Academic rank in France
Encyclopedia
The following summarizes basic academic rank
s in the French
higher education
system:
Maître de conférences and Professeurs des universités are both permanent positions, and since all French universities are state-run, professors are also civil servants. The permanent position is not the same as tenure, strictly speaking, but is instead due to the status of civil servant in public universities.
Other academic positions exist but they are on contractual basis (ATER, allocataire moniteur). These positions have various subcategories, but the title is always the same. The subcategories (2nd class, 1st class, Exceptional Class) solely serve to determine the appropriate income they earn. No one can become Professeur or Maître de Conférence without a doctorate summa cum laude.
In Law, Political Science and Economics it is possible to be recruited directly as a full professor by passing the agrégation (distinct from the secondary school system's agrégation, more widespread). Consequently, some scholars become professors without prior experience as a Maître de conférences. This remains rare however, most of the time the aggregation is a way to accelerate career advancement for the Maîtres de conférences (this is known as the voie courte, or short way, as opposed to the voie longue).
Other academic staff include :
is a parallel educational system generally attributed to Napoleon. These institutions of higher education each specialize in a specific domain, such as business, political science, or engineering. Some of them (for example Sciences Po Paris) are part of the state university recruitment system. The others - mainly the private ones - follow various guidelines. Among the business schools it is common to follow the North American terminology. That is,
Typically, anyone teaching in a Grande Ecole will identify themselves publicly as "Professeur" regardless of their internal rank. This is an acceptable practice for tenured or full-time staff ("professeurs permanents") and permanently employed part-time staff (professeurs affiliés). It is considered inappropriate for others who teach a single course (vacataires or chargés d'enseignements).
Academic rank
This list of academic ranks identifies the hierarchical ranking structure found amongst scholars in academia, whether tenured or non-tenured. The lists below refer specifically to colleges and universities throughout the world, although other institutions of higher learning may follow a similar...
s in the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
system:
State university system
- PU (Professeur des Universités) equivalent to Full ProfessorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
) - MCF (Maître de conférences) with or without a habilitationHabilitationHabilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
(HDR) to direct doctoral theses. The title is roughly equivalent to the rank of Associate Professor in North America, and Senior Lecturer in the United Kingdom.
Maître de conférences and Professeurs des universités are both permanent positions, and since all French universities are state-run, professors are also civil servants. The permanent position is not the same as tenure, strictly speaking, but is instead due to the status of civil servant in public universities.
Other academic positions exist but they are on contractual basis (ATER, allocataire moniteur). These positions have various subcategories, but the title is always the same. The subcategories (2nd class, 1st class, Exceptional Class) solely serve to determine the appropriate income they earn. No one can become Professeur or Maître de Conférence without a doctorate summa cum laude.
In Law, Political Science and Economics it is possible to be recruited directly as a full professor by passing the agrégation (distinct from the secondary school system's agrégation, more widespread). Consequently, some scholars become professors without prior experience as a Maître de conférences. This remains rare however, most of the time the aggregation is a way to accelerate career advancement for the Maîtres de conférences (this is known as the voie courte, or short way, as opposed to the voie longue).
Other academic staff include :
- PRAG (Professeur agrégé) : Secondary school professors teaching at university level (for example a foreign language)
- Professeur invité : similar to a professor of practice in the United States
- ATER (Attaché temporaire d'enseignement et de recherche) : ATERs usually are completing a PhD or have just done so. They have a one year contract renewable once. Laureates of the French agrégation may hold an ATER position up to 4 years in total. ATER have the same responsibilities and compensation as regular assistant professors. They do research work and 192 hours/year of teaching at both graduate and undergraduate levels for about 20,000 euros/year.
- Allocataire de recherche-moniteur: PhD candidates who have obtained, based on their academic accomplishments, a 3-years position (non renewable). They are awarded a research grant ("allocation de recherche") which is actually a salary (1100 euros/month) and are expected to work on a dissertation and to participate in research activities. In addition, the best first quarter of allocataires also are "moniteurs" (Teaching FellowTeaching fellowA teaching fellow is a particular teaching role at some universities.-United States:In the USA a teaching fellow is an advanced graduate student who serves as the primary instructor for an undergraduate course...
), meaning that they teach about 64 hours per year, usually at the undergraduate level. Being a moniteur usually helps a lot to eventually get a faculty position: less than 1/4 of the regular PhD students have the chance to be a moniteur, however, among the hundreds of new faculty members hired in France in 2005, over one half were former Allocataires de recherche-moniteurs. “Eleves” from the most prestigious French grandes Ecole (Ecole PolytechniqueÉcole PolytechniqueThe École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...
and Ecole Normale SupérieureÉcole Normale SupérieureThe École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
) usually get moniteur positions during their PhD. One speaks in this case of “Allocataires couplés” or “AC”.
Grandes Écoles system
The Grandes ÉcolesGrandes écoles
The grandes écoles of France are higher education establishments outside the main framework of the French university system. The grandes écoles select students for admission based chiefly on national ranking in competitive written and oral exams...
is a parallel educational system generally attributed to Napoleon. These institutions of higher education each specialize in a specific domain, such as business, political science, or engineering. Some of them (for example Sciences Po Paris) are part of the state university recruitment system. The others - mainly the private ones - follow various guidelines. Among the business schools it is common to follow the North American terminology. That is,
- Instructor (vacataire or chargé d'enseignements)
- Adjunct professor (professeur affilié)
- Assistant professor (professeur assistant(e))
- Associate professor (professeur associé)
- Full professor (professeur)
- Chaired professorships are a new phenomenon and can be given to either an associate professor or full professor.
Typically, anyone teaching in a Grande Ecole will identify themselves publicly as "Professeur" regardless of their internal rank. This is an acceptable practice for tenured or full-time staff ("professeurs permanents") and permanently employed part-time staff (professeurs affiliés). It is considered inappropriate for others who teach a single course (vacataires or chargés d'enseignements).
Administrative ranks
- Recteur :Appointed by the Ministry of education they are formally chancellor of the universities in an academic district although they actually only take care of primary and secondary schools. They usually are chosen among senior university professors.
- Président de l'université : Elected position usually held by a professor for four years.
- Doyen : Elected position, similar to a Dean, they steer a faculté or UFR (similar to a US college)
- Président de la commission de spécialiste : Responsible for recruitment in a particular discipline (e.g. Public Law, Economics).
- Directeur d'Ecole Doctorale
- Directeur d'un centre de recherche