The title ofreader in universities in theUnited Kingdom and someCommonwealth of Nations such asIndia,Australia andNew Zealand denotes an appointment for a senior academic with a distinguished international reputation forresearch or scholarship.
In the traditional hierarchy of British and other Commonwealth universities, reader (andprincipal lecturer in thenew universities)[1] is anacademic rank abovesenior lecturer and belowChaired Professor. Comparatively speaking, a reader can be thought of as aprofessor but without achair, similar to the distinction which can be found in universities in the United States, China (Hong Kong) and some parts of Europe.[2]
The promotion criteria applied to a readership in the United Kingdom are similar to those applied to a professorship: advancing from senior lecturer to reader generally requires evidence of a distinguished record of original research.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
Several UK universities have dispensed with the reader grade, such as theUniversity of Oxford,[9] and theUniversity of Leeds in 2012;[10] those currently holding readerships retain the title, but no new readers will be appointed. In the few UK universities, including theUniversity of Cambridge,[11] that have adopted North American academic titles (i.e. lecturer is equivalent to assistant professor; senior lecturer equivalent to associate professor; professor equivalent to professor), readerships have become assimilated to professorships.
InDenmark andNorway,docent was traditionally a title ranking between associate professor and professor, and was virtually identical to a readership in the United Kingdom, although today, the title is used somewhat differently. The traditional Danish/Norwegiandocent title is widely translated as reader. Historically, there would often only be one professor (chair) for each institute or discipline, and other academics at the top academic level would be appointed as docents. In Norway all docents became full professors when the docent rank was abolished in 1985.
In Sweden, and countries influenced by Sweden,docent is the highest academic title below that of (chair) Professor, but it is usually not an academic position in itself, but is more like a degree; in this sense it is somewhat comparable to theHabilitation found in certain countries in Continental Europe.
At some universities in Commonwealth countries, such as India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Malaysia, and in Ireland, the titleassociate professor is used in place ofreader, and similarly ranks above senior lecturer and below (chair) professor. Thisassociate professor title should not be confused with theassociate professor title used in the North American system; like the reader title it ranks higher than anassociate professor in the North American system, as the North Americanassociate professor corresponds to the senior lecturer rank in Commonwealth universities[citation needed]. About half as many people hold the full professor title in Commonwealth universities as compared to U.S. universities[citation needed]; hence thereader andassociate professor ranks in the Commonwealth system broadly correspond to the lower half of the U.S. full professor rank[citation needed].
Note that some universities in Commonwealth countries have adopted the American system in place of the Commonwealth system.
| Commonwealth system | American system |
|---|---|
| Professor (chair) | Chair or distinguished professor |
| Reader(mainly UK) orassociate professor (Australia, NZ, India, Southeast Asia, South Africa, Ireland) | Full Professor |
| Senior lecturer | Associate professor |
| Lecturer | Assistant professor |
| Associate lecturer | Instructor |
This rank was the highest academic rank reached byAlan Turing,Chaim Weizmann,[12]Mary Cartwright andAnita Brookner.