Who we are
Before you dive into teaching, research, or your first committee meeting, take a moment to understand the community you’ve joined. HMS is guided by a clear mission, a set of shared values, and an ambitious strategic direction — knowing these will help you find your place in it.
Harvard Medical School exists to nurture a diverse, inclusive community dedicated to alleviating suffering and improving health and well-being for all — through excellence in teaching and learning, discovery and scholarship, and service and leadership.
This isn’t just an institutional statement. It’s the shared purpose that connects 12,000+ faculty across hundreds of disciplines, from basic science to clinical care to public health. Whatever your role at HMS, this mission is the thread that runs through it.
Read the full mission and vision →Five values define how we work, teach, and lead together at HMS. They shape everything from how we run a lab meeting to how we handle a difficult faculty conversation — and they’re the standard we hold ourselves to as a community.
HMS’s 2025 strategic plan sets six bold priorities for the future of science and medicine. BEACON is both a framework and a signal — it tells you where HMS is investing its energy and where your work has the opportunity to connect with institution-wide momentum.
HMS academic leadership is organized across several offices, each responsible for a distinct part of the faculty experience. Knowing who oversees what will help you reach the right office quickly — whether you have a question about your appointment, a research initiative, or a faculty concern.
Your first 30 days
Before you can teach, research, or contribute to HMS, you need to get set up. The steps that apply to you depend on your appointment type — specifically, who pays you. Select your faculty type below to see your personalized checklist.
As an affiliate-paid faculty member, your HarvardKey is the key to your HMS academic identity. It is separate from your hospital login and does not give you an HMS email — but it does give you access to everything you need as an HMS appointee: library databases, Countway resources, the Faculty CV Generator, and more.
- 1.Check your hospital or personal email for a HarvardKey activation notice
- 2.If you have a prior Harvard affiliation, look up your existing account at key.harvard.edu
- 3.Complete two-factor authentication setup — required for HMS system access
- 4.Contact the HUIT Help Desk if you have not received an activation notice within your first week
Your Harvard ID card gives you physical access to HMS buildings, Countway Library, and athletic facilities. It is separate from your affiliate hospital badge — you will need both. Bring a government-issued photo ID in person; no photos or copies are accepted.
- 1.Confirm your HMS appointment is active before visiting — the ID office will verify this
- 2.Bring a government-issued photo ID (passport or driver’s license) in person
- 3.Visit Harvard ID Services (Smith Campus Center, 1350 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge)
- 4.Your affiliate hospital badge is obtained separately through your hospital security office
Your HMS department administrator is your primary contact for HMS-side logistics — separate from your hospital administrator. They can clarify what is managed through HMS versus your affiliate, coordinate any HMS compliance requirements, and connect you to departmental resources. If you are unsure who your HMS administrator is, contact your division chief or the Office for Faculty Affairs.
- —Which HMS systems and resources you have access to
- —Any HMS-required compliance trainings
- —How your HMS appointment interacts with your affiliate role
- —Access to HMS buildings or shared spaces you may need
Your health, dental, and vision benefits are administered by your affiliate hospital, not by Harvard. This is one of the most common points of confusion for affiliate faculty — your HMS appointment does not entitle you to Harvard employee benefits. Contact your hospital HR office for plan options, deadlines, and enrollment instructions.
- 1.Contact your affiliate hospital HR office to get your enrollment materials
- 2.Review plan options and deadlines — windows are typically 30 days from start date
- 3.Add any dependents during this same window
- 4.Confirm your enrollment is complete before the deadline
As an affiliate-paid faculty member, your payroll is managed entirely by your affiliate hospital. Direct deposit, tax withholding, and pay stub access are all handled through your hospital’s HR system — not Harvard. If you receive any supplemental HMS funding (such as research awards), your department administrator will clarify how that is processed separately.
- 1.Complete direct deposit setup through your affiliate hospital HR portal
- 2.Submit your W-4 federal and state tax withholding forms to your hospital HR
- 3.Ask your HMS department administrator if you will receive any supplemental HMS-administered funds
Your affiliate hospital has its own onboarding process that runs parallel to — and independently from — your HMS appointment. Credentialing for clinical privileges can take several weeks, so start this process as early as possible. Do not assume that HMS paperwork covers your hospital obligations or vice versa.
- 1.Contact your affiliate hospital’s Faculty Affairs or HR office to begin their onboarding process
- 2.Submit credentialing and privileging applications if you will have clinical responsibilities
- 3.Complete the hospital’s required compliance and safety trainings
- 4.Obtain your hospital badge and building access through the hospital security office
The HMS CV Generator is the standard tool for maintaining your Faculty of Medicine CV — the document used in your appointment, reappointment, and promotion review. You access it using your HarvardKey. Building your CV early, even if your record is still developing, establishes the habit that will serve you at every stage of your HMS career.
- 1.Log in to the CV Generator using your HarvardKey credentials
- 2.Import an existing CV in HMS format or start a new one from scratch
- 3.Review the Faculty of Medicine CV Guidelines to ensure correct formatting
- 4.Plan to update your CV at minimum once per year
HarvardKey is Harvard’s unified login identity. It gives you access to your HMS email, library databases, administrative systems, remote access tools, and more. If you have held any prior Harvard role — as a student, postdoc, or staff member — you may already have a HarvardKey and simply need to verify it is active.
- 1.Check your email for a HarvardKey activation notice from Harvard IT
- 2.If you have a prior Harvard affiliation, look up your existing account at key.harvard.edu
- 3.Set up two-factor authentication — required for HMS system access
- 4.Contact the HUIT Help Desk if you have not received activation within your first two days
As a Harvard-paid faculty member you receive an @hms.harvard.edu email address — this is your official channel for all HMS communication including appointment letters, policy notices, and committee correspondence. The HMS VPN is required to access library databases and internal systems when working off-campus.
- 1.Log into your @hms.harvard.edu account using your HarvardKey credentials
- 2.Configure email on your preferred device (iOS, Android, Outlook, or Mac Mail)
- 3.Download and install the HMS VPN client (Cisco AnyConnect) from HMS IT
- 4.Test VPN connectivity before your first day working remotely
Your Harvard ID card provides physical access to HMS buildings, Countway Library, athletic facilities, and dining. You must appear in person to obtain it — no digital or photocopied IDs are accepted for identity verification.
- 1.Confirm your HMS appointment is active before visiting — the ID office verifies this in their system
- 2.Bring a government-issued photo ID (passport or driver’s license) in person
- 3.Visit Harvard ID Services (Smith Campus Center, 1350 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge)
Your department administrator manages day-to-day logistics — office space, keys, compliance training, expense setup, and connecting you to departmental resources. They are your first call for most practical questions. If you do not know who your administrator is, contact your division chief or department chair.
- —Office space, keys, and building access
- —Required compliance trainings and their deadlines
- —Travel and expense reimbursement process
- —Shared resources: printers, conference rooms, lab access
As a Harvard-paid faculty member, you enroll in benefits through Harvard HR. Harvard offers a range of health, dental, and vision plans. Review your options carefully before the enrollment deadline — plan changes outside of open enrollment are only possible after qualifying life events.
- 1.Log into PeopleSoft HR Self-Service using your HarvardKey
- 2.Review available health, dental, and vision plan options
- 3.Make your selections and add any dependents before the 30-day deadline
- 4.Enroll in Harvard’s 403(b) retirement plan — even a small contribution now takes advantage of Harvard matching
Your salary is paid by Harvard University and managed through the Harvard PeopleSoft HR system. Direct deposit, tax withholding, and pay stub access are all configured here. Some quad-based faculty also hold affiliate appointments — if so, confirm with your department administrator whether any portion of your salary flows through a hospital payroll system.
- 1.Log into PeopleSoft HR Self-Service and navigate to the payroll section
- 2.Enter your bank account information for direct deposit
- 3.Complete federal and Massachusetts state W-4 tax withholding forms
- 4.Confirm your first pay date and pay schedule with your department administrator
The HMS CV Generator is the standard tool for maintaining your Faculty of Medicine CV — the document reviewed at every stage of appointment, reappointment, and promotion. Access it using your HarvardKey. Starting your CV early, even with a sparse record, builds the habit that pays off at promotion time.
- 1.Log in to the CV Generator using your HarvardKey credentials
- 2.Import an existing CV in HMS format or start a new one
- 3.Review the Faculty of Medicine CV Guidelines for correct formatting
- 4.Plan to update your CV at minimum once per year
Module 3 of 10
Your role and rights
Being part of the HMS faculty comes with both significant freedoms and real responsibilities. This module isn’t about rules for the sake of rules — it’s about giving you the foundation to do your best work with confidence, and to protect yourself and your institution when difficult situations arise.
You don’t need to memorize everything here. What matters is knowing that these frameworks exist, what they cover, and where to turn when something comes up.
This module links to official standing documents maintained by HMS. You will not need to update these links — the authoritative sources are updated by their respective offices.
3.1
Faculty of Medicine Handbook
ReferenceThe Faculty Handbook is your single most important reference document as an HMS faculty member. Read the parts that apply to your situation now — and know where to find the rest when you need it.
The Faculty of Medicine Handbook governs the terms of your appointment — how it is made, renewed, and ended — as well as your rights within the HMS community, the standards expected of you, and the processes that apply when disputes or concerns arise. It is the document that defines what your appointment actually means.
New faculty are not expected to read every page before their first day, but familiarity with the structure of the handbook — and knowing which sections cover your appointment type and rank — is essential groundwork for everything that follows.
What it covers
Appointment types and terms, promotion criteria, leave policies, grievance procedures, and the rights and obligations of faculty
Who maintains it
The Office for Faculty Affairs reviews and updates the handbook. Always use the online version — printed or saved copies may be out of date
3.2
Academic Freedom
RightAcademic freedom is not an abstract principle at HMS — it is a protected right that governs how you teach, what you investigate, and what you publish.
HMS is committed to the principle that faculty members have the freedom to pursue research wherever it leads, to teach their subject as they see fit, and to speak and publish their findings without institutional interference. This protection is foundational to the integrity of academic medicine.
Academic freedom also carries responsibilities: the freedom to pursue inquiry is paired with the obligation to conduct that inquiry honestly, rigorously, and in accordance with professional and ethical standards.
- You have the right to pursue research questions independently of institutional or commercial pressure
- You have the right to teach your subject according to your scholarly judgment
- You have the right to publish findings and speak publicly on your areas of expertise
- These rights are protected but not unlimited — they exist within the bounds of professional conduct and research integrity
3.3
Professional Conduct
ResponsibilityHow you engage with colleagues, trainees, and students is as much a part of your faculty role as your research or clinical work.
HMS expects all faculty to uphold standards of professional conduct that reflect the institution’s community values: respect, integrity, and the well-being of everyone in the community. This includes how you conduct yourself in professional settings, how you interact with trainees and students in your care, and how you handle disagreements or difficult situations.
Concerns about professional conduct — whether you are raising a concern or are the subject of one — are handled through the Office for Clinical and Academic Affairs (OCAA) and, where appropriate, the Harvard Ombuds Office.
3.4
Research Integrity
DutyResearch integrity is not an optional standard at HMS — it is the foundation on which the institution’s credibility, and your own, rests.
HMS faculty are expected to conduct research in accordance with the highest ethical and professional standards: designing studies rigorously, handling data honestly, attributing credit accurately, and disclosing any factors that could affect the objectivity of their work. These expectations apply whether you are running a lab, conducting clinical trials, or contributing to collaborative research.
Concerns about research misconduct — including fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism — are handled through the Office for Research Integrity within OCAA. Faculty who are uncertain whether a practice is acceptable are encouraged to consult before proceeding, not after.
Your obligations include
Accurate data handling and record-keeping, transparent reporting of methods and results, proper attribution of others’ work, and timely disclosure of errors
Where to go with questions
The Office for Academic and Research Integrity (within OCAA) handles both guidance and formal concerns. When in doubt, ask early
3.5
Conflict of Interest
DutyHaving a conflict of interest is not itself a violation — failing to disclose one is. Disclosure is the mechanism that protects both you and HMS.
Harvard and HMS require faculty to disclose financial relationships and outside activities that could influence — or be perceived to influence — their research, teaching, or clinical decisions. This includes consulting arrangements, equity stakes in companies, sponsored research relationships, and significant outside professional roles.
Disclosure requirements apply on an annual basis and whenever a relevant new relationship begins. Undisclosed conflicts are a serious professional and legal matter. If you are unsure whether something needs to be disclosed, disclose it and discuss it with the appropriate office.
- Annual disclosure is required of all HMS faculty, regardless of whether you believe you have a conflict
- New relationships must be disclosed promptly — do not wait for the annual cycle
- Industry consulting, advisory board roles, equity holdings, and sponsored research are all disclosable
- HMS has a management process for conflicts that cannot be eliminated — disclosure enables that process to work
3.6
Outside Activities & Consulting
ResponsibilityFaculty are permitted — and often encouraged — to engage with industry, government, and other institutions. But outside activities require advance approval and ongoing disclosure.
HMS recognizes that faculty involvement in external organizations — as consultants, advisors, board members, or founders — advances the translation of academic work into real-world impact. These activities are permitted within defined limits and subject to approval to ensure they do not interfere with your primary obligations to HMS, your students, or your research.
Before accepting any significant outside role, check the policy and consult with your department administrator or the Office for Faculty Affairs. The process is straightforward for most activities — but starting without approval creates complications that are harder to resolve after the fact.
3.7
Raising a Concern
ProtectedIf something feels wrong — in your lab, your department, or your institution — you have multiple protected pathways to raise it. Knowing these pathways before you need them matters.
HMS has formal and informal processes for faculty who need to raise concerns about misconduct, policy violations, harassment, discrimination, or other serious matters. Using these processes is protected — retaliation against faculty who raise good-faith concerns is a violation of HMS policy.
Informal & confidential
The Harvard Ombuds Office offers strictly off-the-record guidance. Nothing discussed there is reported without your consent. A good first step when you are unsure what to do.
Formal process
OCAA handles formal concerns about academic integrity, conduct, and policy violations. Contact them when you are ready to initiate a formal process or need guidance on doing so.
Research misconduct
The Office for Academic and Research Integrity handles concerns about fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and other research integrity violations.
Retaliation protection
Faculty who raise concerns in good faith are protected from retaliation under HMS policy. The Faculty Handbook details your rights in this area.
Module 4 of 10
Building your academic identity
You’ve sorted the logistics and grounded yourself in the policies. Now comes the deeper work: understanding what your appointment actually means for your path, establishing the relationships and presence that will carry you forward, and integrating into the department and institution in a way that feels intentional rather than accidental.
This module is less about completing tasks and more about asking the right questions early — before the pace of clinical and research work makes it harder to step back and think.
Your appointment type is not just a title — it defines your trajectory, your promotion timeline, and the kind of work HMS expects you to emphasize. Understanding it early shapes every career decision that follows.
HMS faculty appointments fall into two broad tracks, determined primarily by who pays your salary. Each track has its own promotion criteria, timeline expectations, and relationship to the institution. Many faculty are surprised to learn that these tracks differ substantially in how advancement works.
Affiliate-paid faculty
- Promotion is milestone-driven, not time-based
- Advance when your record demonstrates readiness
- Three areas of excellence: investigation, teaching, clinical
- No mandatory review timeline — you initiate when ready
- Strong clinical and teaching records can carry promotion without major grants
HMS Quad (Harvard-paid)
- Promotion is tenure-driven with defined review timelines
- Independent research program is central to advancement
- Tenure clock applies at the Instructor and Assistant Professor levels
- External funding and scholarly output are primary criteria
- Mandatory review periods — know your timeline from day one
The most consistent predictor of faculty success at academic medical centers is not productivity or funding — it is having meaningful mentorship. And the faculty who benefit most are those who pursue it deliberately, not those who wait for it to find them.
HMS does not automatically assign mentors to new faculty. Mentorship is something you build — often with more than one person, across different aspects of your career. A good mentor for your research may not be the right mentor for navigating institutional politics or career transitions. Many successful faculty have two or three mentors who serve different functions.
What to look for in a mentor
Someone who has navigated a similar path, is willing to invest time in your development, will give honest feedback rather than just encouragement, and has credibility within your field or institution
What mentorship looks like in practice
Regular scheduled meetings (quarterly at minimum), review of your CV and promotion materials, introductions to key colleagues and collaborators, candid guidance on career decisions
Where to find potential mentors
Your department chair, division chief, or department administrator can suggest names. HMS mentorship programs through OFA and the Shore Fellowship are also structured pathways
How to approach someone
A direct, specific ask works better than a general one. “I’m building my research program in X — would you be willing to meet quarterly to provide guidance?” is more likely to succeed than “Would you be my mentor?”
Your CV and online presence are not administrative overhead — they are how colleagues find you, how students choose you, and how promotion committees evaluate you. Tending to them early costs little time and pays dividends throughout your career.
Your HMS-facing profile is separate from external platforms like Google Scholar or LinkedIn but equally important. Within HMS, your Faculty Directory profile, PeopleSoft record, and CV Generator account together form your official academic identity. Outside HMS, your visibility in your field is shaped by how consistently and accurately your work is represented online.
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HMS CV Generator The standard format for your Faculty of Medicine CV. Updated at minimum annually. Used in every appointment, reappointment, and promotion review. If you haven’t set this up yet, start here.
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HMS Faculty Directory profile How you appear to students, trainees, and colleagues across the institution. Updated through HMS PeopleSoft — include your research interests, teaching areas, and a current photo.
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ORCID iD A persistent researcher identifier that connects your publications across platforms. Free to register. Increasingly required by journals, funders, and HMS systems. Set it up once and link it everywhere.
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Google Scholar or PubMed profile How your publications are discovered and cited by the broader research community. Verify that your publications are attributed correctly — common name spellings or prior institutional affiliations can cause attribution errors.
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Affiliate hospital profile If you are affiliate-based, your hospital’s faculty directory is often where patients and referring clinicians find you. Keep it current and consistent with your HMS profile.
Many HMS faculty effectively have two institutional homes: their department and their affiliate hospital. The faculty who navigate this most successfully are those who invest deliberately in both relationships rather than letting one default to transactional.
The relationship between HMS and its affiliated hospitals is one of the defining features of medical education at Harvard — and also one of the most genuinely complex aspects of faculty life here. Your HMS department and your affiliate hospital may have different cultures, different administrative systems, different definitions of success, and different expectations of your time. Building effective working relationships in both takes intentional effort.
At your department
Attend department seminars and faculty meetings. Introduce yourself to faculty outside your immediate research area. Understand who the key figures are in your departmental culture — not just in the formal hierarchy.
At your affiliate hospital
Engage with your division’s research and education programs. Identify the faculty development resources your hospital offers — many affiliates have their own mentorship, leadership, and grant support programs that are underused.
Navigating dual expectations
Clinical productivity expectations from your hospital and academic output expectations from HMS can pull in different directions. Clarify with your department chair and division chief how these are balanced in your specific situation — early, not after tension builds.
Protecting academic time
Protected time for research and scholarship rarely stays protected without active management. Name it explicitly in conversations with your chief, track how it is actually being used, and raise concerns early if clinical load is encroaching on it.
There is no formal universal first-year review at HMS, but that does not mean your first year goes unobserved. Understanding what informal expectations exist — and getting ahead of them — sets a different trajectory than discovering them retrospectively.
Expectations in your first year vary by appointment type, department culture, and division. There is no single HMS-wide first-year review process. However, most departments and divisions have informal norms around what they expect to see from new faculty in the first twelve months — and these norms are rarely written down anywhere.
Beyond that conversation, there are some consistent expectations across most HMS departments that are worth building into your first-year plan:
- 1.Your HMS CV should be active and current in the CV Generator — not because anyone will formally review it in year one, but because building this habit early matters
- 2.You should have identified at least one mentor and established a regular cadence of meetings
- 3.You should understand your promotion track and timeline, even if promotion feels distant
- 4.You should have clarity on how your protected academic time is defined and protected
- 5.You should know the three or four people in your department whose judgment and support matter most for your advancement
If you are Quad-paid
Know your tenure clock from day one. Understand the reappointment review timeline. Establish your independent research program early — the first year is not too soon to begin building the lab and funding record that will matter at your first formal review.
If you are affiliate-paid
There is no tenure clock, but there is an informal one. Faculty who delay thinking about promotion until they feel “ready” often find that the record they needed has been building without documentation. Start keeping track now.
Module 5 of 10
Teaching & mentoring
For most new HMS faculty, teaching is the first active contribution they make to the institution — often before a research program is established, a grant is funded, or a promotion feels relevant. This module helps you understand what you’re walking into, how to do it well from the start, and how to document it in a way that serves you later.
Mentoring deserves equal attention. As a faculty member you are simultaneously a mentee — still building your own career with guidance from others — and increasingly a mentor to students, residents, and trainees who are looking to you for exactly the kind of support you are seeking yourself.
Program
MD Program
Pre-clinical and clinical teaching for medical students
Program
Graduate Programs
PhD and research-focused graduate teaching and advising
Program
Masters Programs
MMSc, MBE, and other professional and bioethics programs
Format
Nano-courses
Short-format elective modules proposed and led by faculty
MD teaching at HMS is organized differently from what most faculty experienced in their own medical education. Understanding the structure before you step into it makes the experience better for you and for your students.
The HMS MD curriculum is divided into pre-clinical and clinical phases. Pre-clinical teaching happens primarily through case-based learning, small group facilitation, and lecture, while clinical teaching occurs through clerkships and sub-internships at HMS-affiliated hospitals. Faculty participate in one or both phases depending on their role and appointment type.
Pre-clinical
Years 1–2: Foundations
Case-based and small-group teaching. Faculty serve as facilitators and content experts. Coordinated through the Office for Educational Programs.
Clinical
Years 3–4: Clerkships
Bedside and outpatient teaching through affiliated hospital clerkships. Faculty serve as attending physicians and clinical supervisors.
Elective
Selective & Advanced
Specialized electives, research selectives, and advanced clinical experiences. Faculty can propose and lead selectives aligned with their expertise.
Graduate teaching at HMS is among the most intellectually demanding — and most personally rewarding — teaching roles available to faculty. It also carries some of the most significant responsibilities for student welfare and career development.
HMS graduate programs span basic science PhD programs (through the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Division of Medical Sciences), professional masters programs, and specialized programs in medical education, bioethics, and clinical investigation. Faculty can participate as course instructors, thesis advisors, dissertation committee members, or program directors.
Course instruction
Contributing lectures, seminars, or modules to graduate courses. Often the most accessible entry point for new faculty. Contact program directors or department graduate coordinators to express interest.
Thesis advising
Serving as a primary PhD advisor is a major commitment. Before taking on your first student, speak with senior faculty in your department about realistic expectations for time, funding, and the advising relationship.
Dissertation committees
Serving on a student’s thesis committee without being the primary advisor is a good way to build graduate mentoring experience and contribute to the graduate community with a defined scope of commitment.
Masters programs
The MMSc, MBE, and other professional programs offer teaching opportunities with a different population of learners — often mid-career clinicians and researchers. Contact the relevant program office to explore involvement.
Nano-courses are one of the best-kept resources in HMS education — a low-barrier way for faculty to share specialized knowledge, pilot new teaching formats, and connect with students across the institution in a matter of days rather than a semester.
HMS nano-courses are short, intensive elective modules — typically two to five sessions — that faculty propose and lead on topics of their choosing. They are open to medical students, graduate students, and in some cases residents and fellows. Because they are elective and short, they attract motivated, self-selected learners and give faculty considerable flexibility in format and content.
Why propose one
Nano-courses count toward your teaching portfolio, help you build relationships with students who may become future trainees, and let you explore pedagogy in a lower-stakes setting than a formal course.
What makes a good nano-course
A specific, well-scoped topic that benefits from expert teaching — a clinical technique, a methodological approach, a scientific area not covered in the core curriculum. Breadth is less important than depth and focus.
How to propose one
Contact the HMS Office for Educational Programs. Proposals go through a brief review process. Most approved proposals run within the same academic year.
What to expect
Classes of 8–20 students, high engagement, and direct feedback. Students elect your course because they want to be there — the teaching dynamic is different from required curriculum.
You are both a mentee and a mentor at the same time — and the quality of both relationships shapes your career more than almost any other factor in academic medicine.
New faculty often underestimate how quickly the mentoring chain catches up with them. Within months of joining HMS, students and trainees will begin looking to you for guidance, feedback, and sponsorship — regardless of where you feel you are in your own development. Being intentional about both roles from the start sets a different trajectory.
You — as mentee
Building your career with the support of one or more mentors. Establishing regular check-ins, seeking honest feedback, and leveraging your mentor’s network. (See Module 4 for guidance on finding a mentor.)
NowAdvising students and trainees
Providing day-to-day guidance to medical students, residents, and research trainees. This role begins almost immediately — even informal guidance in a clinical or lab setting counts, and shapes how trainees experience HMS.
NowFormal mentoring relationships
Serving as a named mentor to junior faculty, postdocs, or graduate students in a structured capacity. This typically develops in years 2–5 as your own position stabilizes and your reputation within the department builds.
Years 2–5Sponsorship and advocacy
Actively promoting the careers of those you mentor — nominating them for awards, introducing them to collaborators, writing strong letters of support. The most impactful mentoring eventually becomes sponsorship.
Mid-careerTeaching is one of the three Areas of Excellence in HMS promotion — but it only counts if it is documented. The faculty who struggle most at promotion time are not those who taught too little, but those who taught a great deal and recorded almost none of it.
Teaching documentation is not bureaucratic overhead — it is the evidence base for a major part of your promotion case. Start keeping records from your first semester, not from the year before you submit. The habit costs almost nothing to build and is extremely difficult to reconstruct retroactively.
| What to document | What to record | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Course and lecture teaching | Course name, program, number of students, your role (lecturer, facilitator, director), dates | HMS CV Generator — Teaching section |
| Thesis advising | Student name, degree program, your role (primary advisor vs. committee), thesis title, completion date | HMS CV Generator — Mentoring section |
| Informal mentoring | Names, roles, duration of relationship, outcomes (publications, positions, awards) | Promotion profile narrative |
| Teaching evaluations | Save copies of all student and trainee evaluations as you receive them — they are not always retrievable later | Promotion profile supporting materials |
| Curriculum development | Any course you designed, revised, or significantly contributed to building | Promotion profile — Teaching Area of Excellence |
Module 6 of 10
Research, resources & funding
Whether you are establishing your first independent research program or expanding a mature one, HMS and its affiliate network offer an unusually rich set of tools, infrastructure, and funding mechanisms. The challenge is not access — it is knowing what exists and when to use it.
This module is organized by where you are in your career, not by resource type. Use the filter below to surface what is most relevant to you right now — or open everything if you want the full picture.
Harvard Catalyst is one of the most valuable and underused resources available to HMS faculty. If you do research that involves humans, data, or the translation of basic science into clinical application, it almost certainly has something that can help you.
Harvard Catalyst is the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center, funded by the NIH to support clinical and translational research across Harvard and its 30+ affiliated institutions. It provides access to research consultants, biostatisticians, regulatory specialists, research participant recruitment infrastructure, pilot funding, and an extensive educational program — most of it free to HMS faculty.
Research consultations
Free consultations with experts in biostatistics, study design, regulatory strategy, informatics, and community engagement. Particularly valuable before you write a grant — not after you have submitted one.
Pilot funding
Harvard Catalyst offers competitive pilot grants for clinical and translational projects. These are well-suited for early-career faculty building preliminary data for larger federal applications.
Research participant recruitment
Access to recruitment networks, research volunteer registries, and support for building diverse research cohorts across HMS-affiliated hospitals.
Education and training
Workshops, short courses, and the Harvard Catalyst KL2 program for early-career faculty. The KL2 is one of the most competitive and valuable career development awards available to junior faculty at HMS.
Internal funding is not a consolation prize for faculty who haven’t won federal grants yet. It is the strategic foundation on which competitive federal applications are built — and the faculty who use it well move faster.
HMS and its affiliated institutions offer several internal funding mechanisms specifically designed to help early-career faculty generate pilot data, protect research time, and build the preliminary record that federal study sections expect to see. Using these mechanisms strategically — before applying for major federal grants — is the approach taken by most successful junior faculty at research-intensive institutions.
Career development
Pilot grants
Pilot grants
Career development
Affiliate funding
A funded research program is not just a collection of grants — it is a coherent scientific story told to multiple audiences simultaneously. Mid-career faculty who manage their portfolio strategically sustain their programs through funding gaps; those who don’t often face crises that feel sudden but were years in the making.
At HMS the most common mid-career funding challenge is the gap between a first R01 and a stable multi-grant portfolio. Federal funding cycles are long, study sections are unpredictable, and the administrative demands of a growing program compete directly with the time needed to write strong applications. The faculty who navigate this best treat grant writing as a continuous activity, not a periodic event.
Portfolio diversification
Reliance on a single federal grant leaves your program vulnerable to a single study section’s judgment. Consider parallel applications to NIH, NSF, disease foundations, and industry as appropriate to your field — your department administrator and research office can help identify options.
Renewal strategy
Begin planning your R01 renewal 18 months before the current grant ends, not 6. A renewal that arrives with strong preliminary data from the current grant period is significantly more competitive than one submitted at the last moment.
NIH program officer relationships
Contacting the program officer before submitting a major application is standard practice at research-intensive institutions. They can confirm fit, provide feedback on scope, and flag any concerns before review. Most early-career faculty are not aware this is expected, not presumptuous.
HMS Office for Research
The HMS Office for Research provides pre-award and post-award support including budget development, regulatory compliance, and grant submission. For large or complex applications, engaging their support early significantly reduces submission-day stress.
One of the most underappreciated advantages of being at HMS is access to shared research infrastructure that would be prohibitively expensive to replicate independently. Knowing what exists — and where — can shape your research design from the start.
HMS and its affiliate hospitals operate an extensive network of core facilities, shared research platforms, and data infrastructure. Access to many of these is available to all HMS faculty, though some require affiliate-specific credentialing or departmental arrangement. Your department administrator and research office are the best starting points for understanding what is available in your specific situation.
HMS Core Facilities
Genomics, proteomics, imaging, flow cytometry, bioinformatics, and more. Shared access reduces costs and provides expert technical support. See the HMS research website for the full directory.
Research Computing
High-performance computing resources through HMS Research Computing and Harvard’s FAS Research Computing (FASRC). Essential for large-scale data analysis, genomics, and computational research.
Clinical data & biobanks
Access to de-identified clinical data through affiliate hospital research data warehouses. Harvard Catalyst can facilitate connections to data platforms and biospecimen repositories across the HMS network.
Countway is not just a place to borrow books — it is a full-service research support infrastructure with specialists who can meaningfully improve the quality and efficiency of your scholarship.
The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine serves HMS, HSDM, and the T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Beyond its collections — one of the largest biomedical libraries in the world — Countway offers research consultation services, systematic review support, data management planning assistance, and publishing and open access guidance. Many faculty are unaware these services exist until they encounter a problem that one of them would have prevented.
Literature and systematic reviews
Research librarians specializing in systematic review methodology, comprehensive literature searches, and citation management. Essential support for grant applications and clinical research protocols.
Data management planning
NIH and NSF now require data management plans with most grant applications. Countway specialists can help you develop compliant plans and navigate data sharing requirements.
Publishing and open access
Guidance on journal selection, open access requirements (including NIH public access policy compliance), and the HMS open access policy for faculty publications.
Digital collections and history
Access to one of the premier historical collections in medicine. Relevant for medical humanities research, medical history, and archival projects.
Compliance is not the enemy of good research — it is the infrastructure that allows your research to be trusted, published, and funded. Getting it right from the start is far less costly than correcting it after the fact.
Research involving human subjects, animal models, biological agents, or radiation is subject to federal regulation and institutional oversight. At HMS and its affiliates, this oversight is coordinated through Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and biosafety committees. Requirements vary significantly by research type and affiliate institution.
Human subjects research (IRB)
Any research involving human subjects — including chart reviews, surveys, and biospecimen studies — requires IRB review. The relevant IRB depends on your primary institution. Complete your CITI training before submitting any protocol.
Animal research (IACUC)
All vertebrate animal research requires IACUC approval prior to initiation. Protocol submission, annual review, and facility access are coordinated through the HMS IACUC office.
Biosafety and select agents
Research involving recombinant DNA, infectious agents, or select agents requires Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) registration. Contact the HMS Biosafety Office before beginning this type of work.
Affiliate-specific requirements
If you conduct research at an affiliated hospital, that institution’s IRB or oversight committees may have jurisdiction in addition to or instead of HMS. Confirm with your department and research office before assuming HMS approval covers your affiliate site.
Module 7 of 10
Promotion & career advancement
Promotion at HMS is not something that happens to you — it is something you build toward, deliberately, over years. The faculty who navigate it most successfully are those who understand their track early, document their work consistently, and ask the right questions before they feel ready to submit.
This module begins by helping you identify which track applies to you. Everything that follows depends on that answer.
Before reading anything else in this module — do you know which promotion track applies to your appointment?
Affiliate-paid faculty
My salary is paid by an affiliated hospital (MGH, Brigham, BIDMC, Boston Children’s, Dana-Farber, or another HMS affiliate). Promotion is milestone-driven — I advance when my record demonstrates readiness, with no mandatory timeline.
HMS Quad faculty (Harvard-paid)
My salary is paid directly by Harvard University. I am on a tenure-track or tenure-line appointment. Promotion is time-driven — there are defined review periods and a tenure clock I need to understand from day one.
Affiliate-track faculty appointments span four ranks. Each represents a different stage of career development and carries different expectations for scholarly output, teaching contributions, and institutional service. Unlike the Quad track, there is no mandatory timeline between ranks — advancement happens when the record is ready.
Instructor
Entry-level appointment. Building a record of teaching, clinical work, or early research. No expectation of independent research funding at this stage.
EntryAssistant Professor
Established independent contributions in at least one Area of Excellence. Beginning to develop a scholarly identity recognized beyond your immediate department.
BuildingAssociate Professor
Sustained, nationally recognized contributions. Strong teaching record and evidence of mentoring the next generation of faculty. A robust HMS CV with documented impact.
EstablishedProfessor
International recognition in your field. Substantial record of education, scholarship, and service. Leadership roles within HMS or national professional organizations.
SeniorThe affiliate promotion process is initiated by the faculty member in consultation with their department chair. It is not something that happens automatically. Understanding the sequence of steps — and their typical timelines — allows you to plan backward from your target promotion date.
Conversation with department chair
Discuss readiness for promotion. Your chair will assess your record and advise on timing. This conversation should happen 12–18 months before you intend to submit.
Prepare your promotion profile
The promotion profile is the central document of your case. It includes your HMS CV, a personal statement, and supporting materials organized around your Areas of Excellence. Allow 3–6 months to prepare a strong profile.
Departmental review
Your department reviews your profile and votes on whether to forward your case to the HMS Committee on Appointments and Promotions. Your chair prepares a letter of support.
HMS committee review
The Committee on Appointments and Promotions reviews your full dossier, including external letters solicited on your behalf. This process typically takes several months.
Decision and appointment
You receive notification of the committee’s decision. Promotions are effective at the start of the next academic year. Allow 12–24 months from initiating the conversation with your chair to final decision.
The faculty who are most successful at promotion are those who build their record with promotion in mind from the start — not those who assemble the best possible case from whatever they happen to have done.
Affiliate-track promotion is evaluated across three Areas of Excellence: Investigation, Teaching, and Clinical Care. You do not need to be exceptional in all three — you need to demonstrate meaningful contribution in at least two, with depth in one. The single most common reason strong faculty are not promoted on their first submission is insufficient documentation, not insufficient achievement.
What reviewers actually evaluate
Quality and impact of your scholarly contributions, evidence of educational leadership and student outcomes, national recognition in your field, and the clarity of your personal statement in framing your overall contribution.
Common gaps in promotion cases
Undocumented teaching, mentoring relationships that aren’t named in the CV, clinical innovation that was never written up, and Significant Supporting Activities that happened but weren’t recorded anywhere.
Quad-track faculty appointments are governed by a tenure system with defined timelines at each rank. The tenure clock begins on your appointment start date. Understanding how much time you have at each rank — and what is expected before each review — is not optional background knowledge. It shapes every career decision you make.
Instructor
Typically 2–3 years. Building an independent research program, establishing a publication record, and beginning the grant application process. Reappointment review occurs before the clock expires.
Clock startsAssistant Professor
Typically up to 7 years total from first appointment (Instructor + Assistant). Independent research program, external funding, and a publication record that demonstrates originality and impact. Up-or-out review before the clock expires.
Time-limitedAssociate Professor (tenured)
Tenure granted. Sustained research program with continued external funding and national recognition. Leadership in research, education, and service.
TenuredProfessor (tenured)
International recognition. Substantial independent research contributions, significant mentoring of the next generation, and sustained scholarly leadership.
SeniorThe Quad promotion process is initiated by the institution, not the faculty member, when the tenure clock review period arrives. However, the preparation is entirely your responsibility — and the faculty who are most successful are those who treat every year as preparation for the review, not just the final year.
Reappointment review (Instructor → Assistant)
Formal review of your progress. Your department assesses your research trajectory, funding status, and teaching contributions. Successful reappointment is required to continue on the tenure track.
Tenure review preparation
Typically begins 2–3 years before the clock expires. Your department identifies external reviewers, solicits letters, and prepares the full dossier. You prepare your research statement, teaching portfolio, and HMS CV.
External review letters
Letters are solicited from senior scholars in your field who can evaluate the significance and independence of your contributions. You typically provide a suggested list; the department makes final selections.
HMS ad hoc committee review
A committee convened specifically to review your case evaluates the full dossier and external letters. The committee’s recommendation goes to the Dean.
Dean’s decision and Harvard Corporation approval
Tenure decisions at Harvard require approval by the President and Fellows (the Corporation). The full process from dossier submission to final decision typically takes 12–18 months.
Tenure review at HMS is an evaluation of independence and impact — whether you have established a research program that is distinctly yours, and whether the field would be measurably different without your contributions.
The central question in a Quad tenure case is independence: does the work you are presenting represent your own scientific vision, or does it primarily extend the vision of a former mentor? This is the question your external reviewers will be asked to address. The answer should be evident from your publication record, your funded grants, and the way you describe your research trajectory.
What the committee evaluates
Independence and originality of your research program, quality and impact of publications, external funding record (especially peer-reviewed federal funding), teaching and mentoring contributions, and national recognition in your field.
Where tenure cases are won or lost
External letter quality matters enormously. Letters from the most prominent scholars in your area carry more weight than many letters from less distinguished reviewers. Invest in relationships with senior figures in your field throughout your assistant professor years.
Module 8 of 10
Mid-career: sustaining & leading
The early years of a faculty career have a kind of forward momentum built in — new roles, new grants, new milestones to reach. Mid-career is different. The scaffolding of “getting started” is gone, the finish line isn’t visible yet, and the work of sustaining yourself through a long career becomes genuinely demanding.
This module is different from the others. It isn’t about completing tasks or meeting requirements. It’s about the questions that mid-career faculty most often find themselves asking — and the resources HMS offers to help answer them.
Which of these resonates with where you are right now? Select any that apply — the relevant sections will be highlighted below.
You can select more than one. The highlighting is just a guide — every section here is worth reading.
Burnout among academic physicians and scientists is not a personal failing — it is a predictable consequence of sustained high demand in environments that rarely build in recovery. Naming it honestly is the first step toward addressing it.
Studies consistently find that academic medical faculty experience burnout at rates significantly higher than the general workforce. The mid-career period is a particular inflection point: the early-career adrenaline has worn off, clinical and administrative demands have accumulated, and the identity anchors of “new faculty” no longer apply. Many faculty report that mid-career is when they first seriously question whether the path is sustainable.
HMS takes faculty well-being seriously as an institutional priority, reflected directly in the BEACON strategic plan’s emphasis on Belonging and Newfound Resilience. The resources below exist not as a safety net for crisis, but as ongoing infrastructure for sustaining a long career.
Harvard Ombuds Office
Strictly confidential, off-the-record guidance for faculty navigating difficult professional situations — including workload concerns, relationship difficulties, and institutional frustrations. Speaking with the Ombuds does not initiate any formal process. It is simply a space to think through a situation with an experienced, neutral party.
harvardombuds.harvard.edu →Harvard Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP)
Free, confidential counseling and support services for Harvard employees and their families. FSAP offers short-term counseling, referral services, and consultation for work-related concerns. Available to HMS faculty regardless of appointment type.
Harvard FSAP →HMS Well-being resources
The HMS Office for Well-being supports faculty, students, and staff through programming, peer support networks, and resources for building sustainable practices in academic medicine. Increasingly focused on systemic rather than individual solutions to burnout.
HMS well-being →Affiliate hospital employee assistance programs
If you are affiliate-paid, your hospital likely has its own employee assistance program with counseling, coaching, and crisis support services. Check with your affiliate HR office for what is available to faculty at your institution.
The Ombuds Office appears in the HMS navigation bar but is rarely explained anywhere in faculty orientation. Most faculty learn what it does only after something has already gone wrong. Understanding it now costs nothing and may matter more than any other resource on this page.
The Harvard Ombuds Office is an independent, confidential, neutral, and informal resource for all Harvard community members, including HMS faculty. An Ombudsperson is not an advocate for any party — not for you, not for the institution, not for the person you may be in conflict with. They are a neutral resource who helps you think through a situation, understand your options, and decide what, if anything, you want to do about it.
What the Ombuds can do
Listen without judgment, help you clarify your concerns and interests, explain how HMS processes work, identify options you may not have considered, facilitate informal resolution if all parties agree, and provide a space to think before you act.
What the Ombuds cannot do
Make formal decisions, mandate outcomes, serve as a witness in a formal proceeding, or take action on your behalf without your consent. The Ombuds does not keep records that can be subpoenaed or disclosed without your permission.
When to reach out
Before deciding whether to file a formal complaint. When you feel something is wrong but aren’t sure what to do. When a professional relationship has become difficult. When you want to understand your options without committing to a course of action.
Confidentiality
Conversations with the Ombuds are strictly confidential. No record of your contact is kept in any HR or institutional system. The Ombuds will not disclose that you contacted them, to anyone, without your consent. This is not a standard confidentiality disclaimer — it is the foundational operating principle of the office.
At some point in mid-career, the balance shifts: you are no longer primarily a mentee seeking guidance, and you are increasingly a mentor shaping someone else’s path. That transition is rarely marked by any formal moment — and many faculty navigate it without ever fully recognizing it has happened.
The transition from mentee to mentor is one of the most significant identity shifts in an academic career. It requires developing a new set of skills — active listening, giving honest feedback, navigating the power differential that exists in every mentoring relationship, and advocating for someone else’s success even when it competes with your own time and priorities.
What changes when you become the mentor
The goal shifts from your own development to enabling someone else’s. The most effective mentors stay genuinely curious about their mentees’ goals — which may differ significantly from the path the mentor took. Projecting your own trajectory onto a mentee is the most common mentoring error at this stage.
The skills mentoring requires
Asking more than telling. Giving feedback that is honest and specific, not just encouraging. Being available without creating dependency. Introducing mentees to colleagues who can help them, even when you cannot. Recognizing when a mentee needs something you can’t provide and helping them find it.
Maintaining your own mentors
Many mid-career faculty quietly lose touch with their own mentors as they become more established. This is a mistake. The mid-career period involves challenges — leadership transitions, career pivots, navigating institutional complexity — for which senior guidance remains genuinely valuable.
From mentoring to sponsorship
Mid-career is when you begin to have the institutional capital to sponsor, not just mentor: nominating someone for an award, including them in a grant, introducing them at a conference, advocating for their promotion. Sponsorship is the most powerful thing a mentor can do, and it requires deliberately using your own credibility on someone else’s behalf.
Leadership in academic medicine is rarely taught — it is expected to emerge from clinical and research excellence. The faculty who lead most effectively are those who seek out the skills explicitly rather than assuming expertise in one domain transfers to the other.
HMS and Harvard offer several formal leadership development programs specifically designed for mid-career faculty. These programs are well-regarded, heavily subscribed, and — for reasons that are difficult to explain — consistently underused by exactly the faculty who would benefit most from them. If you are thinking about committee leadership, administrative roles, or building a larger program, these are worth investing in before you need them.
HMS/HSDM Leadership Development Course for Physicians and Scientists
A structured program offered by the Office for Faculty Affairs specifically for HMS and HSDM faculty. Covers leadership principles, organizational dynamics, conflict resolution, and the skills needed to lead in academic medical environments. Offered annually with competitive admission.
Program details →Harvard Macy Institute Programs
Nationally recognized leadership and faculty development programs for health professions educators. The Program for Educators in Health Professions and the Program for Leading Innovations in Health and Education are particularly well-suited for faculty with significant educational leadership interests.
Harvard Macy Institute →Affiliate hospital leadership programs
Many HMS-affiliated hospitals offer their own leadership development programs for faculty and physician leaders. These are often more clinically focused and operationally grounded than HMS-side programs — and are frequently more accessible. Ask your affiliate HR or Faculty Affairs office what is available.
National programs (AAMC, specialty societies)
The AAMC and many specialty societies offer leadership fellowships, executive development programs, and early-career faculty development tracks. These are particularly valuable for building national networks alongside leadership skills. Your department can help identify which programs are most relevant to your field.
Committee service and administrative roles are where mid-career faculty shape the institution — and where careers are most easily derailed by taking on too much of the wrong things.
Mid-career is when institutions begin asking more of you: committee memberships, search committees, task forces, program leadership, administrative appointments. These requests feel like recognition, and many of them are. But they also represent a significant tax on the time and energy you need to sustain your research, teaching, and clinical work. The faculty who navigate this most successfully are those who are deliberate about which roles they accept and why.
Questions to ask before saying yes
What is the actual time commitment per month? Does this role align with where I want my career to go? Will this be visible to promotion committees and external reviewers? Is there a defined end date? What happens if I need to step down?
Roles worth considering
Faculty Council, promotion committee service, search committee membership, and curriculum committees all have direct lines to institutional influence and are visible in promotion cases. They also tend to be better scoped than ad hoc task forces or administrative support roles.
Protecting your primary work
No committee role compensates for a stalled research program or neglected teaching. Before accepting any significant administrative role, clarify with your department chair how it will interact with your other obligations — and what support, if any, comes with it.
The equity dimension
Research consistently shows that faculty from underrepresented groups are asked to serve on diversity-related committees and task forces at disproportionately high rates. If you are experiencing this pattern, it is reasonable to name it with your department chair and set limits on service that is not advancing your career.
Changing direction in mid-career is not failure — it is often the most intellectually honest response to what you have learned about yourself and your work over the preceding decade. The challenge is making the transition deliberately rather than by drift.
Mid-career pivots are more common than they appear from the outside. Faculty move from bench to clinical research, from research to educational leadership, from academic medicine to policy or industry, from clinical practice toward basic science, or from one subspecialty to another. What distinguishes the pivots that work from those that don’t is almost always the degree of intentionality: whether the transition was planned and communicated, or whether it happened by default.
Bench to clinical or translational research
Common at mid-career as faculty develop clinical questions that basic models can’t address. Harvard Catalyst is specifically designed to support this transition, including pilot funding and study design consultation for faculty moving into human subjects research for the first time.
Research to educational leadership
A shift toward curriculum development, medical education scholarship, or program leadership. Requires building a new scholarly identity in education research — publishing in education journals, engaging with medical education societies, and developing a promotion case that foregrounds teaching rather than investigation.
Toward administrative or institutional leadership
Moving into division chief, department chair, dean’s office, or hospital leadership roles. The most common mistake is underestimating how completely this reframes your career identity. Seeking out formal leadership development and a mentor who has made a similar transition is essential groundwork.
Module 9 of 10
Shaping HMS: community, service & belonging
Every faculty member who teaches a student, mentors a trainee, serves on a committee, or shows up for a colleague is contributing to the culture of this institution — whether or not they think of it that way. This module is about doing that intentionally.
HMS is shaped by its faculty more than by any policy or program. The community you experience here is largely the one that faculty before you built. This module is an invitation to think about what you want to contribute to the community that the faculty who come after you will inherit.
Where do you want to contribute? Select what interests you.
Governance & faculty voice
Faculty Council, committees, institutional policy
Teaching beyond HMS
K–12, college pipeline, and public outreach
Belonging & inclusion
Better Together, affinity communities, outreach programs
Arts & humanities
Creative expression and the humanities in medicine
Mentoring & student support
Formal mentoring programs, student advising
Community research & outreach
Community-engaged research, public health initiatives
9.1
The Better Together Plan
BelongingBelonging at HMS is not a passive state that the institution grants — it is something that faculty, staff, and students build together through deliberate choices about how we work, teach, and treat one another.
The HMS Better Together plan is the institution’s framework for building a community where every member can contribute fully and feel genuinely included. It is organized around four commitments: creating a welcoming environment, building inclusive excellence in research and education, advancing community partnerships, and supporting the well-being of all community members.
For faculty, Better Together is not primarily a set of programs to attend — it is a call to examine everyday choices: how you structure your lab or team, who you invite to collaborate, how you mentor across difference, and whether the norms of your local culture reflect the broader community values HMS aspires to.
Faculty working groups
HMS convenes faculty-led working groups on specific dimensions of community and inclusion. These are open to faculty who want to move from observing institutional challenges to actively working on them.
Affinity communities
Faculty affinity communities at HMS and across affiliates provide peer connection, shared advocacy, and programming for faculty from specific backgrounds and communities. Contact the Office for Diversity, Inclusion & Community Partnership for current groups.
9.2
Faculty Council & Committee Participation
GovernanceFaculty governance at HMS is not ceremonial. The committees and councils that faculty serve on shape curriculum, promotion criteria, appointment standards, and institutional policy — and they are only as effective as the faculty who show up for them.
HMS Faculty Council is the primary representative body for all Faculty of Medicine appointees. It advises the Dean on matters of faculty policy, educational standards, and institutional direction. Council membership is a meaningful form of institutional participation — and, as a Significant Supporting Activity, it is visible in promotion cases.
The Faculty Council meets regularly throughout the academic year. All Faculty of Medicine appointees are eligible to attend open sessions. Elected representatives serve defined terms and participate in standing committees on education, research policy, faculty affairs, and institutional governance.
If you are interested in serving as an elected representative, speak with your department chair or contact the Faculty Council office directly. Elections are held annually, and candidacy does not require prior committee experience.
HMS committee opportunities include: curriculum and educational policy committees, appointments and promotions committees, search committees for faculty and leadership positions, research ethics and oversight committees, and ad hoc working groups convened by the Dean’s office on specific institutional questions.
Most committee appointments are made through departments or the Dean’s office. Expressing interest to your department chair is the most direct path. Some committees, particularly those focused on educational policy, also accept self-nominations or expressions of interest submitted directly to the relevant office.
9.3
Pipeline Teaching & Public Education
OutreachOne of the most direct ways a faculty member shapes who enters medicine and science is by teaching young people who have not yet decided whether a career in these fields is possible for them.
HMS faculty have a long tradition of teaching in K–12 schools, community colleges, and pre-college programs across Greater Boston — not as an institutional obligation, but as a reflection of a genuine commitment to expanding who gets to participate in medicine and science. These programs range from single-session classroom visits to sustained curriculum partnerships, and they are designed to be accessible to faculty with modest time available.
K–12 classroom and school programs
HMS faculty volunteers visit schools across Greater Boston to share their work and their paths. Programs are coordinated through the HMS Office for Diversity, Inclusion & Community Partnership and can be as simple as a single 45-minute session.
Summer and pre-college programs
HMS hosts summer research programs and pre-college experiences for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Faculty can contribute as mentors, guest lecturers, or research hosts for short-term student placements.
Community college partnerships
Partnerships with area community colleges give faculty a pathway to teach or guest lecture for students who are on pathways toward healthcare or research careers and who may have limited exposure to academic medicine.
Science communication and public engagement
Faculty who write for general audiences, speak publicly, or engage with media about their research are shaping public understanding of medicine and science. HMS communications offices can support faculty who want to develop this dimension of their work.
9.4
Community-Engaged Scholarship
ResearchResearch done with communities rather than on them produces different questions, stronger methods, and findings that are more likely to be used. It also reflects a set of values about whose knowledge counts and who benefits from academic work.
Community-engaged scholarship spans a wide range of research approaches — from community-based participatory research and patient-engaged clinical trials to health equity research, neighborhood-level epidemiology, and public health partnership programs. What these approaches share is an orientation toward the communities most affected by health inequities as genuine partners in the research process, not just as subjects.
Harvard Catalyst community engagement support
Harvard Catalyst has a dedicated Community Engagement program that connects faculty with community partners, provides consultation on community-engaged research design, and supports the development of research that is relevant and accessible to affected communities.
HMS community partnerships
HMS maintains formal relationships with community health centers, neighborhood organizations, and public health agencies across the Boston area. These partnerships are pathways for faculty who want to ground their research in community priorities and community knowledge.
9.5
Arts & Humanities at HMS
CultureMedicine is a human practice before it is a technical one, and HMS takes seriously the idea that literature, art, music, and the humanities are not decoration around the edges of medical education — they are central to it.
The Program in Medical Education at HMS has long incorporated arts and humanities into the curriculum, and a community of faculty, students, and staff at HMS practice, teach, and research at the intersection of medicine and the arts. This community is informal and welcoming — faculty do not need a formal appointment in medical humanities to participate.
Medical humanities programming
HMS hosts lectures, readings, gallery exhibitions, and performances throughout the academic year at the intersection of medicine and the arts. These events are open to all HMS faculty and do not require any affiliation with the medical humanities program.
Contributing as a faculty practitioner
Faculty who practice an art form — as writers, musicians, visual artists, or performers — have contributed to HMS programming, student publications, and community events. Contact the HMS Office for Educational Programs if you are interested in contributing your practice to the community.
Narrative medicine and reflective practice
Faculty interested in narrative approaches to medical education and patient care will find a receptive community at HMS. The intersection of storytelling, clinical practice, and medical education is an active area of scholarly interest with a dedicated community of faculty practitioners.
Countway Library special collections
Countway’s Center for the History of Medicine holds one of the premier collections of medical history, rare books, and archival materials in the world. Faculty in history, medical humanities, and related fields can access these collections for research and teaching.
Module 10 of 10
Retirement & transitions
A career at HMS can span thirty, forty, or fifty years. How it ends — and how that ending transitions into what comes next — matters as much as how it begins. This module exists to make that transition visible from the start, and navigable when the time comes.
Whether you are reading this as a new faculty member encountering this page for the first time, or as someone actively planning a transition, the goal is the same: to help you make this passage on your own terms, with full awareness of your options.
If you are early in your career
This module is meant to signal something: HMS thinks about the whole arc of your career, not just its beginning. You don’t need to engage with this content deeply right now — but knowing that these pathways exist is itself useful. Bookmark it and return when the time is right.
If you are approaching or planning a transition
The most important thing to know is to start early. Phased retirement, emeritus appointments, and benefits transitions all have lead times that reward planning. The Office for Faculty Affairs is your first contact — and the earlier you reach out, the more options remain available to you.
Typical transition planning timeline
Begin exploring options and talking with OFA
Initiate phased retirement discussions if applicable
Confirm emeritus eligibility and begin application process
Finalize benefits, retirement accounts, and Medicare coordination
Transition — and what comes next
These are illustrative lead times, not requirements. Your specific situation — appointment type, payroll source, and institutional role — will shape the right timeline. The Office for Faculty Affairs can help you map out what applies to you.
10.1
Phased Retirement Options
PlanningRetirement at HMS does not have to be a single moment. Phased retirement allows faculty to reduce their responsibilities gradually, on a timeline that reflects their circumstances rather than an arbitrary date.
Harvard University offers phased retirement arrangements for eligible faculty that allow a gradual reduction in effort and compensation over a defined period, while maintaining benefits and institutional affiliation. The structure of a phased arrangement — how long it runs, what activities it covers, how compensation is adjusted — is negotiated between the faculty member, their department, and the relevant administrative offices.
For affiliate-paid faculty, phased retirement arrangements are negotiated with the affiliate hospital, not with Harvard directly. The terms available to you will depend on your hospital’s faculty policies. Contact your affiliate hospital’s Faculty Affairs or HR office alongside OFA to understand both sets of options.
Harvard’s phased retirement program for tenured faculty allows for a reduction of effort to 50% over a period negotiated with the Provost’s office and the Dean. During the phased period, faculty typically maintain health benefits and continue to accrue retirement benefits on a pro-rated basis. Full retirement follows at the agreed end date.
Eligibility typically requires a minimum age and years of service. Contact the Office for Faculty Affairs well in advance — ideally three to five years before your intended transition — to understand your eligibility and initiate the process.
Phased retirement for affiliate-paid faculty is governed by your affiliate hospital’s policies, which vary across institutions. Most HMS-affiliated hospitals have developed faculty retirement transition programs in recent years, though the specific terms differ. Begin by contacting your affiliate hospital’s Faculty Affairs office.
Even if your salary and retirement benefits are managed by your affiliate, your HMS appointment status — and any transition to emeritus status — is handled through OFA. These two processes run in parallel and need to be coordinated.
10.2
Emeritus Appointment
ProcessAn emeritus appointment is not a farewell — it is a recognition of sustained contribution and a continuation of your relationship with HMS in a different form. For many faculty it is one of the most meaningful appointments of their career.
The title of Professor Emeritus (or the equivalent at other ranks) is conferred upon eligible faculty who retire in good standing after a significant career at HMS. It is an honorary appointment that carries real privileges: continued access to library resources, email, and in many cases office space and laboratory affiliation, depending on departmental arrangements.
10.3
Benefits Continuation & Medicare
BenefitsThe financial and benefits dimensions of retirement require careful planning and coordination across multiple systems. Starting this process late is one of the most common and most avoidable sources of stress in the transition.
What happens to your benefits at retirement depends on your payroll source, your age at retirement, your years of service, and whether you are eligible for Medicare. For Harvard-paid faculty the primary contact is Harvard Benefits; for affiliate-paid faculty it is your hospital’s HR office. In many cases both need to be engaged, and the timelines for each process do not always align neatly.
Health insurance
Eligible retirees may continue Harvard or affiliate health coverage, often at different premium rates than active employees. Medicare eligibility at 65 changes the calculus significantly — coordinate enrollment carefully to avoid gaps or penalties.
May continueMedicare coordination
If you are enrolled in Harvard or affiliate health coverage at age 65, you must enroll in Medicare Part A and Part B to maintain your institutional coverage without penalty. The coordination of benefits between Medicare and your institutional plan requires action on your part — it is not automatic.
Action requiredRetirement accounts (403b / TIAA / Fidelity)
Your retirement savings are held in accounts that you manage independently of your employment status. Distributions, required minimum distributions (RMDs), and beneficiary designations all require your attention at retirement. Contact your plan administrator directly for guidance.
Your managementDental and vision coverage
Continuation of dental and vision benefits varies by plan and institution. Confirm the terms of your specific plan before retiring — do not assume continuation.
Varies by planLife insurance
Employer-provided life insurance typically ends at retirement. Conversion to individual coverage may be available within a limited window. Review your policy terms well before your retirement date.
Typically endsLibrary and digital access
Emeritus faculty typically retain access to HMS library resources and databases. Your HarvardKey and associated digital access may be maintained on a reduced basis. Confirm the specific terms with your department and OFA.
Typically continues10.4
Legacy & Giving
LegacyA career at HMS is built on the contributions of those who came before — the endowed professorships, named lectureships, student fellowships, and research funds that earlier faculty created. Legacy giving is how the next generation of faculty inherits the same foundation.
Many faculty approaching retirement find that philanthropy is one of the most meaningful ways to extend the impact of their career beyond their active years. Gifts to HMS can be structured in many ways — from outright donations to planned giving arrangements that provide income during life and a gift to HMS at death. The range of options is wider than most faculty expect, and the Harvard Medical School Development Office can work with you to find an approach that aligns with your goals and your financial situation.
Named funds and endowments
Gifts at a certain threshold can establish a named fund — a student scholarship, a research award, a lecture series, or a faculty development fund — that carries your name and supports your priorities in perpetuity.
Minimum thresholds for named endowments vary. The Development Office can advise on current requirements and how gifts can be structured to reach endowment level over time.
Planned and estate giving
Bequests, charitable remainder trusts, and other planned giving instruments allow faculty to make significant gifts to HMS while managing the financial implications thoughtfully. These arrangements can provide income during life and a meaningful gift to HMS at death.
Planned giving arrangements do not require large liquid assets. The Development Office can work with your financial advisor to structure an approach appropriate to your circumstances.
Supporting students and trainees
Many faculty choose to endow scholarships, fellowship awards, or research stipends that support the next generation of students and trainees — often in areas that reflect their own research or educational legacy.
Gifts can be directed to specific programs, departments, or student populations. The Development Office can help you identify the right vehicle for your intentions.
Supporting research and discovery
Gifts directed to research funds, laboratory infrastructure, or pilot grant programs allow faculty to extend the scientific agenda they built during their active career beyond their years of active work.
Department-level gifts can be targeted to your specific research area or to the department’s broader research mission as you see fit.
10.5
Staying Connected After Retirement
EngagementRetirement from a faculty position does not have to mean retirement from the institution, from the field, or from the relationships that have defined a career. The faculty who find most satisfaction in this transition are those who approach it as a change in form, not an ending.
HMS offers several formal and informal pathways for retired faculty to remain connected — as mentors, advisors, educators, and community members. What is available depends significantly on your department, your appointment, and the relationships you have built, but the range of options is broader than most faculty realize before they begin the transition.
Mentoring and advising
Emeritus faculty are among the most sought-after mentors in academic medicine — they bring perspective, network, and the freedom to give advice that active faculty sometimes cannot. Formal mentoring programs at HMS welcome emeritus faculty participation. Many retired faculty find that mentoring becomes one of the most rewarding dimensions of their post-retirement identity.
Teaching and lecturing
Emeritus faculty can continue to teach in HMS programs — delivering guest lectures, facilitating small groups, or contributing to nano-courses — on a schedule that reflects their availability. Some departments formally maintain emeritus faculty in teaching roles with modest compensation. Others do so informally and voluntarily. Discuss your interest with your department chair before or shortly after retirement.
Advisory and committee roles
Retired faculty with deep institutional or scientific expertise are valued members of advisory boards, curriculum committees, and strategic planning groups. These roles can be scoped to the time you want to invest and often represent some of the most meaningful institutional contributions of a career precisely because they are made from a position of experience and independence.
Research and scholarship
Emeritus faculty with active research interests can continue to participate in research programs, collaborations, and scholarly writing. Library access, digital resources, and in many cases laboratory affiliation are maintained through emeritus status. Some faculty find that retirement actually frees up the uninterrupted time their scholarly work always needed.
The end of a career is also a kind of beginning.
Whatever stage you are at in your HMS career — first appointment, mid-career, or approaching transition — the Office for Faculty Affairs is here to support you through it. There is no question too early, no situation too complicated, and no transition too far off to begin thinking about.