Skip to Main Content
Yale School of Medicine
YSM Home

INFORMATION FOR

Clinician-Scientist Track

The Clinician-Scientist track emphasizes research scholarship with additional focuses on clinical care and education.
Credit: Robert A. Lisak

As described in the Yale Faculty Handbook:

Individuals who achieve excellence as clinicians, public health practitioners, teachers, and in scholarly research are eligible for appointment to the Clinician-Scientist Track. Individuals who will contribute to graduate education and who hold a secondary appointment in a basic science department or bridge department may be eligible for assignment to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Supplemental information can be found in the YSM Ladder Faculty Track Metrics document.

Support for salary and professional activities is expected to come predominantly from extramural support and complemented by the faculty member’s clinical practice and administrative support. Individuals who will contribute to graduate education and who hold a primary or secondary appointment in a basic science or bridge department are eligible for appointment to the Graduate School.

Assistant Professor on the Clinician-Scientist Track

Description:

As described in the Yale Faculty Handbook:

Appointment at this rank may be considered for individuals who hold an MD, PhD, or equivalent degree and who have completed appropriate postdoctoral training. Evidence of excellence in clinical practice as well as published scholarship of high quality is desirable, along with promise as a teacher and for scholarly research.

The initial appointment is usually for, but cannot exceed, three years. There is no entitlement to reappointment. Reappointment requires evidence of excellence as a scholar, teacher, and clinician. Reappointments may bring a faculty member’s total years in rank as assistant professor to no more than six years. Non-reappointment requires one year’s written notice, except in the case of one-year appointments or reappointments, which require 60 days’ written notice.

Limits on Term Appointments. No one shall be appointed in the Clinician-Scientist Track at the rank of assistant professor for longer than a total of six years, plus any approved extensions described in Section III.F. For faculty who served in the ladder ranks at other institutions, both (i) the years of appointment to the ladder ranks at Yale and (ii) all years served (except for up to two years for assistant professors to allow for transition of their research programs) in the ladder ranks at other institutions together shall count towards this maximum.

Process:

Terms for this rank are up to three years. For this track, there is a maximum of 6 years as assistant professor. Those who have held a ladder track position at another instructions should see the position-specific considerations delineated under appointments.

Appointment to assistant professor in this track does NOT require presentation to a YSM A&P Committee or the BPO.

Appointments to this rank requires:

Reappointment processes, including review requirements, are determined by departments. Once completed, departmental faculty affairs staff should enter reappointments into Workday, preferably by June 1 for new terms beginning July 1.

Associate Professor on the Clinician-Scientist Track

Description:

As described in the Yale Faculty Handbook:

Candidates for appointment or promotion to the rank of associate professor in the Clinician-Scientist Track must excel in patient care and teaching and must have an emerging national reputation for independent and outstanding scholarship. Appointments are made for terms of up to five years. They may be renewed if scholarly research, teaching expertise, and clinical productivity continue and if programmatic needs of the department and School justify renewal.

There is no limit to the number of terms a faculty member may serve at this rank, but there is no entitlement to reappointment. Non-reappointment requires one year’s written notice, except in the case of one-year appointments, which require 60 days’ written notice.

Process:

Appointment terms for this rank are for up to five years and renewable without limit.

Appointments to this rank requires:

Promotion to this rank requires:

Reappointment processes, including review requirements, are determined by departments. Once completed, departmental faculty affairs staff should upload the CV of the faculty members who are being reappointed to Interfolio. After approval by the BPO, the reappointments should be entered into Workday, preferably no later than June 1 for new terms beginning July 1.

Professor on the Clinician-Scientist Track

Description:

As described in the Yale Faculty Handbook:

Candidates for appointment or promotion to the rank of professor in the Clinician- Scientist Track must be national or international leaders in their fields. They must be nationally or internationally recognized for their scholarship that has substantially advanced the field in addition to excellence in patient care and teaching. There should be ample evidence that they will continue to make significant contributions as scientists, to serve as able and influential teachers, and to contribute to the well-being of the academic community. The strength of commitment conferred by appointment to the rank of professor mandates that candidates have attained the same level of achievement in their domains as candidates for professor in the other ladder tracks.

Such appointments will be made on a continuing basis without term. Continuing appointments may be terminated for reasons of financial stringency and with written notice of not less than two years. Under such circumstances, termination shall be applied to a class of individuals holding continuing appointments in the Clinician-Scientist Track (e.g., all those in one or more departments or all those with fewer than a certain number of years of service) and not to any single individual.

Process:

Appointment terms for this rank are made on a continuing basis.

Appointments to this rank requires:

Promotion to this rank requires: