Faculty Sabbatical and Leave Information

LAST UPDATED: October 30, 2025

Below are common types of leaves for ladder and non-ladder faculty. Please take note of which populations are eligible for the type of leave.

IMPORTANT NOTE: For all types of leaves, you must contact the Academic Personnel Officer as soon as possible. Leaves take a long time to be approved, so please prepare to notify the Department at least three (3) quarters in advance. The Dean’s Office will no longer be approving retroactive leaves and leave approval can take many months, so the sooner we can begin the paperwork, the better.

As always, for any questions, please contact the Academic Personnel Officer at RCAPO@humnet.ucla.edu.

SABBATICALS
FOR SENATE FACULTY ONLY

Sabbatical leaves are granted to faculty members to maintain and improve teaching skills and scholarly ability and proficiency by engaging in periodic and intensive programs of research and study. These leaves require Dean’s Office approval and the length will be determined by how many sabbatical credits the faculty member has acquired. A sabbatical credit is received for every quarter a faculty member is in service, meaning a full year of service will equate to 3 sabbatical credits. There is a 30-credit limit per faculty member and exceeding this limit will require justification and Dean’s Office approval.

Sabbatical Credits
A quarter of sabbatical leave at full pay will require 9 sabbatical credits. If you would like to take 2 or 3 quarters of leave, it would cost 18 and 24 credits, respectively. If you would like to take a quarter of sabbatical leave but do not have enough credits, you can choose to take your leave at reduced pay. A quarter of leave at 67% of your salary would cost 6 credits. Other lengths of sabbaticals at different salaries can be viewed via Appendix 24: https://apo.ucla.edu/policies-forms/the-call/appendices/appendix-24-sabbatical-leaves.

If you would like to inquire about your current sabbatical balance, contact the Academic Personnel Officer at RCAPO@humnet.ucla.edu.

Applying for Sabbatical
During Winter Quarter of the previous academic year you plan to take a sabbatical, faculty members will submit their teaching preferences, including their plan to take a sabbatical, to department leadership (an email will be sent to faculty around January). Once plans have been confirmed by the Department Chair and Vice Chair of Undergraduate Studies, the Academic Personnel Officer will reach out to each faculty member individually with a leave form to complete.

When completing the leave form, please take note of the following items:

  • Section A: When describing your reason for leave, please make sure to include as many details as possible. This includes what research you are conducting and if you plan on traveling. If you do not plan on traveling, simply state you have no plans to travel. If you plan on traveling for talks, conferences, etc., include the name, location, and date of each event. If you will simply be conducing your research outside of Los Angeles, note this as well.
      • Good Example: “Will be completing research for my next book on the local economic effects of gentrification in central Los Angeles. My research will include interviews with local business owners, attending meetings with city councils, and analyzing impacts of traffic patterns before and after localized areas are modernized and gentrified. I will also be attending a conference at XXX University from X/X/XX to X/X/XX.”
      • Poor Example: “Need focused time to gather my research for work on my next book to be published in Fall 2026.”
  • Section A4: Disposition of University Work on Leave:
      • Please indicate “Department to absorb all tasks” along with any work you plan on conducting during sabbatical, such as continuing to advise graduate students.
  • Section D: Please make sure to check all boxes and sign with your digital signature.

SHORT TERM LEAVE

Sick Bank
Effective January 1, 2025: Eligible faculty will receive a sick leave bank of 6 days per calendar year. This includes all ladder faculty, lecturers, and adjuncts. This does NOT include recall faculty.

  • Part time faculty will receive the same number of days and will be paid at the appointment % they have at the time the leave is taken.
  • Please note that the paid sick leave bank does NOT accrue or carry over to the next calendar year. The bank will expire at the end of the calendar year (December 31) or when the appointment ends.
  • Unused sick leave balances will not be paid out at the time of separation. However, they may be converted to UC Retirement Program service credits at retirement.
  • If an appointee is separated and then reemployed within the same year, all unused paid sick leave will be reinstated.

The 6 days provided are considered protected paid sick leave. This prohibits any form of retaliation or discrimination against an employee for using these protected paid sick leave days. While paid sick leave may be used for a number of reasons, not all reasons are protected.

The sick leave days can be used for:

  • *Diagnosis, care, treatment of an existing physical or mental health condition (of the appointee or appointee’s family member)
  • *Preventative care for appointee or appointee’s family member
  • *Reasons specified in policy for an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking
  • Childbearing and childrearing
  • Disability
  • Family and Medical Leaves
  • Workers Compensation to supplement payments up to their comp rate
  • Bereavement Leave
  • Reproductive Loss Leave

*Indicates protected leave

When reporting sick leaves, they must be taken in full-day increments or increments no less than the portion of the day they are scheduled to work for.

      • Example: An employee at 100% will report 8 hours of sick leave while an employee at 50% will report 4 hours of sick leave.

To report sick leave, please email your Department Chair and CC the Chief Administrative Officer/CAO. The CAO will help determine if work will be missed and if sick leave must be used. Faculty members will be sent a form to complete. There is currently no form for Unit 18 lecturers.

FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE (FMLA)

An academic employee is eligible for FMLA if the employee has worked for UC (on payroll status) for at least 12 months, and has worked at least 1,250 actual hours in the 12 months immediately prior to the beginning date of leave. FMLA provides up to twelve (12) workweeks unpaid leave in a “leave year” for the following reasons:

  • An employee’s own serious health condition; or
  • The birth of a child, or care of a newborn, newly adopted child, or a new foster care placement; or
  • The care of a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition.

Please note that FMLA is specifically for job protection during a leave and is unpaid.

PAID MEDICAL LEAVE

For Senate Faculty: Please refer to APM 710: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-710.pdf.

  • APM 710 can provide up to 24 weeks of paid leave for personal illness (less than 10 years of UC service), or up to 36 weeks (10 years or more UC service).
  • You must have a full-time appointment for at least a full academic year.
  • Please note that the number of weeks is for a 10-year period. For example, if you enter the university as an Assistant Professor, you will automatically have 24 weeks of paid leave covered by APM 710 for the next 10 years. Once the 10 years have passed, your clock will reset and you will start the next year with 36 weeks for you to use in the upcoming 10 years.

For Unit 18: Please refer to Article 12: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/wp-content/uploads/labor/bargaining-units/ix/docs/ix_12_leaves_2021-2026.pdf.

  • Article 12 provides up to 22 weeks of paid leave for personal illness (less than 10 years of UC service), or up to 36 weeks (10 years or more UC service).
      • The 22 weeks is meant to be used throughout a 10-year period. Once you have passed the 10 years, your clock will reset and you will start a new 10-year period with 36 weeks of leave available.
      • If you end your appointment and are rehired within the 10-year period, your leave amount will be reinstated. You will not receive a new allocation.
  • You must have an average of at least a 66% appointment for at least two full academic years

MATERNITY/PATERNITY LEAVE
(conditions will be slightly different)

For Senate Faculty, Maternity Leave is covered under APM 760: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-760.pdf.

  • APM 760 will cover up to 8 weeks of paid leave for pregnancy disability. If your doctor recommends a longer recovery exceeding 8 weeks, the remaining time may be covered by APM 710.
    • Note: Any remaining days left in your Sick Leaves Bank will run concurrent to your leave (i.e., if you have all 6 days of your bank remaining, they will be used as the first 6 days of your maternity leave).
  • Please note that you will need to provide a doctor’s note requesting your leave due to pregnancy and the note MUST specify the begin and end date of your leave.
  • Once the 8 weeks have passed, you can either be eligible for Pay for Family Care and Bonding (PFCB) or Active Service-Modified Duties (ASMD).
    • PFCB: You are eligible up to 8 weeks of paid leave. Similar to medical or maternity leave, this is a release from all duties during this time.
    • Spouses and partners of the birthing parents are also eligible for 8 weeks of Child Bonding Leave to bond with their child after the child’s birth or with a child newly placed with the appointee for adoption or foster care, provided the leave is taken within one (1) year of the child’s birth or placement with the appointee. If you opt for this option, please make sure that your doctor’s note includes the begin and end date for child bonding as well as the begin and end date for maternity leave.
    • ASMD (APM 760-28): For those who have their child during the academic year, you will be eligible for 2 quarters of ASMD. For those who have their child during the summer where they are not active, you will be eligible for 3 quarters of ASMD. ASMD is the written agreement between you and the Department Chair to release you from all teaching duties for the next few quarters once you have returned from maternity leave. You and the Department Chair will need to discuss what duties you will continue to hold during ASMD, and you will need to specify that you are responsible for at least 50% of the care for your child. During ASMD, you will continue to accrue sabbatical credit, as you will be considered in service.
      • Note: If the child is born in the summer and the faculty does not require a leave during the academic year, they will be eligible for 3 quarters of ASMD upon return.

For Unit 18, please refer to Article 12: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/wp-content/uploads/labor/bargaining-units/ix/docs/ix_12_leaves_2021-2026.pdf.

  • You are eligible up to 8 weeks of approved base salary. You must have at least 12 consecutive months of UC service.
  • Once the 8 weeks have passed, you will be eligible for 4 weeks of paid leave for child bonding.
  • Spouses and partners of the birthing parents are also eligible for 4 weeks of Child Bonding Leave to bond with their child after the child’s birth or with a child newly placed with the appointee for adoption or foster care, provided the leave is taken within one (1) year of the child’s birth or placement with the appointee.
  • Please note that if your doctor advises that you will need longer than 8 weeks of leave for your pregnancy, you may apply for disability leave for up to 4 months. Please note that this type of leave is not paid through the UC, but separately through the Disability Leave program. If your leave needs to extend beyond the 4 months of disability allotment, you may be eligible to tap into your 22 (or 36, if more than 10 years of UC service) weeks of Paid Medical leave. (Contact the Academic Personnel Officer for more information.)
  • Please note that you will need to provide a doctor’s note requesting your leave due to pregnancy and the note MUST specify the begin and end date of your leave.
    • The begin and end dates are for pregnancy leave only and should not include the 4 weeks of child bonding leave.

OTHER LEAVES

The leaves above constitute the most common leaves for faculty. Other leaves include:

  • Bereavement Leave
  • Work-Incurred Illness & Injury Leave
  • Personal Leave (Uncommon)
      • Education and professional development which will directly increase job effectiveness
      • Outside work that is in the interest of public service

For more information about these options, contact the Academic Personnel Officer with as much advanced notice as possible.