Senior Promotion

The DFCM hosts an annual series of Senior Promotion Workshops for faculty who are interested in applying for a senior promotion (now or in the future).

Who should attend:

• If you are planning to apply for a senior promotion this year, the workshop series will be extremely valuable and important to attend  
• Faculty at the rank of Assistant Professor and Associate Professor are invited to attend
• DFCM staff/administrators that might be assisting candidates in this process may also attend

Reasons to attend the Senior Promotion Workshop Series:

• Understand the criteria, process, timeline and practical steps to apply for a senior promotion
• Understand the components of a senior promotion application dossier
• Faculty who have received a senior promotion will share advice and information

Session Leaders Include:

• Dr. Allyson Merbaum - Professional Development Program Director
• Dr. Jeff Kwong - Departmental Promotion Committee Chair
• DFCM Academic Promotions Coordinator
• Guest speakers - successful promotion candidates 

Workshop Dates

Please register for the senior promotion workshops on our Information Sessions & Workshops page.

Latest Workshop Materials

Workshop #1:Tuesday January 14, 2025 (12 – 1:30 pm)

Registration link (by Friday January 10): click HERE to register

Presentation slides

Workshop #2: Tuesday January 28, 2025 (12 – 1:30 pm)

Registration link (by Friday January 24): click HERE to register

Full presentation
Presentation slides

APPROVAL PROCESS

1. Meet with your respective Chief/DFCM DivisionDirector to discuss your CV. They will need to support your promotion and can assist in determining if you meet the criteria for a senior promotion.

2. Meet with the Departmental Promotions Committee (DPC) Chair sometime in January - March (a set number of documents are required for this meeting)

3. Attend the Workshop #1 (January)

   • This is a broad information session about senior promotion.

   • Whether you plan to apply this year, next year or in a few years, this session will help you prepare and plan.

   • This workshop reviews the criteria and the steps to apply for a senior promotion.

4. Attend the Workshop #2 (February)

   • Candidates going forward are strongly encouraged to attend

   • This is an important workshop that provides steps and instructions on submitting a pre-application 

5. Prepare and submit a Senior Promotion Pre-Application (April)

   • Faculty are required to submit a Senior Promotion Pre-Application package to the DFCM Senior Promotions Committee in order to obtain their recommendation and feedback regarding your readiness.

   • Following review and support, each candidate will instructions on preparing and submitting their dossier electronically.

6. Attend workshop #3 (May)

   • For approved candidates supported by the DPC to go forward in the senior promotion process

   • This is a very important workshop that will give you the tools to transform your pre-application into a full dossier.

7. Submit a completed senior promotion dossier to the DFCM Academic Promotions Coordinator (September)

8. The DFCM completes the external and student referee process (October - December)

9. Dossiers are submitted to the Temerty Faculty of MEdicine Decanal Committee (January)

10. The Decanal Promotions Committee complete their review process (February)

    • If any dossiers are deferred (i.e. required additional information or materials), this will be submitted and defended by our Chair at the Decanal deferral meetings in March.

11. We normally receive notice of approvals in April/early May

12. Successful promotions are effective on July 1st 

13. Successful candidates are invited to an annual DFCM recognition event in the fall

Please see our full 2024-2025 timeline in the documents, templates and resources section for a more detailed outline of the steps and timeline for senior promotion in our next cycle.

We are pleased to provide three videos of DFCM faculty addressing questions and providing advice on the process of becoming an Associate Professor or full Professor.

1. Senior Promotion - What has a senior promotion meant to you?
2. Senior Promotion - Do you have any advice for others in preparing for a senior promotion?
3. Senior Promotion -  Who has assisted you in the senior promotion process?

The DFCM Departmental Promotions Committee (DPC) has the very important job of reviewing senior promotion pre-applications and dossiers for faculty recommended to the rank of Associate of full Professor. Membership is comprised of senior faculty (Associate and full Professors).

• The Manual for Academic Promotion to Associate and Full Professor (most recent Sept 2024 version)
• The CV Format, from the Manual for Academic Promotions, is available.
• The Teaching Dossier template (recommended by the Faculty of Medicine) is available.
• The 2025-2026 pre-application package will be posted in January 2025.
• The 2025-26 DFCM Timeline for a Senior Promotion in our upcoming cycle

Q: how do I know if I'm ready for promotion?

A: faculty are eligible if their last promotion was 5 or more years ago (any sooner than that is considered "accelerated" and would require strong rationale).

Candidates applying for the rank of Assistant Professor must be able to demonstrate national impact and reputation, and candidates applying for the rank of Professor must be able to demonstrate international impact and reputation. Meeting with your Chief/Division Director and the DPC Chair will help you determine if you might be ready.

Q: do I have to include a teaching dossier even if I intend to apply on the basis of research or creative professional activity (CPA)?

A: yes, all candidates must include teaching dossier and scores to demonstrate at least competency in teaching. 

Q: how much time will I need to dedicate to this process?

A: senior promotion can a time consuming process, especially during the summer months when candidates assemble their dossiers for submission in September. Our Committee Chair likens the commitment to taking a grad course. It's helpful if you have administrative assistance at your site, and some candidates hire external assistance to help with the workload. 

Q: why apply for promotion?

A: there are many reasons:

• this is the university's way of recognizing your outstanding accomplishments

• to reflect on, and deepen your understanding of your own work and career

• to become a leader in your field and to further the discipline of family medicine

• to apply for senior roles and positions in the DFCM and elsewhere

• making your family proud!

For additional information on the senior promotion process in the DFCM, please contact:

Marie Leverman, Academic Promotions Coordinator 
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Temerty Faculty of Medicine | University of Toronto
500 University Avenue, 5th Floor | Toronto ON | M5G 1V7
E-mail: dfcm.promotion@utoronto.ca