The following summarizes basic academic ranks in the French higher education system. Most academic institutions are state-run and most academics with permanent positions are civil servants, and thus are tenured (after a one-year probationary period).
Several parallel career paths exist, depending on the type of institution. The three paths correspond to teacher-researchers (enseignants-chercheurs), researchers, and teachers. It is possible to be promoted from one path to another. Several ranks exist within each path. Increases in rank (for example, the promotion from associate professor to full professor) come with an increase in salary and responsibility and are subject to some conditions, such as the habilitation. In most cases, moving to a higher rank requires going through an open recruitment competition, the same procedure used for initially obtaining the position in the lower rank.
Temporary positions include PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and temporary teachers (usually called vacataires or chargé d'enseignement). There also exist some administrative ranks, held by permanent employees and often elected by their peers, such as university president or dean. Ranks in private schools and grandes écoles are often organized differently.
Contents
Public institutions
Overview
The following table summarizes the various academic titles used in France, determined by the paths (faculty, research, teaching) and the ranks, together with some equivalent titles in schools with special status. The common abbreviation for the title is presented in parentheses after the title.
Faculty positions
Faculty members are called enseignants-chercheurs (literally, teachers-researchers). In general, their statute is governed by the Decree 84-431 of June 6, 1984 (with some exceptions: for example, faculty members in public hospitals have a statute governed by another decree). They are civil servants, but they benefit from a special statute which guarantees academic freedom. While most civil service roles are only available to citizens of the EU, appointments to these positions are made regardless of citizenship.
After gaining a doctorate from a university, and usually after several years of temporary postdoctoral positions, scholars who wish to enter a permanent academic career may apply for the position of maître de conférences (MCF). To achieve this, they must first be approved by the National Council of Universities, made up of elected and appointed MCFs and university professors. For candidates who have first been approved in this way, the recruitment to positions is carried out in each individual university, mostly by a selection committee of other MCFs and professors, half from the university where the position is available, half from other universities, rather than by administrators. However, the final decision is made by the Academic Council of the university.
The salary scale is national, so pay does not vary from one university to another. A recent reform allows for the possibility of salary modulation in the universities, but for now this remains to be implemented.
After some years in the maître de conférences position, an MCF may apply for a habilitation à diriger des recherches ("habilitation to direct research", HDR), which allows them to supervise doctoral theses. Although this qualification is most commonly pursued by MCFs, it is not restricted to them—postdoctoral researchers and other non‐permanent academics may also apply for the HDR. The HDR is a prerequisite for applying for a position of professeur des universités ("university professor"), whether at their home university or at another institution. Their suitability for such a position will be judged by the National Council of Universities (restricted to full professors). Each individual application is examined by a selection committee, composed exclusively of full professors. Application are mostly judged on their published original research as well as on teaching and administrative duties. In the past, this required a higher doctorate ("state doctorate"). In some fields, such as law, management (gestion), and economics, candidates take the competitive examination known as agrégation; only those achieving the highest grades are appointed.
Research-only positions
There also exist permanent, research positions, without teaching duties. They are offered by certain public research institutions, the Public Scientific and Technical Research Establishments, for instance the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Institute of Research for Development (IRD), the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), or the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (Inria). Again, people in these positions are civil servants (thus, in this sense, tenured). Their statute is governed by the Decree #2023-1321 of December 27, 2023.
There are two levels, matching those of the teaching-research staff
Chargé de recherche (CR, Associate Research Professor): equivalent to maître de conférences. It is a permanent research-only position. The pay grades are "normal class" and "outstanding class".
Directeur de recherche (DR, Research Professor): equivalent to professeur. It is a permanent research-only position. The pay grades are "2nd class", "1st class", and "exceptional class".
The main differences between these research positions and the faculty positions are, of course, the absence of teaching duties, and the ability to move between different labs (for example, a CNRS researcher can request to move to any CNRS lab in France or abroad, whereas a faculty member is employed by a specific university).
Just like for faculty appointments, there are no internal promotion from CR to DR. Instead, each year, national competitions are open to fill new positions, and it is necessary to participate in the national competition to move from one rank to the next. It is possible for a maître de conférences to become directeur de recherches, just like it is possible for a chargé de recherches to become professeurs des universités.
The complete name of the position usually makes the institution explicit, for example directeur de recherche au CNRS, or chargé de recherche à l'INRIA. It has to be noticed that some of these positions can be located not in a laboratory proper to the Public Scientific and Technical Research Establishment, but in a mixed research structure, common with a university (UMR).
Teaching-only positions
Professeur agrégé (PRAG): Secondary school teachers who received the agrégation (not the similarly named agrégation du supérieur) but who teach at university level.
Professeur certifié (PRCE): Secondary school teacher teaching at university level. These teachers have a lesser degree than PRAGs, the certification.
Chargé d’enseignement: Title used broadly for every instructor who teaches at any university on a regular basis, though not at a full-time position.
Grandes écoles
The grandes écoles is a parallel educational system generally attributed to Napoleon. These institutions of higher education each specialize in a specific domain, such as business, political science, or engineering. Some of them are grands établissements (for example Sciences Po Paris) are part of the state university recruitment system. The others – mainly the private schools – follow various guidelines. Among the business schools it is common to follow the North American terminology. That is,
Chargé d'enseignement or vacataire: Instructor, temporary position.
Professeur affilié: Adjunct professor.
Professeur assistant: Assistant professor
Professeur associé: Associate professor
Professeur: Full professor.
Chaired professorships can be given to associate and full professors.
Typically, anyone teaching in a private school will identify themselves publicly as "Professeur" regardless of their internal rank. This is an acceptable practice for tenured or full-time staff (professeurs permanents) and permanently employed part-time staff (professeurs affiliés). It is considered inappropriate for others who teach a single course (vacataires or chargés d'enseignements).
Other titles exist, each with different ranks:
Lecturer: generally teaches and his research obligations are limited. Other ranks are Senior Lecturer or Principal Lecturer.
Professor of Practice: typically is an expert in his field. He typically teaches and maintains contacts with the business world. Other ranks are Senior Professor of Practice (rank equivalent to associate professor) or Principal Professor of Practice (rank equivalent to full professor).
Administrative ranks
Several administrative appointments can be held by academics in France. Most are elected positions, with prerogatives and duties described in the statutes of the relevant organization (university, faculty, research lab...).
Recteur (Rector): High-level civil servants appointed by the Ministry of education to oversee an educational district called académie. They are also chancellor of the universities in their district, meaning that they administer the real estate owned by the State and used by the university. They are usually chosen from among senior university professors.
Président de l'université (University President): Elected position, usually held by a professor, for four years. Presides over the Conseil d'administration (Board of Directors), an elected body which governs the university. Usually also presides the Conseil académique (Academic Council), another elected body responsible for defining the University's research policies.
Doyen (Dean) or Directeur d'unité de formation et de recherche (Director of Teaching and Research Unit): Elected position, chairperson of one of the university schools, called faculté or unité de formation et de recherche. Presides over the Conseil de faculté (Faculty Council) or the Conseil d'UFR (UFR Council), an elected body representing the faculty.
Directeur d'unité de recherche (Director of Research Unit): Appointed chairperson of a research unit. Presides over the Conseil de laboratoire (Laboratory Council), an elected body representing the research unit. Appoints the Responsables d'équipe (team leaders) who manage the teams that constitute the research unit.
Directeur d'école doctorale (Director of Graduate School): Appointed chairperson of one of a graduate school.