The self-statement is one of the most important documents in your case file. This is the one place where you can best describe the impact of your work and set the context for your research agenda. The self-statement should be a narrative summary of your accomplishments during the review period in the four evaluative areas:
1) research or creative activity, 2) teaching, 3) professional, university, and public service, and 4) diversity.
It should be viewed as an enhancement of the information contained in the Bio-bibliography (bio-bib) and curriculum vitae (CV), not merely a recap of material provided in those documents. Remember there are several audiences for the self-statement that include external reviewers, colleagues, school dean, CAP members, and the provost. Since the level of understanding of your specific discipline will likely vary across these different sets of readers, attempt to write both to people in your discipline and the general academic audience.
A candidate for appointment, merit increase, or promotion in this series shall be judged by the following criteria (per APM 220-10):
Research and Creative Work
- Systematically list accomplishments;
- Focus on particular areas of achievement, including honors and/or awards;
- Discuss the unique aspects of special significance of different career accomplishments
Teaching
Include some or all of the following:
- Philosophy of teaching;
- Aims of specific courses;
- Choice of teaching strategies;
- Improvements that have been implemented;
- Reasons for problems that may have arisen in teaching;
- Reasons for particular course formats;
- Criteria for selecting reading materials;
- Explanation of how student performance is assessed;
- Any other information related to teaching.
Professional Competence and Activity
University and Public Service
Contributions to Diversity (if any)
- Assessed within above criteria
Other things to be mindful of
- Know your Review Period:
- Merit: Two-year review period (for Assistant Professors and Assistant Teaching Professors)
- Mid-career appraisal (MCA): Career - with particular attention to career at UC Merced
- Promotion: Career - with particular attention to career at UC Merced
- New page limits (effective 7/1/2025):
- Merits - 4 pages
- Career Reviews - 8 pages
- Keep prior feedback in mind:
- Prior merits, MCA, consultation with Chair
- Use your CV and Bio-bibliography to assist you in preparing your self-statement.
- Review all documents for consistency in titles, dates, and status.
- Make it easy for the reviewers of your case:
- Put your information in context for the reader. It may be helpful to provdie some measure of the quality of a journal or publisher (top tier, rejection rates, etc.) since not all reviewers may be familiar with journals in your discipline.
- CAP has requested enumeration by category and status (e.g. # of journal articles, # of book chapters, published, in press) for the review period.
- You may discuss works in progress or submitted items in your self-statement, but these are not credited in merit actions until they are accepted or published.
- Special circumstances during the review period (leaves, tenure clock extensions, etc.) may be addressed in your self-statement.
- Any references to medical leaves or active service modified duty (ASMD) periods cannot be referenced by higher levels of review, but may be included in the self-statement, if you feel reviewers should be award of this information.
Additional Resources:
APO Self Statement Workshop Presentation 2026
