Research sabbatical leave is a continuous period of release from normal academic duties in order to advance the pursuit of scholarship and research in the University. It leads to the development of individuals, research teams, institutes and centres and to the production of outputs and large grant applications of significant benefit to the University.

Staff who have been allocated a period of sabbatical leave will be relieved of teaching and other administrative duties for the duration of their sabbatical.

Sabbatical leave normally runs for a period of six months, either from 1 August to 31 January or from 1 February to 31 July, or exceptionally over 12 months. Shorter research leave arrangements can be agreed at the discretion of the Head of Department. Please note that applications of 12 months will only be considered for sabbaticals starting in August.

The scheme is open to academic staff (lecturers, senior lecturers, readers, professors) who are on permanent contracts and have three years of continuous service at the sabbatical's start date. The qualifying period of eligibility should normally begin after the completion of probation, and eligibility is counted from the proposed start of the sabbatical leave, not from the time of application.

Entitlement to sabbatical leave is not automatic but is based on the merits of the proposal and the strategic needs of the University, Faculty and Department.

Up to 25 awards of six month leave periods are available each academic year. If there are no applications of sufficient quality in a particular Faculty or School, no sabbatical will be awarded.

Before you apply

Please ensure you have discussed your intention to submit with your Head of Department/Division well in advance of the deadline. Please consult your Head of Department to determine your Departmental submission deadline.

If applying for a Sabbatical in alignment with one of the University of Bath research institutes, please ensure you have discussed the proposed sabbatical with the relevant Institute Director(s) before submitting your application to the scheme. You will be required to confirm that the Institute Director(s) have agreed that the sabbatical will be of benefit to the Institute, and that any resource implications have been agreed.

Making an application

To apply, you must complete the research sabbatical application form.

Once you have completed the application, please send it to your Head of Department/Division who will review the application. Applications that are supported by the Head of Department will be then sent to the Dean for comment, before being submitted to the Sabbatical Committee. The final deadline for the Dean to submit is 31 January 2025.

Things to consider when applying

This scheme represents an investment by the University and the Department, and applicants should be able to demonstrate how the proposed outcomes of the research activities benefit the University, Faculty/School and Department. This should be discussed with the Head of Department/Division prior to submission.

Please note that there will not be any additional priority of weighting given to institute aligned sabbaticals over other sabbaticals, therefore if applying in affiliation with an institute, please ensure you set out a strategic case for why the sabbatical will advance the pursuit of research and be strategically aligned to your Department, Faculty/School and the Institution.

Please confirm that taking this sabbatical does not result in a breach of funding rules for existing research grants on which you are a named investigator and that if you intend to make research grant applications before the end of the sabbatical, the sabbatical does not compromise your eligibility.

If you are proposing to travel during the leave period, you will be expected to indicate if these visits have been agreed by the organisations that are intended to be visited. Where travel has been planned, please also ensure you have confirmed funding arrangements, for example, from your K account, external funding sources, or through discussing with your Head of Department about what your options may be.

Exemplar outputs from a sabbatical

• Writing or developing applications to major funding initiatives or fellowships
• Authoring or co-authoring high-quality research outputs, such as papers, manuscripts, books, policy briefs and so on
• Building new academic relationships or enhancing established academic networks with the intention of working together
• Developing international collaborations and instigating new research avenues
• Developing non-academic collaborations
• Developing the potential impact of your research, which could include gathering or synthesising evidence and data to support impact case studies, engagement with policymakers, businesses, civil society organisations, or through delivering pilot projects or hypotheses

Please note that planned outputs and outcomes from the sabbatical leave should be defined and measurable. All research outputs and outcomes are expected to be of high quality and should be realistic. You should identify any risks that may prevent you from achieving your plans and propose how these risks will be mitigated.

Enquiries

Queries relating to the proposed work, or strategic fit of the sabbatical should be directed to your Head of Department or Associate Dean Research in the first instance.

Queries about the sabbatical process should be directed to: vco-sabbatical@bath.ac.uk

After you apply

The Sabbatical Committee will meet within a month of the closing date and their decisions will be ratified by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise).

If successful, you will be expected to submit a sabbatical report within six months of the end of your sabbatical. Download the end of sabbatical report form.

Data retention

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion related data on applications and on approved sabbaticals will be collected at the decision-making stage and used for reporting purposes
• Application forms will be kept on record for six years, after which they will be destroyed
• Post-sabbatical report forms will be kept for 10 years after the sabbatical has taken place

If you have any concerns about your data being kept, please contact vco-sabbatical@bath.ac.uk