job search - Translating British faculty titles into American equivalents

A recent job posting at a British university has specified available openings at multiple levels: lecturer, senior lecturer, reader, and professor. However, it's not clear how to map these titles to American equivalents. For instance, where would someone who has finished up several years of an assistant professorship and is interested in moving into such a position be classified? Would it be as a senior lecturer or reader?

Answer

Usually, lecturer is the lowest open-ended position (although there are exceptions), and professor is the highest one, everything in between can be quite specific. For instance, Swansea University is considering four different grades from 2013:

• Lecturer (replacing Lecturer Grade 8 and Tutor)


• Senior Lecturer (replacing Lecturer Grade 9, Senior Professional Tutor and Research Fellow)


• Associate Professor (replacing Senior Lecturer and Reader)


• Professor (that one at least is unchanged!).

Each title comes with a set of expected criteria. In addition, a concept I've seen several times in the UK is the notion of academic pathway, which can characterise further the criteria for the positions. For instance, at Newcastle University, where I'm currently working, we have three main academic pathways, with the corresponding positions. In order to illustrate the different expectations based on the pathways, I included the expectations w.r.t. the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF). I also include the grade (positions above G are usually open-ended, although there are exceptions).

• 
  

  Teaching & Scholarship Pathway (the "standard" pathway):

  
  
  
  
  • Grade E: Teaching Assistant (encouraged to become recognised at UKPSF Descriptor 1)
  
  
  • Grade F: Teaching Fellow (be recognised at or be working towards UKPSF Descriptor 2)
  
  
  • Grade G: Lecturer (likely to be working commensurate with the achievement of Descriptor 3 and are encouraged to work towards it)
  
  
  • Grade H: Senior Lecturer (expected to be recognised at or be working towards UK PSF Descriptor 3)
  
  
  • Grade H: Reader (be recognised at or be working towards UKPSF Descriptor 3 or 4)
  
  
  • Grade I: Professor (be recognised at or be working towards UKPSF Descriptor 3 or 4)
  
  
  
  
  


• 
  

  Teaching & Research Pathway:

  
  
  
  
  • Grade F: Lecturer (should be recognised at UKPSF Descriptor 1 and be working towards Descriptor 2)
  
  
  • Grade G: Lecturer (should be recognised at UKPSF Descriptor 1 and be working towards Descriptor 2)
  
  
  • Grade H: Senior Lecturer (should be working towards UKPSF Descriptor 2 or 3)
  
  
  • Grade H: Reader (should be working towards UKPSF Descriptor 3)
  
  
  • Grade I: Professor (should be working towards UKPSF Descriptor 3)
  
  
  
  
  


• 
  

  Research & Innovation Pathway (since there is no teaching expected, UKPSF is not relevant):

  
  
  
  
  • Grade E: Research Assistant
  
  
  • Grade F: Research Associate
  
  
  • Grade G: Senior Research Associate
  
  
  • Grade H: Principal Research Associate & Reader
  
  
  • Grade I: Professor.
  
  
  
  
  

In other words, you should not try to translate the title, but instead understand where do you fit within the academic pathways of the university offering the positions. When it comes to teaching, it can be particularly useful to understand where one fits within the UKPSF, in order to match the corresponding title with the scheme used at the university. For instance, showing that you are working towards obtaining Descriptor 4 could be helpful to get a Reader position instead of a Senior Lecturer.