Adjunct professor

An adjunct professor may also be called an adjunct lecturer, an adjunct instructor, or adjunct faculty. Collectively, they may be referred to as contingent academic labor. The rank of sessional lecturer in Canadian universities is similar to the US concept.

In the United States, an adjunct is, in most cases, a non-tenure-track faculty member.^[1][2] However, it can also be a scholar or teacher whose primary employer is not the school or department with which they have adjunct status.^[3] Adjunct professors make up the majority of instructors in higher education (post-secondary) institutions. As with other part-time workers, they are paid less than full-time professors and do not receive employee benefits such as health insurance or an office.^[4] In most cases, adjunct professors need a master's degree, but in some cases only require a bachelor's degree and relevant experience.^[5] However, over a third have a doctoral degree.^[6] In many universities, the title "adjunct professor" (or variations thereof, such as "adjunct associate professor") implies a PhD or other terminal degree; those with a master's or bachelor's degree may receive the title of "adjunct lecturer". In 2018 the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) expressed concern that only a quarter of university positions are tenure-track, with implications for job security and academic freedom.^[7] The AAUP analysis determined that 73% of university teaching positions in the United States are non-tenure track.^[8]

In Canada, adjunct professors are often nominated in recognition of active involvement with the appointing institution. At the same time, they are employed by the government, industry, a profession, or another institution.^[9] The term course lecturer, rather than adjunct, is used if the appointment is strictly to teach one or more courses. In contrast, the US uses this title for all instructors.

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In Portugal, the designation professor adjunto implies stable full-time employment in a polytechnic university. Notably, in countries such as Argentina and Brazil, a similar designation, professor adjunto, also implies stable employment. The same term used in Argentina and Brazil refers to a non-tenured position in parts of Spain.

In Hungary, there exists a similar term adjunktus, as well as adiunkt in Poland.

In Finland, the Docents' Union of Finland and the Finnish Ministry of Education recommend the term adjunct professor or associate professor in English as a translation of the title of docent.^[10] A docentship should be regarded as an educational title not connected with the employment rank as such, rather an assurance of the level of expertise, to enable the person to advance further in their academic career. The rank of a docent entitles scientists to be principal investigators, lead research groups, and act as the supervisors of doctoral students.

Some universities in The Netherlands have adjunct professors, where the title applies to the highest ranking variant of associate professor, thus having quite a distinct interpretation from the American use of the term.

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Portugal

Portugal

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira. It features the westernmost point in continental Europe, and its Iberian portion is bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain, the sole country to have a land border with Portugal. Its two archipelagos form two autonomous regions with their own regional governments. Lisbon is the capital and largest city by population.

Academic ranks in Argentina

Academic ranks in Argentina

Professors are usually categorized as "ordinario" or "concursado", "interino", or "suplente". In most cases, classes are taught by a professorial team, formed by one or two professors and auxiliars, which generally also functions as a research team. Regardless of the rank, professors in public universities must perform research. This ranking system is the one used at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and by most of the public universities, but not all of them; being autonomous, they can choose their own scale. Private universities have their own rank in each case, sometimes based on the public university system, although as a general rule they have less ranks or hold a higher ranking as the starting point for a teaching career.

Academic ranks in Spain

Academic ranks in Spain

Academic ranks in Spain are the titles, relative importance and authority of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia.

Academic ranks in Hungary

Academic ranks in Hungary

Academic ranks in Hungary are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia.

Finland

Finland

Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, across from Estonia. Finland covers an area of 338,455 square kilometres (130,678 sq mi) with a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns. Finnish and Swedish are the official languages, Swedish is the native language of 5.2% of the population. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to the boreal in the north. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.

Docent

Docent

The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French "maître de conférences" (MCF), and equal to or above the title of "associate professor".

Associate professor

Associate professor

Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the Commonwealth system.

In Bangladesh, private universities follow the title adjunct professor or adjunct associate professor to imply non-tenure faculty members.

In Pakistan, adjunct (assistant/associate) professors are also considered as non-regular faculty members, and usually, posts are given to Pakistani overseas scientists under a faculty development program.

In Australia, the term adjunct is reserved for academics and researchers from outside the university who have a close association with the university, e.g., through supervision of PhD students, recognized by an honorary title reflective of their rank and standing (adjunct lecturer, senior lecturer, associate professor or professor).^{[11][12][13][14]}

In Thailand, adjunct (assistant/associate) professors are considered "non-regular officers".