A Simplified Hierarchy

Dean
Department Chair
Faculty
(Full) Professor
Associate Professor (often with tenure)
Assistant Professor
(Middle area with terms like Research Scientist or Instructor)
Trainees
Post-Doc
Doctoral Student
Master’s Student
Undergraduate Student

Many institutions have faculty tracks that run alongside the typical tenure-track, such as Research Faculty (for whom teaching expectations are lower and grant funding higher) or Clinical Faculty (who perform clinical duties). These tracks may also have ranks such as Professor, Associate, and Assistant. Whether appropriate or not, Research Faculty positions tend to have less status than Tenure Track.

Staff members might function within the hierarchy. An example is a lab tech who works under a faculty member and performs at the level of a doctoral student. Other staff members, such as graduate program managers, exist outside of the hierarchy, with the good ones having sway even over full professors.

Rail against this hierarchy if you want, but it does serve some purposes and it’s best to know about it. It provides information about where someone is in their career trajectory. Someone “above you” in the hierarchy might be more able to provide advice and mentorship, someone at a similar level is often a great collaborator, and someone “below you” might benefit from introductions to others. The hierarchy also provides guidelines on behavior, as follows. Deference and assistance should be directed upward in the hierarchy, while support and guidance should be directed downward. For example, a master’s student should not dictate the time or place of a meeting with a faculty member, but instead should take on more travel time or inconvenience burden. The faculty member should then be forthcoming with advice and support toward the student, and should provide ample opportunity for participation and growth. This exchange could also be seen where a post-doctoral fellow mentors an undergraduate student in learning the basics of an area of research, with the undergraduate being the person to come in on weekends to keep experiments running.

The academic hierarchy does not dictate who is correct or in error or who may have great ideas. An undergraduate may have a striking idea. A full professor may make a mistake (and should admit doing so). Ideally, respectful discourse and collegiality will exist across all levels of the academic hierarchy. Similarly, there should be no wall of privilege, but instead full access to knowledge, where the savvy and prepared undergraduate may expect an email response back from a full professor. Individuals at a higher level are in no way “better than” those lower, and hazing or disrespect have no place.

In truth, individuals and institutions will be at various stages of embracing this kind and supportive hierarchy. Look for those that allow the support to flow in both directions to lift everyone up, and when it is your turn, make it so.