Professorship

Professorship refers to the status of holding a professorial appointment at a university, or to the specific post or chair associated with that appointment. It denotes a senior faculty position and is often linked to a named or endowed title, such as the X Professorship in Y. The term can indicate the office itself or the collection of scholars who hold such posts in a department over time.

Endowed professorships, or chairs, are funded by donors or institutions to provide salary support, research funds, and prestige for a scholar in a given field. Other forms include visiting professorships, which are temporary appointments for external scholars, adjunct professorships for part-time faculty, and emeritus professorships for retired professors who remain affiliated.

Duties typically include teaching, conducting research, supervising graduate students or postdocs, and contributing to service and governance. The position often signals seniority and scholarly achievement, and in many systems it is tied to tenure or to a career path culminating in the rank of full professor.

Appointment processes vary by country and institution. They usually involve a search or nomination, external peer review, and approval by faculty and administration. Endowed chairs may entail ongoing fundraising or compliance with donor conditions.

Historically, the concept arose in medieval and early modern universities as faculties sought to recruit and retain distinguished teachers. Today, professorships exist worldwide and are central to academic leadership, research funding, and the dissemination of knowledge.