Research Leave Policy

The university’s policy regarding eligibility for and timing of research leave is available here, and summarized below.

A. Types of research leave

  1. Sabbatical:
    • Eligibility requirements and information on how to apply for sabbatical leave is available here.
  2. Junior Faculty Research Fellowships (JFRF):
    • Eligibility and information on how to apply for a JFRF is available here.
  3. External Fellowship Leave (EFL):
    • Subject to being in compliance with the 3-in-4 rule (See B. below). EFL will be granted to tenure line faculty who are awarded a qualifying external fellowship for one or two semesters
    • A qualifying external fellowship is described in the External Fellowship Leave program.
    • Any shortfall in regular salary during the period of the fellowship will be made up by the university
    • With the approval of the chair and dean, EFLs are awarded automatically, and are not otherwise subject to content review by the Provost’s Office
  4. Georgetown University Research Leave (GURL):
    • A GURL provides one semester of leave, free of all teaching and service obligations, to tenure line faculty at any rank – Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor
    • GURLs replace Senior Faculty Research Fellowships
    • GURLs can be used in conjunction with external fellowships that are not on the approved External Fellowship Leave list (see point 3).  In this case:
      • the faculty member must apply for and be granted a GURL before accepting the external fellowship
      • if awarded, the GURL would cover any shortfall in salary paid by the external fellowship

B. Limits on the frequency of research leave

Senior Faculty are eligible to take one semester of sabbatical (or two at half pay) after six years of counted service.

In addition, as detailed further in the research leave policy, all faculty are subject to the following “3-in-4 rule”:

  • A maximum of three semesters of any combination of the categories of research leave above – sabbatical, JFRF, EFL, and GURL, as well as previously awarded SFRFs – can be taken in any four-year period.
  • Note that so-called Chair’s Leave (typically granted after a faculty member has completed a term in an administrative role), and other contractually agreed leaves, are not included in this 3-in-4 rule.