Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program

The Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program (FRAP) assists faculty recruitment through grant disbursements to selected eligible faculty recruits. The primary purpose of the Faculty Recruitment Allowance is to provide support for housing costs, but the recipient may use the allowance to support childcare expenses, education, tuition assistance, or any family/housing related expenses (APM 190, Appendix E). Funding for Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program payments are the responsibility of the recruiting department or entity.

Per the APM, eligibility is restricted to candidates recruited into a full-time Academic Senate title (Professor Ladder Rank, Professor In Residence, and Professor of Clinical X) and within the first two years of the eligible appointment. Effective June 15, 2021, the chancellor and the vice provost academic affairs have expanded the eligibility criteria to include faculty being recruited into or recently recruited into full-time Adjunct Professor or Health Science Clinical Professor titles. (Read the full, detailed announcement.)

The program payment limit is published in Table 40 of the most recent Academic Salary Scales. The June 2021 policy action from the chancellor and VPAA also

The vice provost academic affairs is given delegated authority to grant exceptions beyond the program limit up to an exceptional limit (set by the Academic Salary Program) per eligible recruit. Effective June 15, 2021, departments may offer and provide Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program grants up to the exceptional maximum without an individual written exception approval provided the candidate meets the necessary criteria.

Effective July 1, 2025, the exceptional maximum Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program grant is $193,600.

Eligibility requirements:

The participant must be a full-time (100%) appointee to a Ladder Rank, In Residence, Clinical X, Adjunct, or Health Sciences Clinical Professor title.
The participant must be within the first two years of the appointment at UCSF.
The participant must be in the campus payroll system.

Recruits with a fractional compensation structure and paid-by-affiliate are considered eligible as long as the academic appointment represents 100%-time commitment to the University. The full compensation structure need not be solely the responsibility of UCSF if engaged cooperatively with a formal affiliate (e.g. VAMC, Gladstone, SFGH).

The campus policy is that FRAP payments should be disbursed as a lump sum in the first pay period. However, payments may also be scheduled as multi-payments or installments (installment plans may not exceed ten years). Either the full payment or the first of a multi-payment plan must be made within the first two years of the eligible appointment to UCSF. The use and structure of a multi-payment plan is at the discretion of the department. Installment plans may be requested by candidates and departments are free to accommodate such requests.

This is not an entitlement program but a recruitment assistance program and available only for specific recruitments for which the department or school has dedicated funding for that purpose.

For the full details and criteria please read the UCSF-Specific Requirements and Procedures for the Faculty Recruitment Allowance Program PDF.

If the candidate meets the necessary criteria, the eligible appointment is approved and effective, and it is no more than two years after the effective date: the recruiting department may request the payment be disbursed directly via UC Path.

Contact: Wilson Hardcastle.