Academic Titles

When attaining a certain degree of scientific education and renown, it is common to receive a honorific title, which may vary from institute to institute. These are the titles given to certain scholars in the different technocratic societies of Aqualon:

Borealis, Miyako Fluxum, and Altonar

Assistant Researcher

An assistant researcher, short Ar., has enjoyed all of the basic and advanced education of a Dr. or Inv., but is in the process of writing his or her dissertation. The title Ar. was instated to give scholars a sense of pride in their strife towards one of the two big titles and is itself recognized as a notable credential in Borealis, Miyako Fluxum, and Altonar.

Doctor

The doctor title, short Dr., is given to scholars that have written a dissertation in a theoretic branch of science, which may be anything from particle gyrometrics to anthropology.

Inventor

The inventor title, short Inv., is given to scholars that have written a dissertation on and built a prototype of a new machine, technology, or material. This may also be a notable improvement on an existing machine, technology, or material.

Professor

A Professor, rather than writing a dissertation or making a discovery of sorts, has been granted tenure by a recognized institute of higher learning, meaning they have a certain freedom and financial security to freely research within their field, given they are available for teaching courses within that field to students.

All of the seven recognized Magus Academies of Aqualon also have their own ranking systems and academic titles.

Rickard Leeuw Magistorium (Aerialis)

Questor

The rank every student receives upon acceptance.

Inspicator

The rank a student is awarded after completing basic logic, arithmetic, history, cartography, and wind magic courses.

Scilast

Recognition of advanced education by three Magisters.

Sentio

Recognition of contributions to the academic world.

Magister

One of the masters of the Magistorium.

Magister Emeritus

A master of the Magistorium that has been freed from his or her obligations but retains all non-political privileges of the position.

The Spire of Rahn (Aquaris)

Dewdrop Magus

Initiates to the Spire of Rahn, who have been admitted and begun their study are called "dewdrops".

Rahnling Magus

Once they have completed all their basic courses, dewdrops advance to the rank of "rahnling", meaning they have had a basic education in magic and the scholarly fields.

Sapphire Magus

Sapphire mages from the Spire of Rahn have completed advanced courses in several fields of study and can perform complicated water magic. They often hold lectures themselves, are assigned rahnling apprentices, and are well paid to help in the production of high-grade magic engines.

Cobalt Magus

A cobalt magus holds the highest academic rank at the Spire of Rahn. Having excelled in at least two fields of study and mastered water magic to a significant degree, these mages have usually published papers and books on magic or other scholarly subjects that are proudly displayed in all magus academy libraries of the Middle Lands. Cobalt mages often move on to serve as masters in the Spire of Rahn, or consultants, tutors, and war mages for the most influential people of the Great Land and beyond.

Master

Masters of the Spire of Rahn are usually cobalt or sapphire mages and hold their special title due to them being part of the upper ranks of the faculty. Not only do they have cozy teaching jobs, they also decide on matters of discipline, and on the amount of tuition individual students have to pay each term, testing them on various fields to measure their progress, commitment, and promise.

The Grand Academy of Fulgrath (Fulgrath)

Bachelor

The rank every student receives upon acceptance.

Bacca-Laureate

The rank a student is awarded after completing basic courses in their field and a number of mandatory courses as well as writing a basic research paper in their field.

Diplomat

Bacca-Laureates working towards a diploma, which qualifies them for work in a variety of fields.

Diploma-Laureate

This rank is bestowed upon receivers of a diploma in their field.

Magister

When Diploma-Laureates create their own grand thesis paper and that paper is accepted, they are in turn accepted into the greater research community as key contributors.