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Types of professorships
Professors perform a wide range of tasks in research, teaching, services, promotion of early career researchers and self-administration. They enjoy a high degree of autonomy that ensures the freedom and independence of their research and teaching activities. The University of Basel distinguishes between professorships with tenure and tenure track, professorships without tenure and adjunct professorships, with the details set out in the regulations for academic staff (Ordnung für das Wissenschaftliche Personal).
Professorships with tenure or tenure track
(«structural» professorships)
The University of Basel has a three-tier career model with two promotions, and a two-tier model with one promotion for professors in clinical medicine.
The three-tier model includes assistant professors with tenure track (TTAP), associate professors and full professors. TTAPs are usually limited to five years with a full-time teaching load of four hours per week each semester. Associate and full professors are employed on a permanent basis and have a teaching obligation of eight hours per week each semester. These differ in particular with regard to their classification in the salary bands of the University of Basel and in some cases with regard to their terms.
The two-tier model of clinical medicine comprises clinical assistant professors with tenure track (TTAP) and clinical professors. In addition to research and teaching, clinical professors are also responsible for patient care work and usually take on leadership roles at the hospitals and clinics associated with the university (e.g. head of department). For professors in clinical medicine, the full-time teaching load is usually four to six hours per week each semester, depending on the level of employment.
Professorships without tenure
This category primarily comprises assistant professors without tenure track. This includes SNSF Professorial Fellowships from the Swiss National Science Foundation and researchers which have been appointed assistant professor by the President’s Office upon application of the respective faculty after successfully acquiring a similarly prestigious grant (e.g. an ERC/SNSF Starting or Consolidator Grant). Assistant professors are employed for a fixed duration of five years or for the duration of their grant and perform their duties primarily in research and teaching. The full-time teaching load amounts to four hours per week each semester.
Adjunct professorships
The University of Basel grants professorships in recognition of particularly successful academic performance in research and teaching over a period of several years. The title is awarded by the Senate at the faculty’s request, subject to approval by the University Council. Details of the procedure can be found in the guidelines for the appointment and evaluation of adjunct professors (Wegleitung für die Ernennung und Evaluation von Titularprofessoren).
