A learned society ( / ˈ l ɜːr n ɪ d / ; also scholarly , intellectual , or academic society ) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline , profession , or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences . Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honour conferred by election.
26-824: The Cartography and Geographic Information Society ( CaGIS ) is a learned society in the fields of cartography and geographic information science . It includes the U.S. National Committee for the International Cartographic Association (ICA). It started in 1974 as the Cartography Division of the American Congress for Surveying and Mapping (ACSM); in 1981 the division became the American Cartographic Association , and in 1996 it received its current name. Its official academic journal
52-496: A particular subject or discipline, provided they pay their membership fees. Older and more academic/professional societies may offer associateships and/or fellowships to fellows who are appropriately qualified by honoris causa , or by submission of a portfolio of work or an original thesis. A benefit of membership may be discounts on the subscription rates for the publications of the society. Many of these societies award post-nominal letters to their memberships. The membership at
78-409: A specially selected postgraduate student who has been appointed to a post (called a fellowship ) granting a stipend , research facilities and other privileges for a fixed period (usually one year or more) in order to undertake some advanced study or research, often in return for teaching services. In the context of research and development-intensive large companies or corporations, the title "fellow"
104-403: A teacher with one or more classes. 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.). The title of research fellow may be used to denote an academic position at
130-593: A university or a similar institution; it is roughly equivalent to the title of lecturer in the Commonwealth teaching career pathway. Research fellow may also refer to the recipient of academic financial grant or scholarship . For example, in Germany, institutions such as the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation offer research fellowship for postdoctoral research and refer to the holder as research fellows, while
156-429: Is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher educational institutions, a fellow can be a member of a highly ranked group of teachers at a particular college or university or a member of the governing body in some universities; it can also be
182-769: Is a form of full membership). Additional grades of membership exist in, for example, the IEEE and the ACM . Fellowships of this type can be awarded as a title of honor in their own right, e.g. the Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS) . Exclusive learned societies such as the Royal Society have Fellow as the only grade of membership. Appointment as an honorary fellow in a learned or professional society can be either to honour exceptional achievement or service within
208-466: 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. Some senior administrators of a college such as bursars are made fellows, and thereby members of the governing body, because of their importance to the running of a college. At some universities in
234-494: Is sometimes given to a small number of senior scientists and engineers. In the context of medical education in North America, a fellow is a physician who is undergoing a supervised, sub-specialty medical training (fellowship) after having completed a specialty training program (residency). In education and academia there are several kinds of fellowships, awarded for different reasons. The title of (senior) teaching fellow
260-565: Is titled Cartography and Geographic Information Science , and is published on behalf of CaGIS by Taylor & Francis . It also hosts the AutoCarto conference series, previously known as International Symposium on Computer-Assisted Cartography (subject also known as automated cartography, hence the name). Learned society Most learned societies are non-profit organizations , and many are professional associations . Their activities typically include holding regular conferences for
286-637: Is used to denote an academic teaching position at a university or similar institution and is roughly equivalent to the title of (senior) lecturer . The title (senior) fellow can also be bestowed to an academic member of staff upon retirement who continues to be affiliated to a university in the United Kingdom. The term teaching fellow or teaching assistant is used, in the United States and United Kingdom, in secondary school, high school and middle school setting for students or adults that assist
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#1732790815552312-804: The American Association for the Advancement of Science , specific to a given discipline, such as the Modern Language Association , or specific to a given area of study, such as the Royal Entomological Society . Most are either specific to a particular country (e.g. the Entomological Society of Israel ), though they generally include some members from other countries as well, often with local branches, or are international, such as
338-969: The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions or the Regional Studies Association , in which case they often have national branches. But many are local, such as the Massachusetts Medical Society , the publishers of the internationally known The New England Journal of Medicine . Some learned societies (such as the Royal Society Te Apārangi ) have been rechartered by legislation to form quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations . Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election. Some societies offer membership to those who have an interest in
364-788: The Presidential Management Fellowship . It is granted to prospective or current students, on the basis of their academic or research achievements. In the UK, research fellowships are awarded to support postdoctoral researchers such as those funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) . At ETH Zurich , postdoctoral fellowships support incoming researchers. The MacArthur Fellows Program (aka "genius grant") as prestigious research fellowship awarded in
390-1063: The United States and Canada , a fellow is a recipient of a postgraduate fellowship. Examples include the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship , the DoD National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship , the DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship , the Guggenheim Fellowship , the Rosenthal Fellowship , the Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship , the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship and
416-1103: The World Association in Economics is free of cost. Following the globalization and the development of information technology, certain scholarly societies—such as the Modern Language Association—have created virtual communities for their members. In addition to established academic associations, academic virtual communities have been so organized that, in some cases, they have become more important platforms for interaction and scientific collaborations among researchers and faculty than have traditional scholarly societies. Members of these online academic communities, grouped by areas of interests, use for their communication shared and dedicated listservs (for example JISCMail ), social networking services (like Facebook or LinkedIn ) and academic oriented social networks (like Humanities Commons, ResearchGate , Mendeley or Academia.edu ). Fellow A fellow
442-481: The sociology of science argue that learned societies are of key importance and their formation assists in the emergence and development of new disciplines or professions. In the form of professional associations, they can assist in the creation of pathways to leadership. The World Association in Economics provides help to the members of the WAE on the following issues: Societies can be very general in nature, such as
468-630: The United States, "fellows" are members of the Board of Trustees who hold administrative positions as non-executive trustee rather than academics. In industries intensive in science , engineering medicine , and research & development , companies may appoint a very small number of top senior researchers as corporate, technical or industry fellows, either in Science or in Engineering . These are internationally recognized leaders who are among
494-612: The United States. Fellowships may involve a short placement for capacity building, e.g., to get more experience in government, such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science 's fellowships and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellowship programs . Some institutions offer fellowships as a professional training program as well as a financial grant, such as the Balsillie School of International Affairs , where tuition and other fees are paid by
520-546: The award holder may formally hold a specific academic title at their home institution (e.g., Privatdozent ). These are often shortened to the name of the programme or organization, e.g. Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow rather than Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow, except where this might cause confusion with another fellowship, (e.g. Royal Society University Research Fellowship . ) In the context of graduate school in
546-484: The best in the world in their respective fields. Corporate, Technical or Industry Fellow in either Science or Engineering is the most senior rank or title one can achieve in a scientific or engineering career , though fellows often also hold business titles such as Vice President or Chief Technology Officer . Notable examples of fellows in scientific, medical and other research-intensive organizations include: The title fellow can be used for participants in
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#1732790815552572-574: The fellowship. Fellows are often the highest grade of membership of many professional associations or learned societies , for example, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators , the Chartered Governance Institute or Royal College of Surgeons . 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
598-769: The presentation and discussion of new research results, and publishing or sponsoring academic journals in their discipline. Some also act as professional bodies, regulating the activities of their members in the public interest or the collective interest of the membership. Some of the oldest learned societies are the Académie des Jeux floraux (founded 1323), Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana (founded 1488), Accademia della Crusca (founded 1583), Accademia dei Lincei (founded 1603), Académie Française (founded 1635), German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (founded 1652), Royal Society (founded 1660) and French Academy of Sciences (founded 1666). Scholars in
624-409: The professional domain of the awarding body or to honour contributions related to the domain from someone who is professionally outside it. Membership of the awarding body may or may not be a requirement. How a fellowship is awarded varies for each society, but may typically involve some or all of these: At the ancient universities of Oxford , Cambridge , and Trinity College, Dublin , members of
650-430: The right to a room in college (free of charge). At Cambridge, retired academics may remain fellows. At Oxford, however, a Governing Body fellow would normally be elected a fellow emeritus and would leave the Governing Body upon his or her retirement. 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
676-548: The teaching staff typically have two affiliations: one as a reader, lecturer, or other academic rank within a department of the university, as at other universities, and a second affiliation as a fellow of one of the colleges of the university. The fellows, sometimes referred to as university dons , form the governing body of the college. They may elect a council to handle day-to-day management. All fellows are entitled to certain privileges within their colleges, which may include dining at High Table (free of charge) and possibly
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