Faculty are eligible for two types of scholarly leave: study-research leave and educational leave. Study-research leave is designed for tenured faculty who are engaged in R1-caliber research and need a sustained period of dedicated time beyond their annual research workload allocation to make significant progress on a new research project. Educational leave is designed for full-time faculty who wish to pursue a specific course of study relevant to their teaching or research. The College of Humanities and Sciences complies with the university/state policies and procedures for study-research and educational leave, which can be found on the university’s HR website. Faculty applying for national/international awards such as Fulbright and Woodrow Wilson Fellowships or other fellowships that have a residential requirement should also apply for leave. Candidates must notify their chair/director and Sponsored Programs in the Dean’s Office when applying for these types of external awards.

The College’s guidelines conform to the university’s policies which permit eligible faculty members, based on merit, to qualify for study-research or educational leave. The awarding of leave is subject to the availability of funds and the ability of the department or school to meet its teaching, service, administrative and other requirements. Not all requests for leave can be granted.

To be eligible for study-research leave, faculty must be tenured, have six years of prior university service, and have completed six academic years of service since a previous study-research leave. Faculty with previous leave during the 2020-21 academic year or an earlier year are eligible to apply for study-research leave during the 2027-28 academic year. 

To be eligible for educational leave, faculty must be full-time, have been employed by the university for at least one year, and have been accepted into an approved course of study at an accredited institution of higher learning or have an approved plan outlined for independent study.

To request leave for the 2027-28 academic year, the faculty member must complete the 2027-28 Request for Scholarly Leave Form by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 30, 2026. 

The form will request a CV, a Prior Leave Form (if applicable) and a narrative (three pages max, single-spaced) that includes the following items: 

• Executive summary:
  Provide a brief, non-technical overview of the goal of the study-research leave, the work to be completed, and the location where the work will be done. If the location is not Richmond, please describe the need to conduct data collection, access archives, or other research in that site.
• Project description:
  Describe the purpose, goals, significance, approach, specific plans, and potential impact of your project. Identify what form the results will take and how they will be shared with others.
• Project timeline:
  Provide a detailed timeline for the project deliverables. Identify specific  products or results for each month of requested leave.
• Host institution permission, as applicable:
  If the proposed leave is to be spent in residence at another institution, please indicate that permission has been granted and attach a letter of support from the institution to the smartsheet.
• Justification:
  Describe how the project will contribute to your scholarly professional development and how the leave will benefit the College of Humanities and Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the community as a whole. Please emphasize how this project supports your continued scholarly trajectory. 
• Coverage plan for sponsored projects, graduate students, and/or other direct reports, if applicable:
  Identify how sponsored projects will be managed in your absence, including oversight plans for each of the active projects and any anticipated changes in the project(s) scope. Identify how graduate students and other direct reports will be managed.

Faculty members applying for leave must request that their department chair or school director state whether they support the faculty member’s request. Further, in departments with multiple leave applications, chairs and directors must rank faculty applications in the dynamic view by Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. In this initial ranking, the chair/director must review the leave request to determine whether the faculty member is eligible for the leave; they should also assess whether the proposed leave activity is of value to the faculty member, the department/school, and the university. Applications for study-research leave should be evaluated for their alignment with the R1 mission of the university. Finally, in evaluating the request, the chair/director should also consider the effect the faculty member’s absence will have on the department/school.

For those applications that are endorsed by the dean’s office to advance to the provost’s office for further consideration, chairs and directors will be asked to provide a letter of support by February 1, 2027. The letter of support must indicate the fiscally responsible plan to provide coverage of the faculty member’s responsibilities while on leave. If the request is endorsed, the chair/director should indicate how the faculty member’s courses and other responsibilities, e.g., advising, administrative activities, etc., will be covered.

All requests for study-research and educational leave, regardless of whether they are supported by the respective chair/director, will be first reviewed by the Internal Grants and Leave Review Committee. The Committee’s charge includes ranking the requests and making recommendations. The Committee will use a rubric to evaluate each proposal’s merit in terms of the following criteria:

• Significance of the work proposed: The extent to which the proposal will contribute to the applicant's specific field of research or education.
• Relationship to productivity: The extent to which the proposed activity will contribute to the applicant’s study-research and/or educational productivity.
• Feasibility of the work proposed: The extent to which the described study-research and/or educational outcomes are achievable in the proposed time frame. 
• Connection with the mission: The extent to which the proposed activity aligns with the mission of the department/school and College.
• Connection with the R1 mission of the department/school, College, and university: The extent to which the proposed activity, the faculty member’s general research agenda, and previous accomplishments, and results of prior leave (if applicable) align with the R1 mission of the department/school, College, and university (for study-research leave).

The dean will then review the recommendations and rankings from the Internal Grants and Leave Review Committee and the chairs/directors and, pending availability of funds, make a final determination on which leave requests will be endorsed. Faculty members will be notified in writing of the dean’s decision. If the leave is endorsed by the dean, the dean will seek approval from the provost. Please note, the provost’s office goes through its own separate review process; an endorsement by the dean does not guarantee approval at the next level of review.

If the provost approves the leave, the faculty member and respective chair/director will be notified by the dean. The faculty member will be issued a Leave Agreement and Promissory Note, as well as an updated employment contract reflecting the terms of the leave. Faculty receiving the approved leave must abide by the terms of the leave agreement.

Eligible faculty may apply for a scholarly leave for one semester at full-pay, two semesters at half-pay, or up to two semesters at no-pay. If awarded leave, faculty must sign a Study-Research/Educational Leave and Promissory Note agreeing to return to the university and serve a period of employment equal to twice the period of leave. If the return-to-work commitment is not honored, the faculty member must reimburse the university for the salary received during the leave period, plus interest, regardless of the source of funds (e.g., E&G, grants, external, etc.). 

In addition, all faculty members granted leave must submit a detailed Study-Research and Educational Leave Report via Smartsheet (this form will be sent to the faculty who received leave) to the Dean’s Office by December 15 (for fall semester leave) or May 15 (for spring semester leave). Faculty are also expected to give a presentation describing the outcomes of their leave project in a public forum  hosted by the dean’s office. Any published work resulting from leave should clearly acknowledge the support of this leave from CHS and VCU. 

Note: Those on study-research or educational leave are only eligible for the standard levels of university, college, or department financial support, including travel funds. This amount is defined by the prior use of funds by themselves and those in their unit. Increased requests to support leave activities will not be approved.