The backs of commencement robes

Our Scholarly Community

SUNY Buffalo State's celebrated faculty are dedicated to research, scholarship, and creativity. Faculty members are scholars and teachers, engaged in research with extensive scholarly publications and creative and artistic exhibitions. Graduate School faculty are experts in their fields, as dedicated to teaching as they are to their own creative and scholarly pursuits.

Buffalo State supports faculty throughout their careers as they pursue the tripartite mission of this institution of teaching, research, and service.

Graduate Faculty Appointment

Graduate faculty status is awarded to faculty who, by virtue of their training, experience, and scholarly accomplishments, are uniquely qualified. The Buffalo State Directory of Policy Statements (DOPS) VI:11:00 lists the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of graduate faculty as follows:

  • May teach graduate courses
  • Shall accept the assignment of graduate advisees and shall serve as mentor or reader for master's thesis or project or independent study for graduate students
  • Shall certify and recommend for graduation all graduate students completing requirements for their respective curricula

Buffalo State Directory of Policy Statements (DOPS) VI:11:00 (PDF)

Teaching at the graduate level presupposes advanced intellectual or practical achievements; such faculty should demonstrate state-of-the-art or cutting-edge competence in order to provide proper instruction for graduate-level students. Members of the graduate faculty shall hold the highest recognized degrees in their field of specialization together with suitable experiences and scholarly achievements required by the nature of their teaching. Each department shall establish minimum criteria that further clarify the type of training, experience, and demonstrated scholarly activity required.

Appointment to the graduate faculty varies: tenured faculty members may receive permanent appointment to the graduate faculty unless and until that status us revoked by the department committee, department chair, or dean; tenure-track and full-time lecturer appointments may receive terms matching the length of their current contract with the university; adjunct faculty members may be nominated for a one-semester or one-year appointment consistent with the terms of their contracts; faculty members from other campuses may receive graduate faculty status for a particular task, such as serving on a thesis committee or advising a thesis or project.

The department chair shall initiate nominations for graduate faculty status. The nomination packet shall consist of:

  • Completed Graduate Faculty Status Appointment Form 
  • Applicant's current vita
  • List of courses the applicant is qualified to teach
  • For adjunct faculty appointments or in other cases where the candidate does not hold a terminal degree, the chair should attach a brief description of the candidate's training, experience or scholarly activity. This description should provide evidence of the faculty member's special competence to teach the assigned course(s).

Remuneration

Master’s Project or Thesis Advisers

All graduate faculty who serve as the adviser of record for a student’s master’s project or thesis—outside their normal teaching load—are eligible for compensation in the amount of $100 per credit (up to $600) once a final capstone grade is entered. This also includes faculty who serve as the principal adviser for a Multidisciplinary Studies student, which includes advising the master’s project or the thesis. This money will be paid to the faculty member via extra service.  Please work with your department chair to receive this payment.  Requests should be made within four weeks of submitting the final grade.