Institute of Education London

Visiting academic staff

Conferment of honorary titles for academic visitors

The Institute confers honorary titles on scholars from other institutions of higher education, as well as on professionals working elsewhere in the field of education.

The Institute confers four titles:

Visiting Professor
Visiting Fellow / Visiting Professorial Fellow
Visiting Academic
Visiting Research Associate

Each title reflects a level of academic or professional accomplishment and standing and the significance of the work it is proposed a candidate would undertake while at the Institute.  No remuneration is attached to any of the titles.  Conferment of these titles proceeds by way of nomination by a member of Institute's academic staff.

Institute staff who wish to nominate or consider nominating a candidate for the conferment of a title can download forms from the staff intranet.

Those interested in proposing themselves as a candidate for the conferment of one of the titles listed above should discuss the matter with a member of Institute academic staff who shares comparable expertise and interests.  This information can be found by using the search facility at the top of this page.

The titles conferred on academic visitors are:

Visiting Professor
The title of Visiting Professor is the most senior title conferred by the Institute. The title is intended for senior academics or professionals capable of high level contributions to the work of the Institute. Nominations must be initiated by an Institute Professor, a Dean, an Associate Director, the Deputy Director (if appointed) or the Director. Nominations are considered by the Honorary Titles Committee twice a year in the Autumn and Summer terms. The normal period of tenure is two years. Visiting Professors are entitled to refer to themselves as Professors at the Institute of Education, University of London.

Visiting Fellow
Visiting Fellow is the title intended for academics of standing who are demonstrably able to make a significant contribution to the intellectual life of the Institute. The period of conferment may be from one term to 12 months in the first instance. Nominations are considered by the Honorary Titles Committee throughout the year.

Visiting Professorial Fellow
The Honorary Titles Committee, at its discretion, may confer the title Visiting Professorial Fellow on a particularly distinguished candidate for the title of Visiting Fellow.

Visiting Academic
The title of Visiting Academic is conferred on individuals where registration as a student would be inappropriate. The title is conferred on academics regardless of seniority (from early career academics to Professors) where the candidate proposes to pursue independent research or to benefit from Institute expertise and /or facilities. The title may be conferred for a period of one week to one year in the first instance. Nominations are considered throughout the year.

Visiting Academics pay a bench fee of £150 per week (to a maximum of £5,000 p.a.)

Visiting Research Associate
The title of Visiting Research Associate is conferred on candidates who have been invited to assist with the preparation of bids for funded research and/or to participate in other Institute projects. The period of the conferred title would reflect the nature of the activities undertaken.