Senate elections 2022
Nominations are now open for new members to join the University Senate.
How to get involved
If you are interested in being part of Senate, you can self-nominate via the Senate website:
Each nominee is asked to provide a short statement in support of their nomination, but no supporting signatures are required.
The deadline for nominations is 12 noon on 9 March 2022.
Elections will take place online between 9am on 23 March 2022 and 12 noon on 30 March 2022.
What is Senate?
Senate is the University’s supreme academic body, it is chaired by the Principal and Vice-Chancellor and its role includes:
- Approving the award of degrees including honorary degrees
- Setting high level policy and strategy on learning and teaching, working within the strategic direction contained within the University's Strategic Plan approved by Court and its underlying strategies
- Maintaining the quality and standards of the University’s awards
- Oversight of the work of three Senate Standing Committees, to which a range of Senate’s powers are delegated
- Recommending or reporting to the University Court where required
Senate also hosts strategic presentation and discussion sessions that are open to all staff, and in 2021/22 topics include:
- Freedom of Expression
- The Edinburgh Graduate Vision
- Updates on the Enhancement-led Institutional Review and Research Excellence Framework
Who can stand for Senate?
All teaching and research (academic) staff who are in post from 31 January 2022 are eligible to stand for Senate. This is a broad category and includes:
- Teaching staff
- Research staff
- Clinical staff
- Postdoctoral fellows
- Postgraduate tutors
There are 109 positions available this year, and these allow for self-nomination. More information on how to do this can be found below.
Why become a Senate member?
Senate is an important University forum for consultation on academic matters, and is a key opportunity for our teaching and research staff community to have their say.
Senate and its Committees have an important role to play in ensuring the University continues to deliver excellent teaching and research, and has the ability to propose recommendations to Court, the University's decision making body.
Becoming a member of Senate is an opportunity to contribute to the University as part of your ‘academic citizenship’.
More information on the role of Senate members, and reasons to stand for election to Senate, can be found on the Senate webpages:
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
The University is committed to improving the diversity of key University committees, and we encourage all academic staff to consider nominating themselves for election. All teaching staff, research staff, clinical staff, postdoctoral fellows, and postgraduate tutors and demonstrators are eligible: please contact SenateSupport@ed.ac.uk if you want to check your eligibility.
If you wish to discuss the possibility of nominating yourself for election to Senate, you can speak to your Head of School or a current Senate member from your School or College: a list of current Senate members can be found on the Senate website: Current Senate Membership
The nomination process is straightforward, and you do not need any other member of staff to second your nomination.