The Institute’s policies governing outside professional activities are designed to encourage active participation in research enriched in many cases by interaction with industry, business, government, and other activities and institutions. Information for MIT Faculty regarding Outside Professional Activities is available in MIT’s Policies and Procedures §4.5. Department heads and center/laboratory directors counsel faculty and researchers regarding specific cases. The Faculty Policy Committee recommends appropriate modifications of policies and procedures to the Faculty.
Non-faculty research staff are subject to specific rules concerning outside professional activities depending on their position at the Institute and detailed in Policies and Procedures §2.0, §5.0, and §6.0 for each appointment type. The following chart summarizes normally conferred consulting privileges for various positions at MIT:
Rank |
Consulting Privilege |
Comments |
|---|---|---|
§2.0 Assistant Professor, Associate Professor without tenure, Associate Professor with tenure, Professor |
Yes |
|
§2.3.1 Professor Emeritus and Professor Without Tenure (Retired) |
No |
|
§2.3.2 Adjunct Professor, Professor of the Practice |
Yes |
Prior written approval of department head in accordance with Section 4.3. |
§2.3.3 Adjunct Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Practice |
Yes |
Prior written approval of department head in accordance with Section 4.3. |
§2.3.4 Visiting Assistant Professor, Visiting Associate Professor, Visiting Professor |
Yes |
Full time, paid appointments have consulting privileges; part-time, unpaid appointments do not have consulting privileges. |
§5.2.1 Principal Research Scientist, Principal Research Engineer, Principal Research Associate |
Yes |
Limited to maximum 20 days per year. |
§5.2.2 Research Scientist, Research Engineer, Research Associate |
Not normally * |
|
§5.2.3 Research Specialist, Technical Associate, Technical Assistant |
Not normally * |
|
§5.2.4 Sponsored Research Technical Staff |
Not normally * |
|
§5.2.5 Research Administrators |
Not normally * |
|
§5.2.6 Lincoln Laboratory Staff |
No |
|
§5.3.1 Senior Research Scientist, Senior Research Engineer, Senior Research Associate |
Yes |
As defined for faculty |
§5.3.2 and §5.3.3 Postdoctoral Associate, Senior Postdoctoral Associate, Postdoctoral Fellow, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Fellow |
No |
|
§5.3.4 Visiting Engineer, Visiting Scientist, Visiting Scholar |
No |
|
§5.3.5; §5.3.6; §5.3.7 Research Affiliate, Guests of the Institute, Staff Affiliate |
N/A |
|
§6.1.3 Administrative Staff |
Not normally * |
Specific instances may be approved by the department head if such activity will contribute significantly to the professional growth and development of the individual and to the individual’s professional service to MIT or MIT’s service to society at large, and that the individual’s normal responsibility and contribution to MIT will not thereby be diminished. |
* Individuals who are interested in consulting must discuss the matter with his/her department head or lab director and Dean's Office prior to entering into any consulting arrangement.