Membership Application and Guidelines

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Overview

Because appointment to the MTSU Graduate Faculty demands knowledge of current scholarship in the discipline and because continuing professional activity is a distinct part of a faculty member's work at this university, individuals seeking appointment to the graduate faculty of the university must provide evidence of scholarly productivity and engagement that meets the expectation of their discipline and the Graduate Council.

Only members of the MTSU Graduate Faculty are eligible to teach 5000/6000/7000 level graduate courses (including dual-listed UG/GR courses) or to serve on thesis or dissertation committees. Only those with Full membership may serve as chairs on thesis or dissertation committees. Graduate faculty members in doctoral degree granting programs who wish to chair a dissertation committee must be endorsed for such service by their program and approved by the graduate dean.

Recognizing that variations in scholarship (research and creative activity) exist across disciplines and believing that scholars within a particular discipline are best positioned to know acceptable levels of scholarship for that discipline, the Graduate Council requires each graduate program to develop procedures for review of applications and to establish minimum criteria for eligibility for appointment to graduate faculty appropriate for its discipline. Discipline-specific criteria established by individual programs must be equivalent to or exceed the general criteria established by the Graduate Council and must be approved by the Graduate Council.

Academic deans and associate deans are granted full membership.

Procedures for Applying for Graduate Faculty Membership

Graduate faculty membership is a 5-year renewable appointment for Full or Teaching membership and a 3-year renewable appointment for Adjunct membership.

Initial review of applications for graduate faculty membership occur at the department/program level. For programs who elect to use Graduate Faculty membership options A-C below, applications and supporting documentation are reviewed and recommendations for appointment are presented to the Graduate Council.

The signed application form including documentation is routed to the College of Graduate Studies. The Graduate Faculty sub-committee reviews all applications, making recommendations to the Graduate Council, who then makes recommendations to the dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Persons accepted for graduate faculty membership receive notification from the College of Graduate Studies, and their acceptance is noted in both the Graduate Council minutes and updated on the List of Graduate Faculty on the College of Graduate Studies website.

Criteria for Full Membership

These criteria apply to tenured and tenure-track faculty in programs seeking appointment to the graduate faculty of Middle Tennessee State University and serving in programs that have not approved discipline-specific criteria. Applicants for Full Graduate Faculty membership must hold a terminal degree in their teaching field. 

Requirements for Consideration

Along with the completed application, applicants must include:

  • Evidence of Research, Creative, or other Scholarly Activities. See below for specifics.
  • A Recommendation letter describing graduate teaching expertise (to be uploaded by the Department Chair, or the Graduate Program Director if in an interdisciplinary program, at the time of signing the application). If the applicant has not previously taught graduate courses, the letter must specifically address instructional expertise in the areas of anticipated instruction.
Scholarly Evidence Qualifications

Please choose your evidence from one of the three catagories below: Publications, Presentations, or a Combination. The applicant must meet one of the following criteria for Publications, Presentations or Ongoing Research, Creative, or Other Scholarly Activities.

Note that it is not sufficient to simply provide a listing of activities. Examples of required documentation include first page of article, title page of book, printed program or review of performance, proceedings from meetings showing date and citation. DO NOT SIMPLY INCLUDE A CV.

A) Publications:

These require primary authorship or relevant co-authorship. If not yet in print, the faculty member may submit documented evidence of acceptance (i.e., in press).

Within the last five years the applicant must include:

  • published scholarly book requiring independent review; or
  • published two articles or essays in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
B) Presentations:

Presentations include the presentation of scholarly papers at professional meetings.

Within the last five years the applicant must:

  • have presented scholarly conference papers to
    • two international or national conferences; or
    • three regional conferences

The submitted activity must have been subject to external (off campus) review and be equivalent in contribution and rigor to the publication criteria defined above.

C) Combination:

A combination of presentations and papers to include:

  • one peer-reviewed article or essay AND  one national/international conference; or
  • one peer-reviewed article or essay AND  two regional conferences

Must be recommended by the Graduate Council and approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

These are minimum standards in assessing graduate faculty membership. Individual programs may apply different standards by vote of the faculty of the program as long as they are equivalent or more stringent, and are approved by the Graduate Council and the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Criteria for Teaching Membership

These criteria apply to tenured and tenure-track faculty in programs seeking appointment to the graduate faculty of Middle Tennessee State University and serving in programs that have not approved discipline-specific criteria. Applicants for Teaching Graduate Faculty membership must hold a terminal degree in their teaching field. 

Requirements for Consideration

Along with the completed application, applicants must include:

  • Curriculum Vita showing relevant experience/activities.
  • Recommendation letter describing graduate teaching expertise (to be uploaded by the Department Chair, or the Graduate Program Director if in an interdisciplinary program, at the time of signing the application). If the applicant has not previously taught graduate courses the letter must specifically address instructional expertise in the areas of anticipated instruction.

Must be recommended by the Graduate Council and approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Faculty with a Teaching Membership may apply for Full Membership once they meet the criteria.

Criteria for Adjunct Membership

Tenure-track faculty who do not yet qualify for Full or Teaching membership, full-time faculty not on the tenure track, part-time adjunct faculty members, and individuals who are not MTSU faculty members but have specific expertise pertinent to graduate programs may be recommended for membership on an adjunct basis. Adjunct membership must be renewed every three years. Adjunct members may not direct doctoral dissertations or Master's theses, but may serve as committee members/readers and may teach graduate courses.

Requirements for Consideration

Along with the completed application, applicants must:

  • Have a terminal degree OR have an Academic Preparation Certification form completed by your department (APC; also known as the SACS form)
  • Provide a curriculum vita as evidence of qualifications to execute assignments successfully;
  • Provide a recommendation letter stating specific teaching expertise/qualifications related to the graduate faculty duties to be assigned (to be uploaded by the Department Chair, or the Graduate Program Director if in an interdisciplinary program, at the time of signing the application).
Completing an Academic Preparation Certification Form

If the applicant does not hold a terminal degree in their field of expertise, the application must include an MTSU Academic Preparation Certification (APC) with a department completed justification on why the applicant is qualified to participate as a graduate faculty member.

Follow the directions below on how to complete your APC form (if required):

1.) Contact your academic department with necessary information in order for them to complete the Academic Preparation Certification. Note, this is separate from the APC that is completed at the undergraduate level.

2.) A justification must be added by the department to make your form valid if you do not have a terminal degree in the course field.  Have the APC form signed by your department Chair and Dean before being returned to the applicant.

3.) Attach a copy of your APC inside your Graduate Faculty Membership Application. Also, send a copy or the signed original to Angie Parsons in the Provost Office at Angie.Parsons@mtsu.edu or CAB 117. 

Must be recommended by the Graduate Council and approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Faculty with an Adjunct Membership may apply for Full or Teaching Membership once they meet the criteria.

Serving as a Dissertation Committee Chair

These criteria apply to faculty who hold Full Graduate Faculty Membership and wish to Chair a doctoral dissertation. Approval is granted for the purpose of chairing the dissertation committee of a specific student and is valid through the faculty's assigned 5-year membership. Faculty whose membership is expiring must reapply for Full Graduate Faculty Membership and be approved by the Graduate Council to remain Chair of any committee.

The request for approval to chair a dissertation is made at the time the Advisory Committee Form is submitted and the doctoral student is advanced to candidacy.

Requirements for Consideration

Candidates for Dissertation Chair must:

  • hold the doctoral degree in the discipline and must be teaching in a doctoral degree granting department or in an interdisciplinary doctoral program;
  • be a Full member of the Graduate Faculty;
  • be recommended by the graduate program director.

These are the minimum standards to chair a dissertation committee. Individual programs may apply different standards by vote of the faculty of the program as long as they are equivalent or more stringent and are approved by the Graduate Council and the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Contact Christine Crisp with any questions at Christine.Crisp@mtsu.edu

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