Academic ranks in the United Kingdom
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Academic ranks worldwide |
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Professors
In the United Kingdom, like most Commonwealth countries (excluding Australia and Canada), as well as in Ireland, traditionally a professor held either an established chair or a personal chair. An established chair is established by the university to meet its needs for academic leadership and standing in a particular area or discipline and the post is filled from a shortlist of applicants; only a suitably qualified person will be appointed. A personal chair is awarded specifically to an individual in recognition of their high levels of achievements and standing in their particular area or discipline.
In most universities, professorships are reserved for only the most senior academic staff, and other academics are generally known as 'lecturers', 'senior lecturers' and 'readers' (in some Commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the title 'associate professor' can be used instead of 'reader'[2]). In some countries, senior lecturers are generally paid the same as readers, but the latter title is awarded primarily for research excellence, and traditionally carries higher prestige. Traditionally, heads of departments and other senior academic leadership roles within a university were undertaken by professors.[3]
During the 1990s, however, the
In 2021, the University of Cambridge introduced a new structure. The academic rank structure is superseded by the new structure.[4]
Previous structure | New structure | Grade |
---|---|---|
Professor | Professor | 12 |
Reader | Professor | 11 |
University Senior Lecturer | Associate Professor | 10 |
University Lecturer (post‑probation) | Associate Professor | 9 |
University Lecturer (pre‑probation) | Assistant Professor | 9 |
In the UK the title 'Professor' has historically been reserved for full professors, with lecturers, senior lecturers, and readers generally addressed by their academic qualification (Dr for the holder of a doctorate, Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Mx otherwise). However, the current University of Oxford Style Guide now notes that Associate Professors "may, if they wish, use the title of ‘Professor’, or they may keep their previous title of ‘Dr’.[5] As in the USA, the title of 'professor emeritus' may be awarded to a retired or former professor, who may well retain formal or informal links with the institution where the chair was formerly held.
Named professorships
Many professorships are named in honour of a distinguished person or after the person who endowed the chair. Some chairs have a long history and considerable prestige attached, such as the
Professors of music
Instructors at many music
Pathways
Research and teaching career pathway
Academic staff whose responsibilities encompass both research and teaching:
- Professor
- post-1992 institutions[6])
- Senior lecturer (not all universities have this title[7])
- Lecturer or clinical lecturer: this is largely equivalent to an 'Assistant Professor' rank at a US university
- Assistant lecturer, demonstrator, seminar leader, associate lecturer, graduate teaching assistant
However, it is becoming increasingly common for Russell Group universities to use some form of hybrid terminology: LSE has adopted the American terminology entirely,[8] while UCL has retained the role of Lecturer, but replaced Senior lecturer and Reader with Associate Professor.[9]
Research and teaching career pathway at the University of Oxford
Specific to the University of Oxford:[7]
- Professor(Professors and other title holders (university lecturers, senior research fellows, etc.) with a titular professorship)
- (Reader) (Oxford has abolished this grade with no new appointments to this title[7])
- Associate Professor(University Lecturers and other title holders with a titular associate professorship)
- Departmental Lecturer (Non-ladder faculty position employed or paid by the University)
Research career pathway
Academic staff whose main focus is research:[10][11]
- Professorial Research Fellow / Director of Research
- Principal Research Fellow / Principal Research Associate
- Senior Research Fellow
- Research Fellow
- Research Associate
- Research Assistant
- Research Support
Teaching career pathway
Academic staff whose main focus is essential teaching, educational needs, and for senior grades, often pedagogic research:
- Professorial teaching fellow / Professor
- Principal Teaching Fellow / Principal Lecturer
- Senior Teaching Fellow / Senior University Teacher / Senior Lecturer
- Teaching Fellow / University Teacher / Lecturer
- Teaching Associate
Note that some universities (for example, the University of Glasgow) give the same titles as Research & Teaching track academics to give parity to the roles.
Emeritus ranks
- Emeritus professor
- Emeritus reader
- Senior fellow
- Fellow
Honorary/visiting ranks
Common titles for honorary, visiting and honorary visiting academics:
- Honorary/visiting professor or honorary/visiting professorial fellow
- Honorary/visiting reader or honorary/visiting associate professor or honorary/visiting principal lecturer
- Honorary/visiting senior lecturer or honorary/visiting senior fellow
- Honorary/visiting lecturer or honorary/visiting fellow
Administrative ranks: England, Wales, and Northern Ireland
- Chancellor (titular)
- Pro-chancellor (titular)
- Vice-chancellor (sometimes provost; increasingly 'vice-chancellor and chief executive officer' )
- Deputy vice-chancellor
- Pro-vice-chancellor
- Deans of faculties
- Heads of departments/schools
- Department/school directors of studies
Administrative ranks: Scotland
- Chancellor (titular)
- Rector (ancient universitiesonly)
- Principal (who is also vice-chancellor)
- Deputy principal
- Vice-principals
- Deans of faculties
- Heads of departments/schools
- Department/school directors of studies, or personal tutors
Comparison
Commonwealth system | United States system | German system | French system |
---|---|---|---|
Professor (chair) | Professor, distinguished professor, chaired professor, or equivalent | Professor (ordinarius, W3 with chair, C4) | Professeur des universités, Directeur de recherche |
Reader, Principal Lecturer, Associate Professor | Professor | Professor (extraordinarius, W2, W3 without chair, C3) | |
Senior lecturer | Associate professor | Hochschuldozent, Oberassistent (W2, C2), Privatdozent | Maître de conférences,
Chargé de recherche |
Lecturer | Assistant professor | Privatdozent, Juniorprofessor, Wissenschaftlicher Assistent, Akademischer Rat (W1, C1, A13) | |
Assistant lecturer, demonstrator, seminar leader | Research Associate, lecturer, researcher, instructor | Privatdozent, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter ohne eigenständige Lehrbefugnis | Attaché temporaire d'enseignement et de recherche (ATER) |
Adjunct professor | Privatdozent, Honorarprofessor |
See also
References
- ^ "Research career pathway" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- ^ "5.41.4 Use of the Title Associate Professor – Handbook of University Policies and Procedures at The University of Queensland". Uq.edu.au. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
- ^ "Great news - we've moved..." 25 February 2020. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020.
- ^ Mister, Nicola (6 May 2021). "Changes to academic titles in 2021/2022 - implementation". www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ "University of Oxford Style Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 4 April 2021.
- ^ "Principal Lecturer (HE) - Careers Advice". Jobs.ac.uk. 11 January 2012.
- ^ a b c Oxford, University of. "Academic posts at Oxford, Personnel Services site". Admin.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Role profiles". info.lse.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ "Academic Promotions Guidance". UCL Human Resources. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ "Research career pathway University College London (UCL)". 25 September 2017.
- ^ "Research staff job titles and duties University of Cambridge". February 2013.