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Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions pp 1–7Cite as

Academic Careers

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Synonyms

Academic status; Employment; Positions

Definition

Academic careers: the sequence of positions over the working life of an academic, usually but not necessarily starting with a doctoral degree. The progression can be vertical, from assistant to full professor; horizontal, moving across institutions and/or countries holding the same academic title; or it can also be a “regression,” e.g., from dean of faculty back to professor.

Uniqueness Versus Comparability

Academic careers are a core aspect of the functioning of higher education, since they organize the division of labor among academic professionals; they design possible occupational trajectories and foster a constant and coherent reproduction of academic workforce. In doing so, academic careers shape and delimitate the meaning and functions of academic expertise, the latter being further structured according to the fields of knowledge and to the rules and regulations underpinning higher education institutions. In other words,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department Education, Practice and Society, University College London Institute of Education, London, UK

    Tatiana Fumasoli

Authors
  1. Tatiana Fumasoli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tatiana Fumasoli .

Section Editor information

  1. OSPS, LACCUS, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Gaële Goastellec

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Fumasoli, T. (2018). Academic Careers. In: Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_287-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_287-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9553-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9553-1

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