Associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings.
In the North American system, used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position between assistant professor and a full professorship. In this system an associate professorship is typically the first promotion obtained after gaining a faculty position, and in the United States it is usually connected to tenure.
In the Commonwealth system, the title associate professor is traditionally used in place of senior lecturer in certain countries. In the Commonwealth system a reader ranks above the senior lecturer and is broadly equivalent to a North American full professor with the difference that the Reader does not hold a chair. More recently, some universities in Commonwealth countries have adopted the North American system of ranks.
Overview
Comparison
The table presents a broad overview of the traditional main systems, but there are universities which use a combination of those systems or other titles. Some universities in Commonwealth countries have also entirely adopted the North American system in place of the Commonwealth system.| North American system | Commonwealth system |
| Full Professor | Professor |
| Full Professor without a chair | Reader or Principal Lecturer |
| Associate Professor | Senior Lecturer or Reader at some universities in Hong Kong |
| Assistant professor | Lecturer |
Adoption of American titles by Commonwealth universities
Increasingly, some universities in Commonwealth countries have adopted the American hierarchy of titles.The University of Western Australia, for example, adopted the American system in 2009 but moved back to the traditional Australian system in 2015. Those who until 2009 held the title lecturer received the new title assistant professor, previous senior lecturers received the new title associate professor, previous associate professors under the old system received the new title professor, and previous professors under the old system received the new title Winthrop professor. Under this methodology the titles correspond in the following way:
| The Australian System | The American System |
| Professor | A higher/named professorship |
| Reader or Professor without a chair or Associate Professor | - |
| Senior Lecturer or Assistant Professor at some universities in Hong Kong that differ between professoriate staff and lecturers | Associate Professor |
| Lecturer | Assistant Professor |