Purpose
The purpose of research and educational leave is to provide opportunities for uninterrupted research activity, development of educational activities, and pedagogical development. The leave should be used to concentrate on research projects, develop international research contacts, pursue academic renewal, and develop teaching, courses, and study programs, as well as work on study quality or pedagogical development. All permanently employed academic staff have the right to apply for research and educational leave in accordance with the guidelines.
University of Oslo (UiO) Guidelines
The Faculty follows UiO’s guidelines for research and educational leave.
Additional Provisions for the Faculty of Social Sciences
Application form (Word) – Applications must be submitted to the Head of department or center.
Newly appointed female associate professors from units with particular challenges related to gender balance in professorships earn the right to apply for 12 months of research and educational leave after only three years (after that, normal accrual applies), cf. the faculty’s gender equality action plan (pdf) - currently in Norwegian.
Full accrual of the right to apply for research and educational leave requires a full teaching and administrative workload, including fulfillment of appointment contract requirements related to pedagogical competence and passed language tests. Reduced obligations—for example, due to buyout—reduce the accrual of research and educational leave proportionally. Cf. Section 4: Earning seniority.
Seniority is not an independent argument for approving or prioritizing an application. Approval of research leave is assessed based on the unit’s overall resource needs. Applicant preferences regarding when the leave is to be taken may be rejected if they negatively impact the unit’s teaching offerings (cf. Section 3: Allocation). For each case, the unit must also thoroughly assess whether it is appropriate and purposeful (cf. Section 1: Purpose) to grant research leave late in a career.
The deadline to apply for research and educational leave is one year before the planned leave period.