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academic rank

Academic organizations typically have a rather rigid set of ranks. Those listed below refer specifically to universities, although colleges and other institutions may follow a similar schema.

Academic ranks

Professor

Associate Professor

Senior Lecturer

Lecturer

Associate Lecturer

Administrative ranks

Chancellor

Vice-Chancellor

Pro-Vice Chancellor

Dean

Head of School

Brazil

At the University of Sao Paulo the academic rank system is:

Titular Professor (Professor Titular)

Associate Professor (Professor Associado): must hold a Livre Docente title

Doctor Professor (Professor Doutor): must hold an PhD or equivalent degree

Assistant Professor (Professor Assistente): must hold an MSc or equivalent degree

Teaching Assistant (Auxiliar de Ensino): bachelor degree

In the Federal Universities the academic ranks receive other names:

Professor Titular

Professor Adjunto

Professor Doutor or Professor

Academic ranks

Faculty (Professors):

:* Distinguished Professor or University Professor

:* Professor (or "Full Professor")

:* Associate Professor

:* Assistant Professor

Non-faculty and/or temporary

:* Adjunct faculty member

:* Sessional lecturer, Instructor, Research Associate, and miscellaneous other ranks holding a Ph.D.

:* Postdoctoral fellow (sometimes including lecturing experience).

:* Research and/or teaching staff not holding a Ph.D. (e.g., research technicians, lab managers, etc.)

:* Graduate student or professional student (law, medicine, music, nursing, accounting, etc.). Graduate students often serve as teaching assistants (TAs) and/or research assistants (RAs). In Canada, graduate students are further ranked by degree, with Ph.D. students outranking Master's students (unlike in the U.S., a Master's degree is commonly completed before beginning a Ph.D. program).

:* Undergraduate student. Undergraduate students are ranked simply as 1st Year ("Frosh"), 2nd Year, 3rd Year, and 4th Year students.

Administrative ranks

Chancellor (honorific)

President and Vice-Chancellor (dual title)

Provost

Vice Presidents (VP Academic, VP Research, VP Finance, etc.)

Associate Vice Presidents (Assoc. VP Academic, Assoc. VP Research, Assoc. VP Finance, etc.)

Deans (often also Full Professors)

Associate Deans (often also Full Professors)

Directors of Administrative Departments

Associate/Assistant Directors of Administrative Departments

Chairs of Academic Departments (usually Full Professors)

Academic ranks

Chair Professor

Research assistant and teaching assistant (or tutor, instructor, demonstrator)

Postgraduate or graduate

Undergraduate

Germany

Professor (Full, usually called a C4 or since 2004 W3 professor according to the german salary scheme)

Professor (Associate, C3 or W3)

Privatdozent (after Habilitation, not a paid position)

Juniorprofessor or Akademischer Rat or Wissenschaftlicher Assistent (Assistant Professor)

Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter (Postdoctoral Fellow)

Doktorand (Ph.D. student)

Student

Academic ranks

In the past Hong Kong follows the British system. In recent years it is moving towards the North American counterpart, with the titles renamed to their corresponding equivalence. Institutions established in the 1980s and 1990s almost entirely follows the North American system, while older ones, notably the The University of Hong Kong is in the process of transition.

Depending on institutions, the title of "Professor" is assumed by chair professors and professors, or assistant professors and above.

Chair Professor

Professor

Associate Professor or Senior Lecturer

Assistant Professor or Lecturer

Lecturer

Research assistant and teaching assistant (or tutor, instructor, demonstrator)

Postgraduate or graduate

Undergraduate

Administrative ranks

Chancellor (titular, normally the Chief Executive (formerly the Governor) of Hong Kong)

Pro-Chancellor (titular)

Vice-Chancellor or President

Pro-Vice-Chancellors or Vice-Presidents

Registrar

Provost (for some universities)

Deans of Faculties / Schools

Heads of Departments / Schools

Academic ranks

Professor

Reader

Principal Lecturer (usually only used in New Universities)

Senior Lecturer

Lecturer

Research Fellow

Demonstrator / Research assistant (either Postdoctoral fellows or Research Postgraduates)

Postgraduate

Undergraduate

Administrative ranks

There are two systems of administrative ranks - one for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and one for Scotland.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Chancellor (titular)

Pro-Chancellor (titular)

Vice-Chancellor (also known as Rector or Provost at some universities)

Deputy Vice-Chancellor

Pro-Vice-Chancellor

Deans of Faculties

Heads of Departments/Schools

Department/School Directors of Studies

Scotland

Chancellor (titular)

Rector (Ancient Universities only)

Principal (who is also Vice-Chancellor)

Deputy Principal

Vice-Principals

Deans of Faculties

Heads of Departments/Schools

Department/School Directors of Studies

Academic ranks

Regular faculty:

:* Distinguished Professor or University Professor

:* Professor (sometimes informally called "Full Professor")

:* Associate Professor

:* Assistant Professor

:* Instructor

:Traditionally, Assistant Professor has been the usual entry-level rank for faculty who hold doctorates. Although Instructorships seldom require a doctorate, competition for jobs has led to an increase in the number of Instructors who hold Ph.D.s or other terminal degrees.

Temporary faculty and those with special appointments:

:"Adjunct" before the name of a rank (Adjunct Assistant Professor, etc.) usually indicates a part-time appointment. This designation is also occasionally used for temporary appointments.

:"Visiting" before the name of a rank (Visiting Assistant Professor, etc.) almost always indicates a temporary appointment, often to fill a vacancy that has arisen due to the sabbatical or temporary absence of a regular faculty member.

:"Research" before the name of a rank (Research Assistant Professor, etc.) usually indicates a full-time research position with few or no teaching responsibilities. Research professorships are almost always funded by grants or fellowships apart from the regular university budget.

:"Clinical" before the name of a rank (Clinical Assistant Professor, etc.) usually indicates a part-time teaching position with limited research responsibilities, especially in the health sciences.

:The ranks of Lecturer and Senior Lecturer are used at some American universities to denote permanent teaching positions with few or no research responsibilities. At other American universities, the rank of Lecturer is equivalent to that of Instructor.

Other teaching and research personnel:

:At some universities, librarians have a rank structure parallel to that of the regular faculty (Assistant Librarian, Associate Librarian, Librarian).

:Fellowships and Research Associate positions are most often limited-term appointments for postdoctoral researchers. They are not usually regarded as faculty positions, although some teaching may be required.

:At most American universities, research technicians, lab managers, and related personnel are generally regarded as administrative staff rather than faculty.

Administrative ranks

President

Chancellor (sometimes outranking President)

Vice-Chancellor

Provost

Vice Presidents (VP Academic, VP Research, VP Finance, etc.)

Associate Vice Presidents (Assoc. VP Academic, Assoc. VP Research, Assoc. VP Finance, etc.)

Deans (often also Full Professors)

Associate Deans (often also Full Professors)

Directors of Administrative Departments

Associate/Assistant Directors of Administrative Departments

Chairs of Academic Departments (usually Full Professors)

academic rank

Academic ranks

Administrative ranks

Brazil

Academic ranks

Administrative ranks

Academic ranks

Germany

Academic ranks

Administrative ranks

Academic ranks

Administrative ranks

England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Scotland

Academic ranks

Administrative ranks

See also