Applications for sabbatical leave are required to include a detailed Sabbatical Leave Statement. On this page, we'll look at what should be included in that statement. The official policy covering this is APM-740-94, but we'll try to break it down a bit.
Okay! So – what do you need to cover in the Statement?
1. Project History and Preparation
Official Policy: "A brief history of the project, from inception through progress to date and projection as to completion date. This history shall include a description of the applicant’s preparation and any significant contributions already made in the field of activity with which the project is concerned."
In Plain English: Where did this idea come from, how far along are you, and when do you plan to cross the finish line? Your bona fides are beyond question by sheer virtue of your appointment, but this bit allows evaluators to learn more about your specific project.
2. Significance and Impact
Official Policy: "Significance of the project as a contribution to knowledge, to art, to a particular profession, or as an expected contribution to the applicant’s increased effectiveness as a teacher and scholar."
In Plain English: Why does the project matter? Explain how this project moves the needle in your field or how it will fundamentally "level up" your ability to teach and mentor students when you return to Davis.
3. Location and Collaboration (if any)
Official Policy: "Name(s) of the location(s) or institution(s) where the project will be carried out, and the names of colleagues, if any, with whom it will be conducted."
In Plain English: Where exactly will you be sitting, and who are you working with? If you’re hopping between multiple institutions, list them all.
4. Letters of Cooperation (if any)
Official Policy: "Assurances of cooperation, or authorization to conduct the project, received from individuals, institutions, or agencies."
In Plain English: You need to show that the host institution or your collaborators have actually agreed to have you there and support the work. Functionally, this generally takes the form of a letter of support that you or the staff can append to your statement PDF.
5. Financial and Administrative Support (if any)
Official Policy: "Description of all financial support expected... including any fellowship, grant and/or government-sponsored exchange lectureship... and actions proposed to assure that all obligations under the University intellectual property policies are preserved."
In Plain English: How are you paying for this, beyond your salary? Disclose any external grants or fellowships. This is also where you confirm that any "secret sauce" (intellectual property) you create is clear where UC policy is concerned.
6. Service in Residence (if any)
Official Policy: "Description of University service that will be provided if the applicant proposes to substitute significant University service for some or all of the teaching/instructional requirements of a sabbatical leave in residence."
In Plain English: If you are staying on campus but want to swap your teaching load for administrative or committee service for an in-residence sabbatical, you need to detail exactly what that trade-off looks like.
Any Formatting Notes?
Short answer: Not really! Leave Statements typically come in around 300 to 500 words, so it's not as though you need to write (or re-write) a whole grant proposal to go on leave.
What Do I Do with My Statement?
Easy! You can either paste it into the leave application available on our Sabbatical page, or send it to Will.