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How do sabbaticals work?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

How do sabbaticals realistically work? It seems like almost everyone goes to visit another institution for a long time, but I don’t see how that’s feasible if you’ve got young children, or a spouse or partner with location-specific work, or elderly family to take care of. I also do not understand if these visits are typically like “official” visiting positions or something less formal. When I have asked about this, I feel like I do not get the kind of detailed answers that would be helpful for planning.

Good question. I've had one sabbatical, and although I would have liked to visit another institution, that was out of the picture for me for the kinds of reasons the OP mentions. At my university, one has to submit a detailed sabbatical application on the project(s) one plans to complete, and then document what one has done after the sabbatical is over. But that's about all I have to offer!

Do other readers have any helpful insights on sabbaticals, including visiting other institutions?

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5 responses to “How do sabbaticals work?”

  1. Jamin

    Sabbaticals are just as variable as everything else in the profession. How they work depends on the particulars of the department and institution. Differences could include how often you receive them (e.g., after 3 years, or 6 years), how long they last (e.g., a semester, or a full year), how salary works (e.g., full pay, half pay). Sometimes sabbaticals are used in conjunction with external grants. Visiting positions at departments are also just as variable. Just reach out to the department in question and see what options are available.
    When I took a sabbatical, I had to formally apply and give a (not that detailed) proposal for how I would use the time. I had planned to spend a good chunk of the sabbatical on the road (but not connected to any particular institution), but then COVID hit so I just spent it at home. It was time to just focus on research. My colleagues typically traveled more than usual during their sabbaticals, but were not usually formallly tied to any particular institution.

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  2. New to this

    I think there are two kinds of situations. At my institution (R1) the university gives you a set amount of time off for sabbatical (e.g. one quarter) and there are no strings attached. If you want to extend it you need to find money (as always!). (You can also take more time, but it would be unpaid.) So you might look for an external fellowship. Some of these have “residency” requirements, which means you have to be there for most or all of the time. That’s one scenario in which someone might be ‘visiting’ at another institution: they are being funded by a fellowship with a residency requirement. Others don’t have these requirements (they are usually ‘big’ and competitive fellowships though, like the NEH).
    In another type of scenario faculty will visit other institutions not because of a residency requirement attached to a fellowship but simply because they have been granted leave from their institution, no strings attached, and want to visit elsewhere. I have no idea how that works but imagine it’s a matter of talking to the chair of the relevant department and getting a visitor status for the time you’ll be there (so you get access to the library etc). Basically the same way that graduate students sometimes visit other institutions when their funding isn’t tied to in-person teaching.
    I will add that I am like the OP and spent my sabbatical without going anywhere. My institution gave me a small amount of time off with no strings attached, and I applied for a residential fellowship at my own institution, which is reserved for internal faculty, and was lucky to get it. But not every institution will have this kind of program.

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  3. Mike Titelbaum

    There are some things to say about the internal process of applying for a sabbatical within your own institution, but that doesn’t seem like what the OP is after. So as to going elsewhere: I’ve taken two sabbaticals, seven years apart. The first time, my kids were young enough that I could uproot them to another continent for a semester of schooling. The second time, my 7th- and 9th-graders were aghast that I even considered taking them away from their friends for that long. So I just stayed home, took a semester off teaching, and kept it low-key. Anecdotally I hear a lot of people do this for their sabbatical; it just doesn’t make for a great story, so you don’t hear as much about it.
    Keep in mind that traveling elsewhere can be for a whole year or semester, or it can just be for a week or two (more compatibly with family obligations). If you want to go somewhere for a while, the trick (as always) is funding. If you’re a reputable researcher, most departments will be happy to have you as an official visitor, and give you a library card and maybe even some office space, so long as you don’t cost them any money. For that kind of arrangement the best approach is to reach out to someone in the department who does research in your area, even if you don’t know them well. But if you need money for travel or housing while there, then you’re going to have to apply for some funding (either from the school you’re visiting or from some broader funding body) or have a deeper connection who can help you out.
    If you do wind up staying home, remember that this is your sabbatical—don’t get sucked into committee work, attending department meetings, or even coming in to the office very often. And no matter where you wind up, remember the Iron Law of sabbaticals: However much you plan to get done, you’ll get done less than half of that. (Somehow this holds even once you take the Iron Law into account.)

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  4. Tenured Prof on Sabbatical

    They don’t have to involve long visits elsewhere. I’m on sabbatical now and have young kids. There was no budget for me to live somewhere else for 3-4 months, nor did I want to be away from my family that long. For my sabbatical, I worked from home all semester, 35 minutes away from the university. It gave me the calendar and head space to make progress on big projects. The physical space wasn’t the factor.

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  5. a lover of sabbaticals

    Sabbaticals can make a really big difference to your research career, especially if you work at a place that has heavy teaching. I had two – though I took a whole year off (with half pay), I was only away for half the time. Both times I arranged/applied to be a visiting scholar at another (more prestigious) university. And both times I had planned to write a book (and both times I completed a draft of the book … and both books have since been published). These sabbaticals made it possible for me to move later in my career to another more research focussed university. (And I have already had a sabbatical here … and written another book). From my experience the only way to write a book is to have a year (or at least a half year) off.

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