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Fellow

 

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Fellow



 
 
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. Historically, the term fellow was also used to describe a man
Man

A man is a male human. The term man is used for an adult human male, while the term boy being the usual term for a human male child or adolescent human male....
, particularly by those in the upper social classes. Nowadays, it is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who work together as peers in the pursuit of knowledge or practice.

title of research fellow is used to denote an academic research position at a university or similar institution.

Oxford, Cambridge, and other Colleges At Colleges
Residential college

A residential college is an organisational pattern for a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a halls of residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federalism relationship with the overall university....
 of the Universities of Oxford
Colleges of the University of Oxford

The University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 religious Permanent Private Halls , which are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university....
 and Cambridge
Colleges of the University of Cambridge

This is a list of the colleges within the University of Cambridge. These Colleges within UK Universities are the primary source of accommodation for Undergraduate education#British System and Bachelor's degree or highers at the University of Cambridge and at the undergraduate level have responsibility for admitting students and organising th...
, and Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , corporately designated as the Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I of England as the "mother of a university", and is the only constituent residential college of the University of Dublin....
, full fellows form the governing body of the College, although they may elect a Council to handle day-to-day management.






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Encyclopedia


A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. Historically, the term fellow was also used to describe a man
Man

A man is a male human. The term man is used for an adult human male, while the term boy being the usual term for a human male child or adolescent human male....
, particularly by those in the upper social classes. Nowadays, it is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who work together as peers in the pursuit of knowledge or practice.

Academia


Research fellow

The title of research fellow is used to denote an academic research position at a university or similar institution.

Emeritus title in the UK


The title fellow might be given to an academic member of staff upon retirement who continues to be affiliate to a university institution in the United Kingdom.

Oxford, Cambridge, and other Colleges

At Colleges
Residential college

A residential college is an organisational pattern for a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a halls of residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federalism relationship with the overall university....
 of the Universities of Oxford
Colleges of the University of Oxford

The University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 religious Permanent Private Halls , which are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university....
 and Cambridge
Colleges of the University of Cambridge

This is a list of the colleges within the University of Cambridge. These Colleges within UK Universities are the primary source of accommodation for Undergraduate education#British System and Bachelor's degree or highers at the University of Cambridge and at the undergraduate level have responsibility for admitting students and organising th...
, and Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , corporately designated as the Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I of England as the "mother of a university", and is the only constituent residential college of the University of Dublin....
, full fellows form the governing body of the College, although they may elect a Council to handle day-to-day management. All fellows are entitled to certain privileges within their College, which may include dining at High Table
High Table

At Oxford University and University of Cambridge colleges - and other, similarly traditional, academic institutions - the High Table is a table for the use of fellows and their guests....
 (free of charge) and possibly the right to a room in College (free of charge).

There are a number of types of fellow:
  • Research fellow
    Research fellow

    The title of research fellow is used to denote an Academic rank at a university or similar institution. A research fellow may act as independent investigator, or under the supervision of a principal investigator....
    s
    are researchers, whose salaries or stipends
    Stipend

    A stipend is a form of monetary payment or salary, such as for an internship or apprenticeship. Stipends are usually lower than what would be expected as a permanent salary for similar work....
     are paid by a College from the income of its endowment
    Financial endowment

    A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution, usually with the stipulation that it be invested, and the :wikt:principal remain intact in perpetuity or for a defined time period....
    . Some of the less affluent Colleges do not pay their research fellows a salary, instead award fellowships to researchers already employed by the University.
  • At Oxford, college tutors are fellows, who are paid to provide small-group teaching to a college's undergraduates. The position is typically a joint appointment (there are a variety of types) with the University.
  • At Cambridge, teaching officers (lecturer
    Lecturer

    Lecturer is a term of academic rank. In the United Kingdom lecturer is the name given to university teachers in their first permanent university position....
    s, reader
    Reader (academic rank)

    In the academic rank in the United Kingdom and some universities in Australia and New Zealand, reader is the rank between senior lecturer and professor....
    s, and professor
    Professor

    The meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the Academic department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual....
    s) are entitled to a college fellowship. For lecturers and readers, the process is competitive – generally the most able academics get fellowships at the richest and most prestigious Colleges. Professors are allocated to Colleges by a centralised process to ensure fairness. These fellows may or may not provide small-group teaching to undergraduates in the College, for which they would be paid by the hour. College fellows at Cambridge (except for research fellows) have no duties as such and are not paid. They will typically have a salaried post either with their College or the University.
  • At Cambridge, a praelector
    Praelector

    A praelector is a traditional role at the colleges of either the University of Cambridge or University of Oxford. The role differs between the two universities....
     is a fellow of a college, who formally presents students during the matriculation and graduation ceremony.


Most Cambridge Colleges grant fellowships for life after a qualifying period. Retired academics may therefore remain as fellows. In Oxford on retirement a Governing Body fellow would normally be elected a 'fellow emeritus' and would leave the Governing Body. Distinguished old members of the college, or its benefactors and friends might also be elected 'Honorary Fellow', normally for life; but beyond limited dining rights this is merely an honour. Most Oxford Colleges have 'Fellows by Special Election' or 'Supernumerary Fellows' who may be members of the teaching staff, but not necessarily members of the Governing Body.

US Medical Training

In US medical institutions, a fellow refers to someone who has completed residency training (e.g. in internal medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, etc.) and is currently in a 1 to 3 year subspecialty training program (e.g. cardiology, pediatric nephrology, transplant surgery, etc.).

Graduate school fellowships

In the context of graduate school
Graduate school

A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees, such as Doctorate with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous Undergraduate education degree....
 in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, a fellow is a recipient of a fellowship. Examples are the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
NSF-GRF

The National Science Foundation- Graduate Research Fellowship Program is a grant provided by the National Science Foundation to fund graduate research in certain areas of science, social science and engineering....
, Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowships are United States Grant s that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes multiple awards in each of two separate compe...
, and the Presidential Management Fellowship. royal college of surgeons in ireland

Academia administration


Harvard University

At Harvard and some other universities in the United States, "fellows" are members of the Board of Trustees
Board of governors

A board of governors is usually the Governance board of a public entity or non-profit organizations. It is the public equivalent of the Private sector board of directors....
 who hold administrative positions as non-executive trustee rather than academics.

Cambridge and Oxford Colleges

Some senior administrators of a college such as bursar
Bursar

A Bursar is a senior professional finance academic administration in a school or university. According to the bursar's website at San Jose State University, ?Bursar is a term unique to higher education and means a Business Officer, or Custodian of University Funds....
s are made fellows, and thereby become members of the governing body, because of their importance to the running of a College.

Secondary Education


Teaching fellows in the US

The term used, in the United States, the high school and middle school setting for students or adults that assist a teacher with one or more classes .

Learned or professional societies

Fellows are the highest grade of membership of most professional societies
Professional body

A professional association is a non-profit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession, and the public interest....
 (see for example, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators is a London based membership organisation for arbitration for the promotion and facilitation of dispute resolution....
. Lower grades are referred to as members (who typically share voting rights with the fellows), or associates (who may or may not, depending on whether "associate" status is a form of full membership).

How a fellowship is acquired varies for each society, but may typically involve some or all of these:
  • A qualifying period in a lower grade
  • Passing a series of examinations
  • Nomination by two existing fellows who know the applicant professionally
  • Evidence of continued formal training post-qualification
  • Evidence of substantial achievement in the subject area
  • Submission of a thesis or portfolio of works which will be examined


Exclusive learned societies
Learned society

A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline or group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies, such as the Poland Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana , the Italian Acc...
 such as the Royal Society
Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence....
 have Fellow as the only grade of membership, others like the Faculty of Young Musicians (now defunct) have members holding the post of Associate and posts Honoris Causa.

Industry

Large corporations in research and development
Research and development

The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications [sic]" ...
-intensive industries (IBM
IBM

International Business Machines Corporation, abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue" , is a multinational corporation computer technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, New York, United States....
 or Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems

Sun Microsystems, Inc. is a multinational corporation vendor of computers, computer components, computer software, and information technology services, founded on February 24, 1982....
 in information technology
Information technology

Information technology , as defined by the Information Technology Association of America , is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware." IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to data conv...
, and Boston Scientific
Boston Scientific

The Boston Scientific Corporation , is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a range of interventional medical specialties, including interventional cardiology, peripheral interventions, neuromodulation, neurovascular intervention, electrophysiology, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery,...
 in Medical Devices for example) appoint a small number of senior scientists and engineers as fellows. Fellow is the most senior rank or title one can achieve on a technical career
Career

Career is a term defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as an individual's "course or progress through life ". It usually is considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
, though some fellows also hold business titles such as vice president
Vice president

A vice president is an Corporate officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin List of Latin phrases #vice meaning 'in place of'....
 or chief technology officer. Examples are:
  • .
  • .