United Kingdom, Academic Career Structure
Competitiveness: compared to many other European countries, the UK has a competitive academic structure and job market. Incentives to select the best candidates are strong: university autonomy is combined with the evaluation of academic performance. Check here| for more.
Openness to non-nationals: universities are usually open to external candidates and non-nationals. In 2002-2003 the 23% of the total academic faculty was composed of non-UK citizens. The common use of English for teaching and research facilitates recruitment from abroad. Click here| for more information.
Career progress: career advancement towards professorship positions is strongly influenced by one's publication record and, to some extent, teaching experience. Click here| for more information.
Temporary/permanent positions: it is difficult to get a permament position in the UK academia. About half of the positions available are given on the basis of fixed-terms contracts. For this reason, mobility within the system is quite high.
Salaries: salaries are usually negotiated and fixed within the market. They may vary greatly from one position and university to another. See our section on salaries| for more information.
Gender: like in many other countries, women's employment in the academia is concentrated in lower positions. Many work part-time and on a temporary basis. For equal jobs, they tend to be paid less than men. Click here| for more information.
Universities and research instititutions: by clicking on the single websites of UK Universities| you will have information concerning vacancies, post-doc and research opportunities, and sometimes salaries.
Job postings: the most common references for academic job alerts for the UK are Jobs.ac.uk| and The Times Higher Education Supplement.|
All universities in the UK are legally independent corporate institutions. The Department for Education and Skills is responsible for all universities in England. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland universities come under the respective devolved governments. Before 1992 there was a distinction between colleges and universities, but as a result of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, the UK has a unified system with 113 university institutions.
The university sector in the UK is largely dependent on funding from the research councils. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) is an exercise undertaken approximately every 5 years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of research; university’s funding is largely dependent on the RAE.
The Russell Group is an association of 20 research intensive universities in UK and in 2004/05 these universities accounted for 65% of all UK Universities' research grant and contract income.
In the UK student fees are paid for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate education (in Scotland no fees are paid for undergraduate studies for Scottish and EU students).
1. Ph.D. Candidate
2. Postdoc/Research Assistant
3. Lecturer A
4. Lecturer B
5. Senior Lecturer/Reader
6. Full Professor
The average age for completion of a Ph.D. degree is 26-27 in the UK (which is very low compared to other European countries).
Note: from the academic year 2006/7 the University of Warwick has changed the academic titles to the American system (Full Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor).
A Ph.D. degree is normally required for obtaining a lectureship. Postdoctoral training of at least one year is generally an advantage for applying for a Lecturer position, but not a requirement. It is possible to be appointed Lecturer after the Ph.D. degree.
The step between A and B lecturer is a salary step and you can be appointed Lecturer B directly if your qualifications meet the standards required for this pay scale (defined by individual institutions/departments).
Once appointed a permanent Lecturer position there are three ways to be promoted: 1) by applying for a vacant position 2) being nominated for promotion by heads of department 3) applying for promotion under the internal career advancement system with the institution. Promotions are assessed and granted by an academic committee set up by the individual institution. Applying for promotion is the normal way to climb the career ladder. This can be done within one’s own institution but it is important to note that mobility between UK institutions is high and promotion is thus often obtained when applying for a higher position in another institution.
The requirements for promotion are experience in teaching and research. Professorships are normally not awarded unless you have published at least two books. Particularly important is the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) which has increased the importance of research productivity in assessing faculty performance. Besides quality of work, promotions depend largely on the financial constraints of the institution.
All academic appointments involve requests for references, which are supposed to advocate rather than critically evaluate the applicant. A reference from a well known senior scholar is often an important part of the appointment process.
Please contact us|if you can provide relevant information.
One of the main problems both for foreign candidates and UK citizens is the wide use of temporary fixed-term contracts in the UK university system. It is common to have a series of fixed-term contracts even within the same institution, and can be quite difficult to secure a permanent position. To obtain a permanent position you need well documented research and teaching experience. The main barrier for obtaining a permanent position does not seem to be the lack of qualified academics but rather a lack of positions established and offered by the universities. It is cheaper for the institutions to keep staff on temporary fixed-term contracts than to promote them to permanent lecturer level.
The academic climate in the UK is largely RAE driven (Research Assesment Exercise). To obtain funding it is very important for the institutions to prove reseach results and this affects the conditions and promotion opportunities for temporary staff. For specific rules and regulations about promotions it is important to consult the individual university institution.
The proportion of women in UK academia is increasing steadily and was 40% in 2004 as a total number. As in other countries this percentage drops within the academic hierarchy and only 12% of the professors are female. In addition, women occupy less secure positions as contract staff and part-time positions, and often earn less than their male colleagues, even if grade and mode of employment are the same.
Postdocs and assistantships are temporary posts. From Lecturer level most university positions are permanent. There is normally a probation period of three years for all permanent positions, after which the position is permanent but not tenured. This means that you are not secured promotion and also that you can loose your position if the department shuts down or funding runs out (although the loss of position due to redundacy is fairly rare).
A survey among Ph.D. graduates show that the main problem with an academic career is considered to be a lack of job security and promotion possibilities (ESRC 2005). This is reflected in the fact that 42% of academic staff in higher education are on fixed-term contracts (almost 70,000 people), 3% are paid by the hour and 55% hold permanent positions (AUT 2004). A survey among fixed term and hourly paid staff in 2006 came to the same conclusions (see 'Survey of Fixed Term and Hourly Paid Staff', Association of University Teachers 2006).
The Unions and the Higher Education Committee are taking steps to improve the conditions for the temporary staff and make permanent contracts the norm (see http://www.aut.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=904|).
Research and teaching assistants as well as Lecturers A (and B) are considered junior positions. Responsibilities are normally predefined tasks in research and/or teaching, usually under some sort of 'mentor' supervision.
For senior positions (senior lecturer, reader, professor) there is additional responsibility for conducting and supervising research and/or teaching as well as administrative tasks. (Postdoctoral positions are few in the UK and usually part of a predefined research project. The title of research assistant is more widely used on this level).
The majority of academics are expected to do both research and teaching. In 2002-2003, 59% of the academic staff were employed to carry out both research and teaching, 32% were employed on research only contracts and 10% on teaching only contracts. In general there is a division for academic staff of 40% teaching, 40% research and 20% administrative tasks. In practice the division between research and teaching differs greatly between and within institutions in the UK (for instance Cambridge reports in 2003 that 64% of its academic staff are on research only contracts).
Broadly speaking there is a larger emphasis on research or research combined with teaching in the pre 1992 universities, whereas the proportion of teaching only staff is much higher in the post 1992 universities. (For a full list of the division for each institution see the report 'The Unequal Academy|').
Most university institutions have rules and regulations for leave of absence. Although the guidelines differ from institution to institution it is the norm (at least in the research led universities) that paid sabbatical is granted for one semester every 4-5 years. Sabbatical time is expected to be used for research.
Maternity leave| is 26 weeks with full pay.
See also the individual guidelines set out by the universities and the Career Break site|.
Gross monthly salary levels from 2007.
Essex University
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-
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Start
|
Average
|
Max
|
|
Postdoc/Research Assistant
|
3.364 €/month
(2.289 GBP)
|
3.813 €/month
(2.586 GBP)
|
4.263 €/month
(2.901 GBP)
|
|
Lecturer (A)
|
4.135 €/month
(2.814 GBP)
|
4.766 €/month
(3.232 GBP)
|
5.398 €/month
(3.673 GBP)
|
|
Senior Lecturer (B)
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
|
Reader
|
5.240 €/month
(3.566 GBP)
|
5.842 €/month
(3.962 GBP)
|
6.445 €/month
(4.386 GBP)
|
|
Professor
|
6.075 €/month
(4.134 GBP)
|
6.353 €/month
(4.309 GBP)
|
6.632 €/month
(4.513 GBP)
|
Source: University of Essex|
London School of Economics
|
Start
|
Average
|
Max
|
|
Postdoc/Research Assistant
|
3.520 €/month
(2.390 GBP)
|
|
|
Lecturer (A)
|
4.407 €/month
(3.001 GBP)
|
5.087 €/month
(3.454 GBP)
|
|
Senior Lecturer (B)
|
5.259 €/month
(3.581 GBP)
|
6.002 €/month
(4.075 GBP)
|
|
Reader
|
6.181 €/month
(4.209 GBP)
|
6.436 €/month
(4.370 GBP)
|
|
Professor
|
7.061 €/month
(4.808 GBP)
|
9.780 €/month
(6.640 GBP)
|
Source: Human Resources, LSE
Note: Gross Salaries, tax is approximately 34% in UK.
Academic salaries depend largely on national negotiations but institutions retain some flexibility. The numbers from LSE are thus higher than the overall average in UK university institutions. Whereas the salary levels from Essex provide an idea of the general salary level in most institutions. In general professiorial salaries are negotiated individually and the salaries above thus only provide an idea but are very flexible and can be higher than stated here.
In most institutions there are restrictions to how much outside activity you are allowed to do. For instance at LSE in the case of full-time appointments, no outside work with other parties outside the School, or personal business activities may be undertaken without the prior permission of the Director (with certain limited exceptions).
Number of existing positions at UK institutions, 2006.
|
--
|
All Disciplines
|
|
Researcher
|
33,435
|
|
Lecturers
|
55,160
|
|
Senior Lecturers
|
26,200
|
|
Professors
|
14,480
|
|
Other Grades
|
31,358
|
|
Total
|
160,650
|
Source: HESA|
According to University and College Union (UCU) Approximately 70,000 of these hold temporary contracts.
There are no exact numbers for this. Generally it is widely reported that mobility between university institutions in the UK is high.
Compared to other countries the UK is generally very open to foreign applicants. There is a good tradition at most universities of welcoming a diverse pool of applicants. The use of English and the openness of the system make the UK very attractive for academics. With English as the official language the UK offer an accessible and attractive academic environment for foreigners.
The openness differs, of course, from institution to institution. In total in 2002-2003, 23% of the academic staff were non-UK citizens. However, Human Resources at LSE reports that in February 2007, 46% of the academic staff were international. The role of a gatekeeper seem less significant in many UK institutions compared to other European countries.
In the UK most research institutions are subdivisions of the universities and rarely separate units. Consult the individual universities for information on the research units that exist.
Please contact us| or comment below if you can provide relevant information.
Romy Ajoha, Human Resources, LSE
Antonella Ianni, Jean Monet Fellow, Economics Department, EUI 2006/07
Neil Walker, Professor, Law Department, EUI
Raya Muttarak, MWP Fellow, 2008/09