The Recruitment of Full Professors According to Pre-Determined Criteria in Four Nordic Countries

Abstract

This comparative legal study focuses on career advancement to a tenured full professor position according to pre-determined criteria in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Nordic career advancement and professor recruitment practices to a large extent depend on the applicable national regulatory framework. There are fundamental differences between these countries’ practices. It is customary to use promotion to full professor positions in Norway and Sweden. In Norway, the regulation of promotion to a full professor position is complemented by the regulation of standards. Norwegian promotion practices were used as a model in Sweden, but the Swedish laissez-faire approach to common standards seems to have created problems. American-style tenure-track practices are constrained by the laws of all four countries. The Danish "forfremmelsesprogram til professor" may nevertheless have potential to develop into a close functional equivalent to American-style tenure-track practices. In Finland, tenure-track practices are widespread but not sufficiently aligned with the regulatory framework.