Office of Reader

The title of reader in the United Kingdom and some universities in the Commonwealth of Nations, for example India, Australia and New Zealand, denotes an appointment for a senior academic with a distinguished international reputation in research or scholarship.

In the traditional hierarchy of British and other Commonwealth universities, reader is an academic rank above senior lecturer (or principal lecturer in the new universities) and below Professor, recognising a distinguished record of original research. A reader could be seen as a professor without a chair, similar to the distinction between professor extraordinarius and professor ordinarius at some European universities, professor and chaired professor in Hong Kong and "professor name" (or associate professor) and chaired professor in Ireland. Both readers and professors in the UK would correspond to full professors in the US.

The promotion criteria applied to a readership in the United Kingdom or to an associate professorship in many countries is similar to those applied to a professorship: advancing from senior lecturer to reader or associate professor generally requires evidence of a distinguished record of original research.

The Scandinavian title docent, as used in Sweden today and in Norway prior to 1985, is commonly translated into English as reader, for example by Lund University. The title ranks above associate professor (in the North American sense) and below full professor.

Several UK universities (e.g. the University of Leeds; the University of Oxford) have recently dispensed with the reader grade (those currently holding readerships retain the title, but no new readers will be appointed). In the few UK universities that have adopted North American academic titles (i.e. assistant professor; associate professor; full professor) readerships have become assimilated with professorships.

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