Instructional Titles and Appointments
Faculty members are those appointed to academic positions as officers of instruction. They hold a doctorate or its professional equivalent. Please visit Arts & Sciences Instructional Appointments for more information.
The following are common titles hired in ISERP:
Professorial
- Professor of (department)
- Associate Professor of (department)
- Assistant Professor of (department)
Special Instructional
- Instructor in (department)
- Senior lecturer in (department)
- Lecturer in (department)
- Associate in (department)
Research Titles and Appointments
Appointments as officers of research may be made to the grades defined in the University Statutes. Please visit Arts & Sciences Research Appointments for more information.
The following are common titles hired in ISERP:
Professional Officers of Research:
- Includes: Research/ Associate Research/Senior Research Scientist
- Design and carry out experiments, analyze data, publish independently or as a co-author
- Senior Research Scientists may serve as PI Perform project-related research duties (not administrative)
- Title requires PhD, qualifications equivalent to those of tenure-track faculty (Assistant/Associate/Full)
Staff Officers of Research:
- Includes: Staff/Senior Staff Associate
- Assist faculty or Professional Officers of Research
- Carry out assigned duties in design, adaptation of relevant technology into experiments, data collection (clinical) and analysis, client service
- Perform project-related duties (not administrative)
- Requires Bachelor’s degree, min 4 years of relevant work experience (8 years for Senior Staff Associates)
Postdoctoral Officers of Research:
- Includes: Postdoctoral research scientists/scholars/ fellow
- Participate in design and carry-out of experiments, data collection and analysis
- PhD or equivalent is required to continue research training
Note: This list does not include all comprehensive titles at Columbia, but is a summary of the ones most frequently used at ISERP. If your prospective hire does not fit in any of these categories, please reach out to us at iserp-hiring@columbia.edu. You can also find a full list of academic titles in the Faculty Handbook.
For more information on academic appointments, please visit the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Programs.