Words that mean different things in US and UK academia: a thread for confused academics on both sides of the pond, or, Anna writes the dictionary she wishes she'd had. 1/
“Faculty”
US: Professors
UK: Like a college at an R1 in the US sense; the “Faculty of Social Sciences” would be all social science departments 2/
“Staff”
US: Department administrators, librarians, research support staff, etc.
UK: All of those people plus professors/lecturers 3/
“Lecturer”
US: Someone who lectures; their job title is probably “professor” or some variation; could also be a graduate student
UK: Equivalent to assistant professor 4/
“Administrator”
US: A dean, provost, chancellor, etc.
UK: Any support staff—grant officers, registrars, payroll coordinators, etc. 5/
“Administration”
US: The deans, provosts, chancellors, etc.—university leadership
UK: Synonym for “service” in the US sense—committee roles, etc.
This one trips me up constantly. 6/
“Course”
US: A 10 to 16–week class on a specific topic
UK: A degree program (e.g., BA in political science) and so also a loose synonym for “major” in the US sense 7/
“Honors”
US: Something extra you do during your bachelor’s degree, like a thesis or more difficult coursework
UK: Synonym for bachelor’s degree, signifying a 3–year program 8/
“Coursework”
US: All of the work you do for your classes
UK: Synonym for essay/paper/traditional written assignment; does not include exams, presentations, general studying, etc. 9/
“Dissertation”
US: A thing you write for your PhD and generally not for other degrees
UK: Any thesis, including at the undergraduate and master’s levels /10
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