References

You are required to provide the names, titles and contact details of nominated referees. You should not nominate close colleagues, collaborators, co-authors or former students as referees, to ensure the references gathered provide an objective and unbiased assessment of your application. You must declare any conflict of interest or areas of collaboration by indicating this when submitting your application.   As a guide, co-authoring two or three publications with a referee would not normally be considered a conflict of interest. However, a more extensive publication record with a referee may indicate a close professional relationship and would be regarded as a conflict. Similarly, where any collaboration or co-authorship took place five or more years ago and there has been no substantial subsequent collaboration, this would not normally be considered a conflict of interest.

 There may be circumstances in which exceptions to the above guidance may be appropriate, such as:

• In disciplines in which there are few academics, individuals with whom you have collaborated on research may be nominated as referees. In such cases, the nature and extent of the collaboration should be declared, and the referee will be required to declare their interest when submitting a reference.
• In disciplines that typically have a lower publication expectation, co-authoring fewer than three publications may be considered a conflict of interest. Applicants should not nominate referees with whom they have co-authored the majority of their publications, regardless of their total number of publications.

A referee’s input is critical in enabling a full and objective assessment of an applicant’s contribution. Referees are therefore requested to comment across the entire range of your duties with explicit reference to the relevant Assessment Criteria and to provide a full and frank appraisal of your suitability for promotion. 

Referees’ reports are subject to the strictest confidentiality; however, referees will be made aware that in providing a reference, they give their explicit permission for the use of that reference for consideration under the ACP 10-12 scheme.  Confidential references are normally exempt from disclosure to the applicant under the terms of data protection legislation.  Despite this, we often receive requests from applicants for copies of their references.  By default, we will not disclose references without checking with the referee first.

Additional references might be sought by the FC in the case of a multidisciplinary application or internal nomination from cognate subject areas.

The FC assessing your application will also nominate referees to comment on your application.  FCs must consult with the applicant’s Head of Institution for recommendations on appropriate referees to nominate. On request, the FC will inform you of the referees from whom they have sought references.

Prior to nominating referees, both the applicant and Faculty Committee must confirm with the individuals they wish to nominate that they are willing and able to provide a reference, i.e. you should contact the individuals prior to providing their details on the application form, and the FC should contact the individuals prior to sending the formal reference request.

The table below shows the number of referees required for first time applicants.

References for reapplicants

You will be considered a reapplicant if you unsuccessfully applied for the same office/post in the ACP 2025-26 exercise. For reapplicants, the same number of new references will be gathered as set out in the table above.  In addition, the references from the previous exercise will be carried forward.

A referee cited in a previous application should only be requested to update the earlier reference if there have been significant changes in the applicant’s publication record or other circumstances relating to the case for promotion since the referee was last approached. Updated references are counted as additional references.  References relating to the previous application for the same office should be listed and carried forward.

Promotion to a (Teaching/Research) Professorship (Grades 11 and 12) and Clinical (Teaching/Research) Professorship

Referees for promotion to a (Teaching/Research) Professorship (Grades 11 and 12) or a Clinical (Teaching/Research) Professorship should normally be external to the University but there may be circumstances where it is appropriate to nominate referees from cognate subject areas in the University.  This is particularly true for applicants on the T&S pathway. 

In choosing your nominated referees, you should note that referees are expected to be international leaders in their field (normally at Grade 12 or equivalent), research active and familiar with your field of research, or your field of expertise in teaching and scholarship. At least one of the referees should be able to comment on your service to the academic community externally. 

Applicants on the T&S pathway in particular can choose to nominate a referee from the University of Cambridge, but they should be external to your own institution.

Promotion to Associate (Teaching/Research) Professor (Grade 10)

For promotion to Associate (Teaching/Research) Professor (Grade 10), two references are required.  In choosing your nominated referees, you should note that referees are expected to be leaders in their field, research active and familiar with your field of research, or your field of expertise in teaching and scholarship. 

For those on the R&T and T&S pathways: at least one referee should be internal and able to comment authoritatively on the quantity of teaching and service to the University and academic community. You must supply the details of one internal referee and one reserve (who could be internal or external) and the FC will provide the details of one referee and one reserve. 

For those on the R pathway:  at least one referee should be external. You must supply the details of one external referee and one reserve (who could be internal or external) and the FC will provide the details of one referee and one reserve.