Salary Programs and Scales

Salaries at hire or academic review are determined by each candidate’s rank and step within an academic series (based on qualifications and experience). An off-scale component may be added to the base salary due to market considerations (varies by discipline). Salary offers may be limited by internal equity concerns and/or budgetary constraints. Find information below related to academic salaries, programs, and scales.

Academic Salaries - General Information

Most academic appointees are paid salaries included on the official systemwide or local salary scales. Academic salary scales are governed by the UC Office of the President. Below are examples of how academic appointees can receive increases in salary:

Range adjustment (see APM - 610). Scales are adjusted for general salary increases approved as part of the state budget. Range adjustments may occur at any time, depending on the state budget. If you need to make salary projections, which include anticipated range adjustments, for contract and grant submission, visit the Office of Contracts and Grants' long-range salary projections website.

Merit increase (see APM - 610). Merit increases are awarded to individuals for achievements in teaching, research, and service to the University. Salary-only increases (see off-scale salaries) may also be awarded to individuals for such achievements when a full increase in step is not justified or if the individual is above-scale.

Promotion (see section relating to the appropriate title or title series in APM Section II, Appointment and Promotion). Promotions are awarded to individuals for achievements in teaching, research, and service to the University.

Academic Salaries - Pay Versus Service Period

Faculty on the General Campus and SIO are paid on an academic year basis. Faculty in the Health Sciences are paid on a fiscal year basis. If someone has both an AY and FY appointment, the FY appointment is reduced according to the service dates of the AY appointment. The AY portion of the appointment is paid according to academic pay periods. For a detailed breakdown, please reference Pay and Service Periods 2022-2026.

Pay Period:

There are three standard pay period basis paid over designations for academic employees that are assigned based upon the basis of the appointment.

09/09 (academic-year): Pay is issued in monthly installments for work performed during one or two quarters of the academic term. Pay for each quarter is spread over a three-month period, with each monthly payment based on 1/9th of the annual salary. This pay schedule is used for individuals who are hired for only one or two quarters during the academic year. In addition, this pay schedule is used to compensate student academic student employees.
09/12 (academic-year): Pay is issued in twelve monthly installments for work performed for the full academic term. Pay for each quarter is spread over a four-month period, with each monthly payment based on 1/12th of the annual salary. This pay schedule is used for individuals who are appointed for all three quarters during the academic year.
11/12 (fiscal-year): Pay is issued in twelve monthly installments. The pay and service periods are identical. This pay schedule is used for all fiscal-year appointees.

The pay period is the time-frame of compensation.

Service Period:

The service periods for academic year appointees span from the first day of the official fall quarter to the last day of the official spring quarter on the campus Academic and Administrative Calendar.

If an appointee is only appointed for one quarter, the service period for that quarter would be the first official day of that quarter until the last official day.

Academic Salary Scales

System-wide Scales

Link to UC Salary Scales

UCSD-Only Scales

The following salary scales are used on the UC San Diego campus.

Professor of Practice

SIO AY Researchers

Scale Archive

Professor of Practice 10/1/21 10/1/19 7/1/17 7/1/16 7/1/15 7/1/14 10/1/11
Historic Academic Salary Scales from the Office of the President

Off-Scale and Above Scale Salary

The salary for an appointee at a certain rank and step is designated as off-scale if the salary is higher than the published salary at the designated rank and step for the relevant title series. More information regarding the use of off-scale salaries can be found in APM 620.

Market off-scale Salaries:

Market off-scale salaries are additional income that qualifies as an off-scale rate adjustment to an appointee's annual base compensation (without adjustment in rank or step). Market-based salary off-scale salaries are most frequently awarded during recruitments or retentions but may also be awarded as parity, equity, or career-review or promotion related salary awards.

Bonus off-scale Salaries:

Bonus Off-Scale Salary increments are awarded in recognition of evaluated excellence in one or more areas under academic review and tend to be the equivalent of a half-step merit on the operative salary scale. They are temporary salary provisions meant to last the duration of one review period.

Above Scale Salaries:

An academic appointee who advances beyond the highest step on the salary scale in a series is considered above scale. For example, in the Professor (ladder-rank) series, the highest step on the salary scale is Step IX, so the next advancement would be to Professor, Above Scale. The honorary, unofficial title of Distinguished Professor (see below) is conferred upon those who achieve the rank of Professor, Above Scale.

By-Agreement Salaries:

Often used for visiting or temporary appointments, departments may propose by-agreement salaries for appointees with wages that are not represented by a monthly pay rate on a series salary scale

Department of Labor Overtime Rule

The current Department of Labor threshold is $684 per week ($35,568 per year).

Effective January 1, 2020 forward, this threshold applies to non-faculty, non-student academic appointees in research or administrative positions. See list of series below. Appointees in these titles will be classified as exempt if they earn $684 per week ($35,568 per year) or more effective immediately.

Individuals in non-instructional academic titles who do not meet the minimum salary threshold will be converted to non-exempt status and transitioned to an hourly pay rate and bi-weekly pay schedule. This includes all appointees in the Junior Specialist title and part-time appointees in the following series whose salaries do not meet the DOL threshold:

Research Scientist
Project Scientist
Specialist
Postdoc
Academic Administrator
Academic Coordinator
Coordinators of Public Programs
Continuing Educator
Non-Represented Librarian
Non-Faculty Recall

General Campus Compensation Plan (GCCP)

General Campus Compensation Plan Trial Implementation Guidelines

Senate Faculty on the General Campus and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography may participate in the General Campus Compensation Plan. Participants receive base salary (scale rate + off-scale) and an annually negotiated salary component of up to 30% of their base salary. In addition, participating faculty may receive up to 3/9ths of summer salary for administrative, research, or teaching during the summer recess period.

Update

The General Campus Compensation Plan has been extended for one additional trial year from July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024. See the 2023-2024 campus notice for additional information.

Overview

UCSD adheres to the UCSD General Campus Compensation Plan Executive Summary and UCSD Implementation Guidelines that were approved by the UC Office of the President. The Executive Summary is an overview of the plan. The Implementation Guidelines provide guidance on eligibility, external funding, salary components, restrictions, roles and responsibilities, and the approval process. As a condition of extending the plan, new fund restrictions, additional data, and certifications will be required for participation. Changes are noted in the program documentation and on the request form.

During the fourth year of the Trial program, in Spring of 2022, the UC Office of the President conducted a comprehensive review, considering task force recommendations, and making decisions about the program's implementation into policy or the termination after fiscal year 2023-2024.

Requests for participation in the 2023-2024 General Campus Compensation Plan (GCCP) will be due to Academic Compensation on May 1, 2023 (departments and school deadlines will be earlier).

Earn Codes and Job Codes

The salary components under the General Campus Compensation Plan (GCCP) must be properly coded to ensure the appropriate amount of UCRP covered compensation is recorded as well as agency salary caps, salary cap gaps, etc. A distinct set of Earn Codes have been programmed to track these salary components in UCPath. GCCP participation will be recorded as concurrent appointments in UCPath (See GCCP Job Codes list).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

As the General Campus Compensation Plan is a new concept for general campus faculty and staff, a list of Frequently Asked Questions has been developed to assist with training and implementation. If you have a general question that is not on the FAQ, please contact your divisional dean's office contact, who may reach out to Heather Zion for more complicated questions.

Metrics

The General Campus Compensation Plan Trial has been extended for an additional six year period, 7/1/18-6/30/24. To evaluate the continued feasibility and effectiveness of the plan, a number of metrics will be gathered each year. Departments, divisions, and central offices within Academic Affairs will all play a critical role in the data collection effort. The UC Office of the President produces an annual report, inclusive of metrics from all participating campuses, that is then shared with campus leadership and the Academic Senate.

Request Form and Salary Worksheet

Eligible faculty wishing to participate must submit a GCCP Request Worksheet. The Participant, Fund Manager, and Department Chair must complete all certifications and necessary data fields on the forms. The document will then be routed to the Dean for endorsement. A pdf of the signed form will be sent to the Academic Compensation Office for analysis and final action by the Executive Vice Chancellor.

UCPath Job Aid

Please see the UCPath GCCP Job Aid for processing guidance.

Health Sciences Compensation Plan (HSCP)

Health Sciences Compensation Plan

Policy-covered faculty in the School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the School of Public Health who have appointments at greater than 50 percent time are members of the Health Sciences Compensation Plan (HSCP). Members receive base salary (“X”) and are eligible for additional negotiated compensation (“Y”), and/or incentive bonus compensation (“Z”).

The base salary (X) is associated with one of 10 published University of California HSCP salary scales. Groups of faculty with similar clinical, teaching and/or research responsibilities are assigned to a particular Academic Programmatic Unit (APU) which indicates the pay scale (scales 0 – 9) on which their base salary is set. A department, with approval of the Dean and Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences, determines which APU are appropriate for its faculty.

Additional compensation (Y), negotiated annually, is based on the quality, scope, and volume of the faculty member's teaching, research, clinical and administrative duties, as well as availability of reliable sources of income. Incentive/Bonus compensation may also be paid. More information regarding the HSCP can be found in APM 670 and UCSD Health Sciences Implementing Procedures.