Ladder Faculty Research Fellowship Supplement Program
Division of Social Sciences: Guidelines for the Allocation of Fellowship Supplements
The Division of Social Sciences recognizes the importance of fellowship awards to a faculty member’s career and to UCLA’s research mission. The UCLA Social Science Dean’s office is pleased to continue supporting faculty members’ efforts at securing prestigious fellowships, and part of this encouragement is continued salary support. The Division provides the following guidelines to assist in your planning.
When a ladder faculty member, paid through one of the academic departments of the UCLA Division of Social Sciences, receives a fellowship that allows the professor to be on leave for research, but the fellowship amount does not fully cover the salary and benefits of the leave period, the Dean’s Office will provide supplementary funds to cover some of the difference, up to a maximum of 33% salary and benefits during the leave period. If the combination of the fellowship and the Dean’s supplement is not sufficient to cover the full pay and benefits during the leave, then the Dean will support the professor’s decision to either use accrued sabbatical credits for the balance of pay or reduce their pay during the period. Please note that each sabbatical credit can be used during a fellowship leave to supplement roughly 3.7% of a professor’s annual salary and benefits.
This support will be provided for fellowships that are awarded on a competitive basis or which have national standing and are awarded by distinguished fellowship programs or institutions. Common examples include awards from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
Supplemental support will not be provided for leaves of absence from UCLA to accept visiting appointments at other institutions or for awards that include teaching or service at any institution other than UCLA. All leaves are subject to review and approval by the Vice Chancellor of Academic Personnel.
ELIGIBILITY
- Ladder Faculty paid through UCLA Division of Social Sciences
- Fellowships must be competitive or have national standing
- Leave cannot include teaching or service at another institution
SERVICE CREDIT NOTE
If the institution funding the fellowship will only provide the funds to the faculty member directly rather than administering the funds through UCLA, UCLA will need to reduce the faculty member’s salary accordingly. This reduction in payroll will impact service credit calculation for the time period in question (e.g., a fellowship recipient might be credited with less than 100 percent service in a given year for retirement benefit purposes), and may also impact benefits eligibility. No divisional funds can be contributed toward any buyback of service credit. It is our strong recommendation that a faculty member consult with the benefits office (https://www.chr.ucla.edu/benefits/benefits-services-directory) before making any final decisions about accepting a fellowship.
EXAMPLES
Calculation Example A:
Professor A, with a salary of $90,000, receives a $30,000 fellowship, to be paid directly to the professor, to take advantage of a fellowship leave year. The Dean’s office will supplement Professor A’s salary during the leave year by providing a salary supplement of $30,000 (33.33%) plus benefits. Professor A also has 12 sabbatical credits accumulated and contributes 9 to the fellowship year which will cover the other 33.33% of Professor A’s salary and benefits. During the fellowship year, Professor A’s 66.67% UCLA salary will be covered by the Dean’s supplement (33.33%) and by the use of Professor A’s sabbatical credits (33.33%). The professor would have a 33.33% Leave-Without-Pay appointment for the year, with this 33% pay coming directly from the fellowship (paid directly to the professor). The professor would only accrue 66.67% service credit during the leave year.
Calculation Example B:
An Associate Professor with a salary of $150,000 receives a $45,000 fellowship which represents 30% of the professor’s salary plus additional funds to cover benefits. The agency transmits the fellowship funds to be paid through UCLA. The Dean’s office will supplement the professor’s salary during the leave year by providing a salary supplement up to $50,000 (33%) plus benefits. The professor also has 19 sabbatical credits accumulated and wishes to use 10 sabbatical credits during the fellowship year. During the fellowship year, the 70% UCLA salary will be covered by the Dean’s supplement (33%) and by the use of sabbatical credits (37%). The professor would also have a 30% Leave-With-Pay appointment for the year, paid with fellowship funds through UCLA. The professor would accrue 100.00% service credit during the leave year.
Calculation Example C:
Professor C with a salary of $175,000 receives a $35,000 fellowship, paid directly to the professor. This fellowship is 20% of the professor’s annual salary. For the other 80% pay, the professor has 25 sabbatical credits accumulated and wishes to only use 9 sabbatical credits during the fellowship year which provides 33.33% of pay. The Dean’s office will supplement the professor’s salary during the leave year by providing a salary supplement of $58,333.33 (33.33%) plus benefits. The professor then elects to reduce their pay for the balance. This would result in the professor receiving 66.67% pay from UCLA, and receiving 20% from the fellowship for a total of 86.67% of their normal annual compensation. The professor would accrue 66.67% service credit during the leave year.
For specifics, please discuss your fellowship plans with your department’s Academic Personnel Officer or Manager.
