Emeritus Policy

The Emeritus titles that can be awarded by the University are as follows:

To be awarded the title of Emeritus Full Professor or Emeritus Professor the person to whom it is to be awarded must satisfy certain criteria as detailed below.

To be awarded the title of Emeritus Full Professor or Emeritus Professor, the person to whom it is to be awarded must satisfy the following criteria:

a) They must have been employed by DCU prior to retirement.

b) They must, on the date of retirement be of the rank of Full Professor or Professor and have held that rank for at least five years before that date.

c) They must be recognised and respected as a national and international expert in their field.

d) They must have evidenced and sustained an exceptional contribution to DCU and its academic and other activities.

e) No office of a similar character is held by the nominee at another institution.

f) During the course of their career at DCU, they must have maintained the highest standards in how they act and behave in line with the University's Employee Code of Conduct.

The title ‘Emeritus’ will normally be awarded for a period of three years. Subject to the approval of the Executive Dean and the Director of Human Resources, this can be extended every 3 years thereafter upon application by the recipient three months in advance of the expiry of their existing award.    

• The process to award the title will normally be initiated by the Executive Dean of the Faculty in which the person worked prior to retirement in line with the procedures outlined in Appendix 1.   

• In exceptional circumstances the President may initiate it, at the request of a member of staff other than the Executive Dean, and after consultation with the Executive Dean.

• The process should be initiated at least six months before the date of retirement and must be completed by the effective date of retirement.    

• The award of the Emeritus title will be approved by the University Executive in the first instance.

• On the recommendation of the University Executive, it will be submitted to the University Governing Authority for final approval.   

• Academic colleagues awarded the Emeritus title will have the following benefits:

  • Automatic eligibility for a dcu.ie digital identity on the same basis as for serving staff in line with the DCU Digital Identity and Retention Policy.

  • Use of the title awarded without abbreviation for the duration of the award, on any correspondence and publications. 

• Academic colleagues awarded the title of ‘Emeritus’ are not: 

  • employees of the university and do not have employee status or hold any contractual entitlements;

  • entitled to a dedicated office or laboratory;

  • entitled to have any academic role in the governance of the University or any of its academic units;

  • eligible to supervise PhD students unless in a secondary capacity and under the lead supervision of a DCU academic staff member as set down in the DCU Postgraduate Research: Academic Regulations and Guidelines;

  • eligible to act as a lead Principal Investigator (PI) unless in a co-PI capacity with the prior approval of the relevant Executive Dean;

  • eligible to expenses for travel or any research related activity without the prior approval of the Executive Dean; &

  • are not permitted to allocate any monies from research funding as this will be determined by the University.   

The University reserves the right to remove the title (in line with the procedures in Appendix 2) in the event that, the activities or actions of the holder of the title create a risk of reputational damage to the University.   

• Approve the award of the Emeritus title in the first instance in line with this policy and associated procedures. 

• Make a recommendation to the University Governing Authority regarding the approval on the award of title. 

• Approve the removal of the award following consultation with the Executive Dean, the President and Director of Human Resources.

• Consider the recommendation of the University Executive and approve the award of title in line with this policy and associated procedures.

• Approve the removal of the award following consultation with the University Executive, Executive Dean, the President and Director of Human Resources.

• Discuss and agree Emeritus proposals with the Executive Dean where appropriate. 

• Initiate Emeritus applications in exceptional circumstances in consultation with the Executive Dean.

• Decide on the merits of seeking a written assessment from senior academic external to the University if deemed appropriate.

• Initiate the process for the award of the Emeritus title.

• Discuss potential Emeritus applications with the President and outlining how the candidate satisfies the criteria.

• Informally sound out the likely recipient to ascertain whether they would wish to accept the title.

• Consult other senior faculty as required. 

• Subject to the continued delivery of academic outputs (usually in research) by the title holder, the Executive Dean may approve the renewal of 3-year award in conjunction with the Director of Human Resources. 

• Initiate the process to remove the award of Emeritus title if required. 

• Provide advice and support to the Heads/Deans/President regarding the Emeritus Policy and its implementation. 

• Prepare and forward all applications to the University Executive and Governing Authority on behalf of the Executive Dean/President for approval. 

• Issue all relevant correspondence to confirm the award of title or otherwise.

• Record and monitor the end dates for the award of title and issue all communications as appropriate. 

• Subject to the continued delivery of academic outputs (usually in research) by the title holder, the HR Director may approve the renewal of 3-year award in conjunction with the Executive Dean.