Promotion, Tenure, and Contract Renewal Information Hub

This document provides both an overview of the criteria for earning promotion and/or tenure at George Mason University and detailed suggestions about the kind of materials and information that would provide clear and compelling evidence that a tenure candidate has successfully met those criteria.

Criteria for Evaluation of Tenured, Tenure-Track, and Term Faculty — CEHD 2025-26

Explore the criteria for earning promotion to the rank of full professor and detailed suggestions about the kind of materials and information that would provide clear and compelling evidence that the candidate has successfully met those criteria.

Criteria for Promotion to Full Professor — CEHD May 2024

Examine the relevant sections from George Mason’s Faculty Handbook; information specific to achieving genuine excellence and high competence in teaching in CEHD, including possible artifacts for inclusion in a portfolio; and a link to an Office of the Provost document on genuine excellence in teaching.

Teaching Guidelines — CEHD May 2024

Review the relevant sections George Mason’s Faculty Handbook and information specific to achieving genuine excellence and high competence in research and scholarship in CEHD, including possible artifacts for inclusion in a portfolio.

Research and Scholarship Guidelines — CEHD May 2024

Read about the three types of service—(1) required university service (called “citizenship” within the CEHD context), (2) university service, and (3) professional service—and the evidence necessary to achieve genuine excellence and high competence regarding university and professional service.

Service Guidelines — CEHD May 2024

Tenure-track faculty are hired on a 3-year contract that is renewable for an additional 3 years (assuming a favorable contract renewal decision in the 3rd year of employment on the tenure clock). Although this 6-year journey may be shortened for those with prior experience (and appropriate accomplishments) in a tenure-track (or similar) position, the standard expectations are as follows:

Click on each year to see the standard expectations for tenure-track faculty at George Mason University. These expectations apply to faculty who begin their tenure clock at the university. If you have already started your tenure clock, please contact Associate Dean Joan Shin to discuss personalized expectations and next steps.

Eligibility to be considered for promotion to the full professor rank would typically require at least 5 full years in the associate rank (with the evaluation occurring in the following year), along with performance data that went well beyond the thresholds used in evaluations for tenure and promotion to the associate rank. Specifically, tenured candidates for full professor must provide evidence of significant impact beyond the boundaries of the university that is much more substantial than in such cases. Clear and convincing evidence must be provided of an established external reputation in the primary field, based on consequential achievements in teaching, research and scholarship, or professional activities directly related to teaching and research and scholarship.

There is no time limit for seeking promotion to the full professor rank, nor are there specific milestones along the associate professor pathway as there are for tenure-track faculty. For that reason, it is especially important for tenured associate professors who aspire to be promoted to the full professor rank to proactively seek ongoing mentoring from senior faculty colleagues and from the CEHD Office for Faculty Success.

Term instructor and assistant professors are hired and renewed on year-to-year contracts. After three single-year appointments, term instructor and assistant professors can be recommended for a multiyear appointment if they have satisfactory annual evaluations. For instructor and assistant professors, the primary basis for year-to-year contract renewal is the assessment of teaching and service provided annually by the School Faculty Evaluation Teams.

Eligibility for promotion to senior instructor or associate professor follows a timeline analogous to tenure-track faculty (i.e., consideration for promotion in rank would typically occur after 5 years of fulltime Mason employment, with a shorter period possible for those with prior experience in a senior instructor or assistant professor or equivalent position).

Eligibility to be considered for promotion to the master instructor or full professor rank would typically require at least 5 full years in the senior instructor or associate rank, along with performance data that went well beyond the High Competence threshold used for multi-year contract renewal and term promotion to associate evaluations. Specifically, these term instructional faculty must reach the Genuine Excellence threshold in Teaching, which requires substantial evidence of significant impact beyond the boundaries of the university and an established external reputation in the primary field.

There is no time limit for seeking promotion to the senior or master instructor rank or associate or full professor rank, nor are there specific milestones along these pathways as there are for tenure-track faculty. For that reason, it is especially important for term faculty who aspire to be promoted in rank to proactively seek ongoing mentoring from senior faculty colleagues and from the CEHD Office for Faculty Success.