engagement, making a contribution through KE activities and/or professional practice	Leading partnerships with external partners, with evidence of projects that have delivered significant outcomes. Leading collaborative/co-created projects with external partners yielding improved outcomes for partners and designated beneficiaries. Delivering the wider impact of external engagement on organisations, sectors, policies and stakeholders based on academic/applied/professional insights and expertise. Leading commercialisation projects based on academic research/expertise in the form of patents, licensing, or spin-offs.		C
	Economic or societal impact from KE activities and/or professional practice	Leading large scale collaborative projects with NHS partners, education providers, charities, and community organisations, and industry to address social/environmental issues. Delivering influential and impactful work based on academic/applied/professional insights and expertise that are positively impacting arts, culture, and society commensurate with the scale and sectors engaged. Leading projects that improve equity, social justice, and quality of life, working with individuals, organisations and communities.
Research	High quality research outputs and sustainable research funding	A body of high quality, peer reviewed outputs that demonstrate a substantial and sustained contribution to the discipline or area of professional practice. A successful and sustained record of applying for and securing funding to sustain your research programme and contribute to department/school research income; including collaborative funding and studentships according to disciplinary norms.			C
	External engagement, contribution to field, nationally and internationally	Internationally-recognised reputation for research, including aspects of knowledge exchange where appropriate. Substantial contribution to the discipline through participation in conference organisation, peer reviewing, editorial roles, professional bodies, societies. Representing the University externally, e.g. with stakeholders, funders.			C
	Interdisciplinary and collaborative research, and research impact	Leading on significant contributions to interdisciplinary research through outputs, engagement or funding bids, or to national or global challenge-led research efforts. Initiating and developing significant, sustained collaborations that raise the profile of the discipline at school/department, university and national levels, that lead to high quality outputs, funding and/or societal impact. Significant contributions to engagement and/or KE activities that deliver societal benefit through research impact including impact case studies locally, nationally or internationally.

Promotion from professor level 1 to higher professor grades

There are 4 professorial grades. The descriptors below are generic and the evidence provided by each individual will always be assessed in relation to the pathway to professor the applicant has followed and their individual context:

Grade S1 (spine points 51 - 54) At this level, professors are expected to satisfy the criteria for one of the three pathways and to be achieving at a nationally-recognised level of excellence. They will be expected to demonstrate a national level of recognition by their peer community as a significant contributor to their field of work, and to have an emerging international reputation.

Grade S2 (spine points 54 - 57) At grade 2, professors are expected to demonstrate a significantly higher level of recognition and achievement than at grade 1. In particular, they are expected to be able to demonstrate international reputation and recognition, or equivalent standing through their sectoral and professional impact. They will also have a status as a leading national figure in their field. They will also be expected to have achieved awards or fulfilled roles within or outside the University which are consistent with this level of recognition by their peer community.

Grade S3 (spine points 58 - 61) At grade 3, professors are expected to demonstrate impact and peer esteem which clearly identify them as a leading international contributor to their field of work and to have a sustained record of excellence and influence. They will be making an outstanding and pre-eminent contribution to the reputation of the University through gaining major awards and honours, and achieving a level of proven international “leading-edge” excellence in education, knowledge exchange, professional practice or research.

Grade S4 (spine point 62 minimum) At this level, professors will be truly worldleading, recognised as leading their field internationally. They will be able to demonstrate an outstanding level of peer esteem and a consistent record of widelyrecognised and transformative impact. In order to be promoted to level 4, applicants must be able to demonstrate excellence against all of the six core criteria in their chosen pathway.

The Vice-Chancellor has the authority to determine the level of remuneration that is appropriate for professors appointed to this grade.

How to apply (all levels)

Key dates

Applicants for promotion to professor and within the professorial grades must submit their application form, including CV, by the deadline of 7 July 2025.

Application procedure

Applications are made by the application for promotion to professor Google form. The form asks you to:

1. State the Academic Career Pathway under which you are applying, the 2 optional criteria under which you have chosen to apply, and your preferred title, if successful.

2. Summarise your evidence for the 6 core criteria for your pathway, and the 2 optional criteria you have chosen and explain how it is relevant. If you are applying for promotion from professor level 1 to a higher level, you should ensure that you address the expectations for the relevant level.

3. Explain the impact of any factors that have limited the volume of evidence that you have been able to present in the special circumstances section. This might include, for example, family leave, or an extended period of ill health, or unusually intensive caring responsibilities or other circumstances beyond your control that have resulted in you being unable to work or which have had a detrimental impact on your work. Information provided in this section will be shared with the team in the faculty who write the critical appraisal and with the promotions panel. They will take this into account when assessing the quantity, but not the quality, of your outputs and achievements.

4. Upload a narrative CV that clearly details your key achievements in relation to the core criteria for your pathway and the optional criteria that you have chosen. The CV can be a maximum of 15 pages long, in a minimum of 11pt font with normal margins and no web links. There are no set rules for the structure or content of this but it would normally include:

an introductory paragraph, summarising the case for promotion
current appointment
education and professional qualifications
previous appointments
membership of professional bodies
a list publications (maximum of 15) that are most relevant to your core and optional criteria.

If you are reapplying after a previous application, please ensure that your CV highlights developments since the original application.

The ‘europass’ style of CV has a clear and coherent structure and relevant content, and an example CV has been provided for those who would like to refer to it.

Remember to include not only what you have done / delivered, but also the impact that has had. You may find the Evaluating and Evidencing Impact: Academic Enhancement Toolkit useful for that.

Please note that you will need to be logged into your Brookes Google account in order to submit the form. If there are any difficulties with the form, please contact hrcommittees@brookes.ac.uk.

Timetable for consideration of applications

SAPC will meet to consider applications in September 2025. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application within 2 weeks of the date of the meeting.

In some cases the panel may decide to seek an independent reference to support their decision-making. When this happens the applicant will be informed. Once the reference is received, it will be considered by circulation and the applicant will be notified of the outcome of their application as soon as possible.

Unsuccessful applicants will receive feedback about their application and the potential for resubmission from one of the panel members. When reapplying, applicants must submit a full application.