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For searches related to the COE Research Faculty Initiative, center directors interested in applying should first follow the instructions at COE Faculty Research Initiative > Applications and review process.

Phase 1: Prior to search

Responsible party

Step

Action

Center director

1

Discuss the proposed search with and obtain approval of the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies (ADRGS).

2

Request a copy of the COE Research Faculty Job Posting Template from their academic department Administrative Manager.

3

Draft a job posting based on the COE template and shares with the ADRGS and Senior Associate Dean for review and approval.

4

Send posting to academic department administrative manager (AM).

Department AM

5

Submit posting in Interfolio and assign appropriate Interfolio roles to search committee chair and search committee members. Upon submission, posting routes in Interfolio to COE Faculty Affairs. For instructions, see:

COE Faculty Affairs

6

Review posting and obtain Senior Associate Dean approval.

APS

7

Final review and approval of posting in Interfolio.

Department AM

8

Publish final-approved posting in Interfolio and make it available to applicants. See COE: Interfolio for Administrative Staff > COE posting process.

Where are UT Austin faculty positions posted?

Important: Keep records of where and how the job posting is shared. The Search Committee Chair(s) must complete the Appointment Process Summary and share with the department Administrative Manager for inclusion in the PAR (hiring request) packet. Note that question #3 of the form asks for a) a list of all journals, periodicals, etc. where the posting was placed, and b) citation of any other recruiting channels used including personal contacts, letters to other departments, professional meetings, etc. 

Positions created in Interfolio are pushed automatically to the UT Faculty Careers web site, and then scraped out to the Chronicle of Higher Education, and HigherEdJobs when they meet all of the following parameters:

  1. Position has been submitted for approval, reviewed, and approved by an Administrator in Interfolio

  2. Must be "Open" - today's date is on or after the position's Open Date and before the Close date at 12:00 EST (unless set to "Until filled" or "Set not to close")

  3. Not Archived (a setting in position management)

  4. Has a position status of "Accepting Applications"

If international applicants are being considered

Additional recruiting requirements must be satisfied in order to sponsor an employee for employment-based Lawful Permanent Residency.

The U.S. Department of Labor requires that employers sponsoring non-U.S. citizens for permanent residency (via the EB-2 Advanced Degree Professionals category of I-140 Petitions) have posted at least one ad (print or online) in a national, professional journal for at least 30 calendar days. Departments should keep this in mind if international candidates will be considered for hire. Documentation of start and end dates of the ad, as well as the text of the ad, will be required for permanent residency applications.

For more information, see the following:

Advertising the position

COE Faculty Search Promotion and Social Media Toolkit

All faculty have access to the COE Faculty Search Social Media toolkit. While the toolkit materials were designed to help promote COE’s open tenure/tenured track positions, search committees may wish to contact the COE Marketing and Communications (MarCom) team for help adapting them for use in research faculty searches. This toolkit provides ready-to-use social media images, suggested captions, and easy-to-follow guides to help you share these opportunities organically on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

Why this matters: By using these branded visuals and content, we strengthen our collective voice and reinforce our community’s goals. Your participation is key in amplifying our faculty searches and showcasing the collaborative spirit that defines our brand.

 View the Toolkit

Additional advertising options

Departments may wish to share their job postings more widely. Additional advertising options are listed below. Note that some services require a fee.

Phase 2:  Evaluating candidates

Search Committee Chairs should ensure that all candidates within each search are treated the same. For example, if interviews are conducted virtually, all interviews in that round should be conducted virtually, or if delays arise in the interview schedule, all interviews should be postponed to fall within the same timeframe. Per HR guidance, virtual interviews should not be recorded, unless all candidates are asked in advance of the interview and each is given the option to opt out of recording.

Responsible party

Step

Action

Search committee chair

1

Seek ongoing consultation with Senior Associate Dean, and with the ADRGS regarding applicant pool and recruitment efforts.

Search committee

2

Narrow the pool of candidates. See Interfolio: Evaluating Applications.

3 (Optional)

If more than three semifinalists are identified, the search committee may wish to conduct initial semifinalist interviews via Zoom or equivalent, before further narrowing the list to two or three potential on-campus interview candidates. See COE: Evaluating Candidates in Faculty Searches > Interviewing.

Search committee chair

4

Write On-Campus Interview Memo including all of the information listed under On-Campus Interview Memo on this tab, and share with department chair, center director, and department Administrative Manager.

On-Campus Interview Memo

Include all of the following:

  • Search committee membership

  • Search committee meeting dates

  • Job posting/position description

  • Summary description of recruiting efforts

  • Search process description

  • Interfolio report of the pool demographic characteristics (see Interfolio Reports Access & Instructions)

  • Candidate evaluation criteria from position description and review process

  • Table of video interview candidates including:

    • Name

    • Basis for selection

    • Affiliation

    • Experience

    • Publications

    • Grants

    • Other search criteria

  • Interview questions

  • Full description of possible on-campus interview candidates that includes strengths and areas of continued growth

Accommodations for candidates with disabilities

The University of Texas at Austin is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants for employment. Applicants who need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process at the University should submit the Applicant Reasonable Accommodation Request Form at least five business days in advance of the date the requested accommodation is needed. A member of the Institutional Accessibility and Accommodation (IAA) team will then contact the applicant to discuss accommodation needs and next steps. Additional information is available at University Risk and Compliance Services: Job Applicants with Disabilities.

Phase 3: On-Campus interviews with finalists

On-campus interviews are typically scheduled for one full day. The search committee chair, with support from the center administrative staff, schedules on-campus visits with finalists, including travel arrangements and vendor payments.

For faculty searches made as part of the COE Research Faculty Initiative, the Dean’s Office provides funds towards recruiting expenses including finalist visits to campus. See COE Research Faculty Initiative > College of Education commitment. Contact COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu with questions.

For guidance on interviewing, see COE: Evaluating Candidates in Faculty Searches > Interviewing.

Campus visit itinerary

Required meetings include the ADRGS, center director, search committee, and department chair. Because this position will be required to mentor students, there should be an opportunity for finalists to meet with graduate students.

In addition to these meetings, the candidate should have a job talk that is advertised publicly and open to the college. The search committee may decide on other relevant meetings based on the position and the candidate (e.g., meetings with particular faculty, staff, etc.).

If any of the finalists are non-U.S. citizens, a meeting should be scheduled for the candidate with Texas Global - International Student and Scholar Services during their on-campus visit. See COE: International Hiring.

Phase 4: After campus interviews with finalists

Responsible party

Step

Action

Search committee

1

Collect evaluations from faculty and other involved parties: evaluation forms, written or verbal feedback to committee members, search chair, department chair; any other evaluative information.

2

Perform reference checks of each finalist, asking the same questions to each reference about each candidate. See HR: Check References for guidance.

3

Deliberate and makesa hiring recommendation.  Based on their review, they may recommend: (a) one candidate, (b) more than one candidate (rank-ordered), or (c) no candidate.

Search committee chair

4

Prepare a written summary of the search committee’s recommendation. The report should include the following information:

  1. Search committee’s assessment of each finalist’s strengths and weaknesses, including:

    1. how each candidate would add to program area(s), department(s) and College

    2. how well each candidate fits the criteria for selection

    3. how the final selection was made

    4. final vote

  2. Summary of faculty feedback for each candidate including more specifically:

    1. a paragraph for each candidate describing faculty feedback

    2. any evaluation forms, written or verbal feedback to committee members, search chair, department chair(s), or any other evaluative information

  3. Final hiring recommendation of the search committee which must include a rationale for the decision and can include the recommendation to hire:

    1. one candidate or

    2. more than one candidate with the list rank-ordered, or

    3. no candidate

5

Submit written summary of search committee’s recommendation to center director and department chair and meet to discuss.

Phase 5: Job offer and hire

If the proposed hire is to be made at the Associate Research Professor or full Research Professor level, pre-approval is required from EVPP and VPR before an offer is made. The department should follow the process described at COE: Hiring Research Faculty > Pre-review requirement for Research Professor rank.

If proposed hire is not a U.S. citizen, department should consult with Texas Global - International Student and Scholar Services before an offer is made, and cc COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.

Center directors should be aware that the faculty hiring process at UT Austin requires significant amounts of administrative work and time. Please plan accordingly and maintain good communication with the department Administrative Manager throughout the process.

Responsible party

Step

Action

Center director

1

Meet with department chair and Senior Associate Dean to discuss salary and start-up package.

2

Record agreed-upon offer items in email or other documentation rather than just verbally, and cc or forward these to the department Administrative Manager, including all helpful details and specifics. COE Faculty Affairs will share offer details with Chief Business Officer for approval prior to finalizing of offer letter.

Department AM

3

Create draft offer letter based on EVPP template, and in conversation with center director and department chair.

4

Email draft offer letter and documentation of offer items (email, etc.) to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu for review. COE Faculty Affairs will assist as needed with offer letter language.

5

Begin hiring process following guidance at COE: Hiring Research Faculty.

After the conclusion of the search

Disposition the Interfolio position

Immediately after the conclusion of a faculty search, be sure to ask the department Administrative Manager to close the Interfolio position (archive) and indicate an outcome. For searches that did not result in selection of a candidate, add a note about why no selection was made (e.g., cancelled due to lack of funding, position no longer needed, lack of qualified applicants, etc.). See Interfolio: Close a Position and Select Applicant(s).

Communicate with applicants

After closing the position in Interfolio, the Search Committee Chair should communicate to all applicants that the position has closed. 

This can be done in Interfolio - see instructions at Interfolio: Email Applicants. To email all applicants not selected for interview, check the "Applicants" box at the top of the table, and then deselect the names of those interviewed. The email message to applicants not interviewed might be something like: 

“Thank you very much for submitting an application for the Assistant/Associate Professor position in Department Name at The University of Texas at Austin. We regret to notify you that your application has not advanced to the interview stage. We appreciate your time and interest, and wish you the best in your job search endeavors.”

For applicants interviewed but not selected for hire, the Search Committee Chair should send a more personalized email. 

Please send suggested additions to this page and notifications about broken links to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.