Faculty Qualifications and Equivalent Tested Experience
In accordance with WashU accreditation requirements, the Sam Fox School adheres to the following WashU guidelines both when hiring instructional faculty and at the time of teaching assignments. These guidelines apply to all persons who teach on behalf of the university, including tenure-track faculty, teaching-track faculty, adjunct faculty, staff, or others who may provide instruction, with the exception of graduate students enrolled in a relevant program and participating in a supervised, mentored teaching assignment, who are excluded from these guidelines.
Primary qualifications include:
- Official credentials (degrees) and
- equivalent, tested experience
Credentials
At the time of hire or assignment, the decision-making person(s) in the academic unit must consider the applicability of the candidate’s academic degrees and the depth of training and knowledge in the relevant area of expertise.
- Faculty who teach in an undergraduate program should possess a degree at least one level higher (i.e., a master’s level degree) in a field or discipline relevant to the instruction.
- Faculty who teach in a graduate program should possess the terminal degree, PhD, or the equivalent for that program, as well as a record of research, scholarship, or achievement appropriate for the graduate program.
Equivalent Tested Experience
In the fields of art, architecture, and design, professional experience may be equally valued and beneficial in the studio or classroom as traditional academic credentials, especially for teaching-track, practice-track, and visiting professors. In these cases, tested experience may substitute for an earned credential. Any academic unit in the school hiring an instructor or making a teaching assignment to a person who does not meet the credentials requirement above must establish equivalency through quality and quantity of experience. At the time of a hire or assignment that substitutes equivalent tested experience for a credential, the academic unit must document evidence of the instructor’s experience that meets the following criteria:
College of Art Equivalent Tested Experience Criteria
Faculty who do not hold a terminal degree (Master of Fine Arts, Mater of Design) should demonstrate the following tested experience:
For the instruction of undergraduate students in studio art, faculty should hold a Bachelor’s degree and demonstrate three or more years of professional and/or teaching experience and stature in the field leading to recognition in the area of instruction. For instruction of graduate students in studio art, faculty should hold a bachelor’s degree and demonstrate five or more years of professional or teaching experience and significant stature in the field leading to national recognition in the area of instruction.
For the instruction of undergraduate students in design, faculty should hold a Bachelor’s degree and demonstrate three or more years of professional and/or teaching experience in the area of instruction. For instruction of graduate students in design, faculty should hold a bachelor’s degree and demonstrate five or more years of professional and/or teaching experience in the area of instruction.
College of Architecture Equivalent Tested Experience Criteria
Faculty who do not hold a terminal degree (Ph.D.; Master of Architecture; or Bachelor of Architecture plus Master’s degree in related field) should demonstrate the following tested experience:
For the instruction of undergraduate students in architecture, faculty should hold a Bachelor’s degree, demonstrate three or more years of professional experience in the area of instruction, and demonstrate recognition of related projects in their dossier for themselves or their firm. For instruction of graduate students in architecture, landscape architecture, and/or urban design, faculty should hold a bachelor’s degree, demonstrate five or more years of professional experience in the area of instruction, and demonstrate national recognition of related projects in their dossier for themselves or their firm.