Academic ranks
Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals in academia.
The academic rank ...
in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in
academia
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
.
Overview
In
Romance languages
The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language fam ...
(spoken in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
–
Ibero-America
Ibero-America ( es, Iberoamérica, pt, Ibero-América) or Iberian America is a region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese are predominant languages (usually form ...
), the term "professor" and "teacher" translate the same ("''professor''" / "''professeur''" / "''professore''" / "''profesor''") thus it is used for anyone teaching at a school (
grade/elementary,
middle, and
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
), institute,
technical school
In the United States, a technical school is a type of two-year college that covers specialized fields such as business, finance, hospitality, tourism, construction, engineering, visual arts, information technology and community work.
Associa ...
,
vocational school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
,
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
or
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, regardless of the level of the subject matter taught or the level or ages of students. However, one who teaches at a university is specifically called "''professor universitário''" ("university professor"), although it is also common to call university professors just "''professor''".
As subtypes of professors the following are distinguished:
* ''Professor catedrático'' (Portugal) or ''Professor titular'' (Brazil):
full professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
; it is the highest faculty position
* ''Professor associado'', ''professor adjunto'', ''professor auxiliar'': various intermediary professorship levels, roughly equivalent to
associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
Overview
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
or
assistant professor
Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada.
Overview
This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...
– not to be confounded with
adjunct professors –, depending on country and if it's a state or federal university; see country-specific sections below for details
* ''Professor substituto'': a short-term contract for replacement of professors on maternity leave, sabbatical years or other temporary situations
* ''Professor visitante'': same as
visiting professor
In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...
; usually conducts research as an obligation from his/her contract and so is required to hold a PhD
Portugal
The portuguese academic career can be taken by two ways: Teaching Career or Scientific Research Career.
Teaching Career:
* ''Professor catedrático'': equivalent to full professor
* ''Professor associado'': equivalent to associate professor
* ''Professor auxiliar'': equivalent to assistant professor
Both ''professor associado'' and ''professor auxiliar'' may have ''Agregação'', an extra degree mandatory to all applicants to the rank of ''professor catedrático'' which one can apply to usually years after the PhD (similar to the French ''
Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches
Habilitation is the highest academic degree, university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, us ...
''). ''Agregação'' is a two-day exam based on
evaluation and a public lecture, where the candidate is evaluated by secret vote by a large number of other full professors, in which the professors insert a white or a black sphere into a bag according to his or her decision.
The three ranks of professors may also be held by invited professors, according to the rank, this does not mean that they are from outside the university but rather they re not employed by the university full time.
Portuguese universities still have a few other teaching staff in two ranks not holding a PhD. These two ranks were extinguished in 2009 and will vanish after all the ongoing contracts terminate in the next few years.
* ''Assistente'': equivalent to
assistant lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct res ...
(without a PhD), normally someone who is simultaneously earning a PhD and holding a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. ; only teaches practical (or lab) classes.
* ''Assistente estagiário'': equivalent to a
junior teaching assistant. It used to be the start of the teaching career until 2009 and already extremely rare to find since the
Bologna agreement. They are typically
graduate student
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree.
The organization and stru ...
s and only teach practical (lab) classes.
Brazil
Federal level
Academic ranks in the federal universities have been updated slightly over the years via new legislation.
Since 2013, ranks are organized in five classes, containing up to four levels each:
* Class E, ''Professor titular'' (single level): equivalent to full professor
* Class D, ''Professor associado'' (levels 1, 2, 3, 4): must hold a PhD, equivalent to associate professor
* Class C, ''Professor adjunto'' (levels 1, 2, 3, 4): must hold a PhD, equivalent to assistant professor
* Class B, ''Professor assistente'' (levels 1 and 2): must hold a master's degree
* Class A (levels 1 and 2): pre-tenure faculty
** ''Professor adjunto A'': must hold a PhD
** ''Professor assistente A'': must hold a master's degree
** ''Professor auxiliar'': must hold an undergraduate degree or specialization title
Federal university professors are
public servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
s and as such acquire tenure automatically after an initial three-year
probationary period
In a workplace setting, probation (or a probationary period) is a status given to new employees and trainees of a company, business, or organization. This status allows a supervisor, training official, or manager to evaluate the progress and sk ...
( pt, estágio probatório, links=no; see also
Brazilian Civil Service#Tenure).
Salary is pre-determined for each class/level combination, increasing with rank advancement, and includes a
thirteenth salary
A thirteenth salary, or end-of-year bonus, is an extra payment given to employees at the end of December. Although the amount of the payment depends on a number of factors, it usually matches an employee's monthly salary and can be paid in o ...
.
Federal university professors are also entitled to 45-day
annual leave
Annual leave is a period of paid time off work granted by employers to employees to be used for whatever the employee wishes. Depending on the employer's policies, differing number of days may be offered, and the employee may be required to gi ...
,
compensated one-third higher than the normal salary.
Hiring is done through a
civil service entrance examination
Civil service examinations are examinations implemented in various countries for recruitment and admission to the civil service. They are intended as a method to achieve an effective, rational public administration on a merit system for recruitin ...
open to anyone eligible – though normally in Portuguese, which represents a challenge for internationals– and normally leads to the bottom rank (class A, level 1).
Career advancement is achieved through ''progression'' across levels of a given class and ''promotion'' across different classes, with each step normally requiring two years of service plus approval in a performance evaluation (internal to the university).
Faculty may expedite promotion upon tenuring (3-year probation) thus advancing to the first level of class B or class C if they are holders of the required degrees (master's or PhD, respectively).
Advancement to the top rank (class E) requires additionally either a type of
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
(defense of an original thesis) or approval of a written document ( pt, memorial, links=no) describing the applicant's professional achievements (in teaching, research, outreach, and academic administration); the evaluation process in this case is carried out by a special commission made of at least 75% of members external to the applicant's own university.
[
]
State level
At São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
state universities, particularly at the University of São Paulo
The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...
, the academic rank system is as follows:
* ''Professor titular'' (MS-6): equivalent to full professor, the position normally requires years of academic experience and meaningful publications in international academic journals
* ''Professor associado'' (MS-5): must hold the title of '' livre docente'' (similar to a German Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
), equivalent to associate professor
* ''Professor doutor'' (MS-3): must hold a PhD, equivalent to assistant professor
* ''Professor assistente'' (MS-2): must hold a master's degree and a pedagogical preparation (PAE)
* ''Auxiliar de ensino'' (MS-1): only a bachelor's degree is required
Research-only
The Portuguese scientific research career is defined by the Decree-Law 124/99 of 20th April.
Research Career:
# Investigador-coordenador (Coordinator Researcher, equivalent to full professor status)
# Investigador principal (Principal Researcher, equivalent to associate professor status)
# Investigador auxiliar (Auxiliary Researcher, equivalent to assistant professor status)
This career statute also provides for the possibility of specially hired staff:
* Invited Researcher
* Assistant Researcher (minimum requirement: Master degree)
* Research Intern (minimum requirement: Bachelor degree)
See also
*List of academic ranks
Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals in academia.
The academic rank ...
References
{{Academic ranks overview
Academic ranks
Academia in Portugal
Academia in Brazil