Academic Positions & Titles - Professor

Austria

Professor positions are organized in three categories: Assistant Professor (Assistenzprofessor), Associate Professor (Assoziierter Professor/Außerordentlicher Universitätsprofessor) and Full Professor (Universitätsprofessor). Associate Professor and Full Professor positions are permanent. The initial appointment of Assistant Professors (tenure track positions) is for six years with the possibility of promotion to a permanent position as Associate Professor after a positive evaluation. There exists a specific tenure track system for the promotion from an Assistant Professor position to an Associate Professor position (for selected Assistant Professors who obtain the so-called Habilitation). However, there is not such a system for the promotion from an Associate Professor position to a Full Professor position. Being appointed as Full Professor requires a specific appointment procedure and in general they have a Chair (Lehrstuhl). Since the year 2000 Full Professors are no longer employed as civil servants, but as University employees (the same for Associate Professors and Assistant Professors since 2004).

Belgium

Professor positions are organized differently in Flanders and Wallonia, in Wallonia there are three categories: Chargé de Cours, Professeur and Professeur Ordinaire [BE11] while in Flanders four university professor categories exist: Docent, Hoofddocent, Hoogleraar and Gewoon Hoogleraar [BE12].

In Wallonia Chargé de Cours and Professeur are initially non-tenured positions including an initial temporary appointment of minimum three years, after this initial temporary period, the position can become permanent upon a positive evaluation. The rank of Professeur Ordinaire is not available upon appointment, only by internal promotion. Request for promotion from a Chargé de Cours to a Professeur position is formally possible after eight years. Promotion from Professeur to Professeur Ordinaire is formally possible after another five years [BE11].

In Flanders most Docent positions, similarly to Assistant Professor, are tenure-track positions, the appointment is initially for five years, a positive assessment at the end of that period grants directly an appointment into a permanent Hoofddocent position in the same university [BE8]. New Hoofddocent (outside the internal Docent tenure-track path), Hoogleraar and Gewoon Hoogleraar appointments usually include a minimum tree-year temporary period (integratieperiode) with a prospect for permanent employment based on a positive evaluation after the initial trial period. Request to promotion to a higher level is usually possible after three years of the last permanent appointment or promotion [BE13, BE14].

Czechia

Academic professor positions in the Czech Republic are organized in the following categories: Odborný Asistent (Assistant Professor), Docent (Associate Professor), Professor (Full Professor). At roughly the same salary level as Assistant Professor is the position of Lektor (Lector) who is usually involved in teaching activities only, without research obligations. Odborný Asistent should hold a PhD degree. Docent is appointed by the Rector of the University on the proposal of the Faculty Scientific Council, in front of which the candidate must defend his habilitation thesis and prove significant scientific, pedagogical and professional qualifications. Only academics with a Docent position can apply for a Full Professor position. They should be recommended by at least three Full Professors from the same field, and then undergo an appointment procedure (jmenovací řízení) assessing the candidate professional activities and results. If the assessment is positive, the Full Professor - on the proposal of the Rector - is appointed by the President of the Czech Republic [CZ1].

The employment in the positions of Assistant Professor is typically fixed-term and depends on the universities’ rules. Usually it is limited to 3 years and afterwards can be extended. The third extension leads to a permanent position. Positions of Associate Professors and Full Professors are usually permanent.

Estonia

Due to the new Estonian Universities Act, Estonian Universities adopted a new structure of academic positions which is valid since January 2021. The new professor categories are organized in four stages: the first stage includes positions of Junior Research Fellow (Nooremteadur), Junior Lecturer (Nooremlektor) and Teacher (Õpetaja), the second stage - Research Fellow (Teadur) and Lecturer (Lektor) which are equivalent to Assistant Professors positions, the third and fourth stages include positions of Associate Professor (Kaasprofessor) and Professor (Professor) respectively.

Lecturer, Research Fellow, Associate Professor, and Professor must hold a doctoral or an equivalent qualification and relevant previous work experience, while Teacher, Junior Lecturer and Junior Research Fellow must hold at least a Master’s degree or an equivalent qualification. Most academic positions are permanent from the start of the employment contract. [EE2]. The new career structure includes the possibility of promotion to a higher position without announcing an open competition. This possibility is open for academic staff of the second or third stage, i.e. Research fellows and Lecturers can be promoted to the position of Associate Professors, and Associate Professors to the position of Professors. Promotion is possible if the employee complies with the requirements established for the higher position. For academic staff of the first stage (i.e. Teachers, Junior Lecturers and Junior Research Fellows), there is no promotion opportunity; moving to a second stage position (Lecturer, Research Fellow) is possible by a public recruitment procedure. [EE3].

France

University professors (Maîtres de Conférences and Professeur des Universités) have permanent, tenured positions including a number of levels (classes) [FR2, FR5, FR6, FR7]. In the statutory group of Maîtres de Conférences there are two levels: classe normale and hors-classe; in the statutory group of Professeur des Universités there are three levels: deuxième, première, and classe exceptionnelle [FR5, FR6, FR7]. Promotion to a higher level, in the same category, is not granted automatically for seniority, but involves a performance review process. Promotion from a Maîtres de Conférences to a Professeur des Universités position, requires the application to a new available position through a specific process called concours.

Germany

Professor positions are organized in three categories: Juniorprofessor (W1), Universitätsprofessor (W2) and Universitätsprofessor / Lehrstuhlinhaber (W3). Juniorprofessor positions, introduced by law in 2002, are time-limited (three years), can be renewed once for a further 3 years, and provide the opportunity to apply for a permanent position without passing the Habilitation process (which junior professors sometimes still do). Academics in these positions, although non-permanent, have their own research group and work autonomously [GE10]. The requirements for appointments as a Juniorprofessor (W1) are a doctoral degree or equivalent, excellent research profile, a maximum of six years since starting doctoral research. In general, there is no tenure process (although some universities offer Juniorprofessor positions including a tenure-track plan [GE10, GE11]), therefore at the end of his or her term a Juniorprofessor must apply for a new open position and go through the usual German recruitment process to reach a tenured professorship. W2 and W3 Professorships are permanent tenured positions. Universitätsprofessor (W2) has teaching duties, his/her own research group and a smaller budget when compared to Universitätsprofessor / Lehrstuhlinhaber (W3) who has bigger research groups and budgets and in general has a Chair (Lehrstuhl) [GE12].

Greece

Professor positions in Greece until 2011 were organized in four categories: Lecturer (Λέκτορας), Assistant Professor (Επίκουρος Καθηγητής), Associate Professor (Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής) and Professor (Καθηγητής). From 2011 no new Lecturer positions have been offered and the teaching academic positions were restricted to Assistant Professor (Επίκουρος Καθηγητής), Associate Professor (Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής) and Professor (Καθηγητής). Professors on all ranks working in public institutions are civil servants, their salaries and career path and promotions are ruled by the national government [Panagiota Fatourou, personal communication].

Assistant Professor positions are non-tenured and have an initial contract of four years which can be extended for another four years. After six years in an Assistant Professor position, application for promotion is possible. If not successful a new request for promotion can be issued after a period of three years. Associate and Professor are permanent tenured positions. After four years in the position, Associate Professors have the right to initiate the procedure for their promotion i.e. the publication of an open call of interest for a Professor position. The main criteria evaluated for promotion are research performance (number and quality of publications), teaching performance and key role in administrative duties. The strictness in the application of the criteria differs from department to department, from university to university and from discipline to discipline [GR2].

The serious economic crisis Greece if facing in recent years is also deeply affecting the universities and the promotion system. Since 2010 there has been no new call for faculty members in the country in any level, a situation which is endangering the national higher education system and worsening the brain drain effect, record number of Greek academics are searching for jobs in other European countries, North America and Asia [GR3].

Italy

Professor positions are organized in three categories: Ricercatore, Professore di Seconda Fascia (Professore Associato) and Professore di Prima Fascia (Professore Ordinario).

Up to 2010, an Assistant Professor (Ricercatore) after three years could be confirmed to a tenured position (Ricercatore Confermato), without being promoted to a higher-level professorship. This situation changed in 2011 [IT4] when Assistant Professor positions started to have a limited duration (tempo determinato). They are of two kinds: Tipo A and Tipo B. Ricercatore a Tempo Determinato Tipo A is initially appointed for three years, the contract can be extended at most once for maximum of two years. Ricercatore a Tempo Determinato Tipo B are tenure track positions, the contract lasts at most three years, without further extensions, and can be assigned to candidates who previously had type A contracts (or similar experience nationally or abroad). After three years, type B personnel who received a national habilitation, and had positive evaluation at the end of the three years, are promoted to a tenured Associate Professor (Professore di 2a Fascia) position [IT4; Carlo Ghezzi, personal communication].

Professore Associati and Professore Ordinari are since 2011 tenured positions from the initial appointment, until 2010 both types of positions were non-tenured in the first three years [IT4; Carlo Ghezzi, personal communication].

Latvia

After receiving a doctor degree those following an academic career (on average 50% tends to got to Industry) are immediately eligible to Docents or even Asociēts Profesor positions. To become a Profesors (full professor) it is mandatory at least three years of experience in an Asociēts Profesors position, on average this tends to be much longer than three years.

Academic teaching staff positions in Latvia are organized in five categories: Asistents, Lektors, Docents, Asociēts Profesors, Profesors. There is not a straight correspondence to the positions of Assistant, Associate and Full Professor. Asistents and Lektors positions typically do not require a doctoral degree, instead a Master’s degree is required. Docents and Asociēts Profesors positions typically require a doctoral degree (with rare exceptions for strong professionals from industry, teaching in professional programs). A doctoral degree and at least three years in a Asociēts Profesors position is a precondition for being eligible to a Profesors position. Additionally, minimal requirements (in teaching, research, organizational work, etc) are defined by the central government for positions of Asociēts Profesors and Profesors (e.g., at least 5 Web of Science or Scopus-indexed publications and at least 5 presentations at international conferences during the past 6 years). In all five categories, a person is elected through public competition for six years. After six years the position is declared vacant and a new competition takes place, however the person currently holding the position is eligible to apply again; in Latvia academic permanent tenured positions do not exist [Juris Borzovs, personal communication].

Lithuania

Professor positions in Lithuania are organized in four categories: Asistentas (Assistant), Lektorius (Lecturer), Docentas (Docent), Profesorius (Professor). The appointment is typically fixed-term for five years. After that period, academics can reapply for the same or a higher position. The career promotion is governed by the university rules, which generally follow the requirements for academic positions set by the Lithuania’s Research Council (LMT), as well as by the Law on higher education and research of the Republic of Lithuania, recommendations of the European Commission on The European Charter for Researchers and on The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. Lecturers and researchers (except trainees and project researchers, invited researchers and employees working under permanent employment contract) are appointed to a position by the procedure of competition. Permanent employment contract is also possible for candidates who win a competition for the same position of lecturer or researcher for the second time. The candidates, working under permanent employment contracts are reviewed every 5 years. Employment of the candidates, who do not pass reviews, is terminated [Robertas Damaševičius, personal communication].

Asistentas and Lektorius must hold at least a Master’s degree or equivalent, for Lektorius, it should be complemented with at least two years of experience in pedagogical work and at least one publication in an indexed international scientific journal. Docentas and Profesorius must hold a Doctor degree and have at least 3 or 5 years of prior relevant experience respectively, or proof of considerable scientific contribution (e.g. articles in peer-reviewed and international journals, science monographs, textbooks, publications for studies, presentation of scientific research at national and international conferences, experience in organization of science events, research or studies’ expertize, supervision of Master’s, Doctor candidates, etc.) [LT4; Robertas Damaševičius, personal communication].

Netherlands

The regular (structural) positions in the Dutch system have a mix of research and teaching duties, and senior positions may include various responsibilities for projects, programs and/or groups as well. The regular positions include, in increasing level of seniority: Universitair Docent 2 and 1 (UD 2/UD 1, roughly corresponding to Assistant Professor), Universitair Hoofddocent 2 and 1 (UHD 2/UHD 1, roughly corresponding to Associate Professor), and Hoogleraar 2 and 1 (H 2/H 1, corresponding to full professor). Only full professors hold Chairs. All positions are usually tenured or tenure-track.

Poland

Academic positions in Poland are organized in four categories: Asystent (Assistant Lecturer), Adiunkt (Adjunct Lecturer), Profesor uczelni (Associate Professor), Profesor (Full Professor), with different formal requirements for each position. Asystent must hold at least a Master’s degree (magister) or equivalent, Adiunkt must hold at least a PhD degree (doktor). To become a Profesor uczelni, an academic in Poland must get the habilitation degree (doktor habilitowany) which is awarded by a faculty council (Rada Wydziału) or a scientific council of a university or Polish Academy of Science. To become a Profesor, a title of professor (profesor) awarded by the President of Poland is required. The procedures of getting the habilitation degree and professor title are run and strictly supervised by the Council of Scientific Excellence (Rada Doskonałości Naukowej) [PL2]. The employment in the positions of Asystent and Adiunkt is typically fixed-term and does not exceed 8 years. Depending on the universities’ rules, the length of the first contract varies from 1 to 5 years, afterwards it can be extended up to 8 years in total. The third extension leads to a permanent position. In practice, in most universities all professor positions are permanent, unless someone is employed under the replacement contract or for a project with fixe-term funding. A person holding the habilitation degree is, as a rule, employed permanently [Leszek Pacholski, personal communication].

Portugal

Professor positions in Portuguese universities are organized in the following categories: Professor Auxiliar, Professor Associado, Professor Catedrático. The corresponding professor category for polytechnic institutions (Politécnico) are Professor Adjunto, Professor Coordenador, Professor Coordenador Principal. Hereinafter, we focus on universities’ professor positions. The qualifications required for permanent professor positions in the universities are a PhD degree for Professor Auxiliar; a PhD degree awarded more than 5 years ago and relevant academic professional experience for Professor Associado; a PhD degree awarded more than 5 years ago and habilitation (Agregação) for Professor Catedrático [PT8]. The above positions are permanent, except the case of Professor Auxiliar where a 5 year experimental period applies. If the assessment of these first 5 years turns out to be negative the contract ends, otherwise it is converted into a permanent one. There is also the possibility of part-time (typically less than 60%) invited contracts (Convidado), usually annual, for specific needs. This applies to all the categories.

The typical first step of a PhD graduate willing to pursue an academic career is to apply to a position as a Professor Auxiliar in an open contest. This may happen after some years as a postdoc to improve the curriculum vitae. If the application is successful, a 5 year probation period starts, that is subject to a review at the end of the 5 year term. A positive assessment means the contract becomes permanent, meaning tenure is obtained. To go further, the professor must then apply to a Professor Associado position, again in an open contest. The next step is presenting the Habilitation (Agregação) [PT9]. This is an academic title requiring public defence in front of a jury from several universities, of the personal curriculum vitae, of a report on a course or group of related courses, and of a summary of a lecture on a subject related to the chosen area. Approval in the Habilitation corresponds to an improvement in the salary and, most importantly, enables applications for the top category of Professor Catedrático. This application is again to an open contest. There is no progression to higher categories through an individual assessment process, all the progressions are done through competitive processes [Gabriel David, personal communication].

Romania

Professor positions are organized in four categories: Asistent, Lector, Conferentiar and Profesor. Professors on all ranks working in public institutions are civil servants, their salaries and career path and promotions are ruled by the national government. Asistent are usually temporary positions (typically 3 years) and may be occupied by senior PhD Candidates or Postdoctoral Researchers. All the other positions are permanent and involve both teaching and research activities. The conditions to occupy any academic or research positions are regulated by the National Council for University Titles, Diplomas and Certificates (CNATDCU) [RO1], and may be further restricted by universities. Only professors who obtain the Habilitation title can work as a PhD supervisor [Simona Motogna, personal communication].

Spain

Professors with permanent positions in Spain can be employed by the national Spanish Government (civil servants) or by a regional government. Civil servants positions are organized in three categories: Titular de Escuela Universitaria, Titular de Universidad/Catedrático de Escuela Universitaria and Catedrático de Universidad. All positions, starting before 2007, were permanent and tenured. From 2007 an educational reform has been enforced and under new contracts only Catedrático de Universidad and Titular de Universidad are tenured positions. Catedrático de Universidad can take positions of Department Chair, Dean (Faculty), Director (School) and Rector. To apply for a permanent position, after getting a PhD, researchers usually apply for a postdoc grant or temporary contract. During three or four years they have to teach and do research in order to pass the habilitation process, which can be either national or regional. Note that national research centres have different positions (e.g. Científico Titular, Investigador Científico), different professional tracks and only research duties [Núria Castell Ariño, personal communication].

Switzerland

Professor positions are organized in three categories: Assistenzprofessor / Professeur Assistant / Professore Assistenti; Außerordentliche Professor / Professeur Associé / Professore di Ruolo Straordinari and Ordentlicher Professor / Professeur Ordinaire / Professore di Ruolo Ordinari (German, French and Italian terms respectively). Among the three categories only Assistenzprofessor / Professeur Assistant / Professore Assistenti are non-tenured positions. Many appointments include a tenure-track plan, in this case an Assistenzprofessor / Professeur Assistant / Professore Assistenti is appointed for four years, with the possibility of contract renewal for a period of maximum two years. After this period, candidates with outstanding qualifications are considered for a permanent professorship (in general Außerordentliche Professor / Professeur Associé / Professore di Ruolo Straordinari) through a direct, multi-stage tenure procedure [SW10]. Procedures for granting tenure-track positions are determined by the individual faculties. Assistenzprofessor / Professeur Assistant / Professore Assistenti positions can also be funded by a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) grant, but in this case the contract does not include a tenure-track plan [SW10].

UK

University professor positions in the UK are organized in three ranks: Lecturer, Senior Lecturer/Reader and Professor. All positions are permanent and don’t include tenure track schemes. Lecturer positions usually start with a probationary period. The length of a probationary period can vary a lot according to the institution and the length of the contract of employment. Reader/Senior Lecturer or Professor positions do not include a probation period. Promotion to a higher rank can happen at any time in the career, whenever the candidate satisfies the promotion criteria defined by the institution. Each year there is a promotion round and the criteria for promotion for each level is published and candidates can be selected or self-nominate for a promotion. The Department first decides whether they want to support the candidate or not. Then at the faculty level a judgement is made about quality, partially in comparison with other candidates from across the departments in the faculty that year, creating therefore a ranked list with a quality cut off. For Reader and Professor this stage involves the faculty consulting independent referees about the work of the candidate. Then at the university level the ranked lists are combined into a single ranked list and as many candidates are promoted as can be afforded. Professors in the UK are said to hold a chair in a subject or subject area, so are often referred to as “The Chair in/of X” where X is their subject. Chairs may be established or personal. An established chair is one that is not tied to the individual who currently holds it. A personal chair on the other hand, is tied to the individual who has it. If they leave or retire, the chair is not guaranteed to be available for another person to take up [Jane Hillston, personal communication].