Professoria

Professoria is a term in Portuguese-speaking countries that refers to the office, rank, or body of university professors. In everyday use it is commonly translated as professorship or chair, and it can denote the position a professor holds, the duties associated with that position, or the collective group of professors at an institution. The exact meaning and structure vary by country and university.

Etymology traces the word to the Latin profēssus or professio, meaning to declare publicly or to profess. Over time, professorships became formalized in academic systems as a way to designate a stable, recognized role within higher education, often tied to particular responsibilities, fields, or endowed chairs.

In Portugal and Brazil, professoria is used in reference to the professional status of a professor at a university. In some contexts it can signal the conferment of a specific chair or the authority to teach and supervise research in a given discipline. Many universities also use the term in discussions of tenure, promotions, or appointments, though the exact hierarchical ranks and qualifying criteria differ by institution and country. The concept of a chair or cátedra, an endowed or designated position within a department, is closely related and is often associated with the highest-ranking professors in a field.

Beyond its institutional meaning, professoria can also appear in legal or administrative language to describe the duties and responsibilities of professors, including teaching, research, and service.