Archmagus (Arch-may-juss)

One of the highest honours a spellcaster can receive is the title of Archmagus, as it indicates their absolute mastery of magic and the intricate inner workings it entails. Each school of magic, whether primary or specialist, is measured on an increasing scale of magical potential of the individual in a 5 tiered system (with a hypothetical 6th tier where their magic is at the level of a god,) and each tier has a higher bracket before reaching the next one. For an individual to reach the rank of archmage, they need to be considered at a tier 3 level in at least three of the four primary schools and one specialist school, as well as achieving mastery of one of them (tier 5.)
For perspective of time, each tier takes roughly twice the length of time of all previous tiers to reach (e.g 1 year for T1, 3 years for T2, 8 years for T3, 24 years for T4, 72 years for T5 for a total of 108 years of study,) though this can still vary based on individual and the school. More niche specialisations have less documented material and thus more experimentation is required to improve, often slowing things down further, whereas the primary schools are more interlinked with fundamentals, making it easier to learn the rest once you've learned one. Most establishments that teach magic often teach the primary schools in tandem because of this up until tier 2.
With the sheer length of time and dedication required to reach that level of magical prowess, no individual has been recognised as an archmagus under the age of 120, and very few are able to receive the title of archmagus before they reach the age of 200. 
Grading for tiers is naturally a progressively more difficult task as well, as the higher tiers begin to be capable of magic that could raze entire cities, as well as requiring the presence of magi of equal or greater strength in order to test the limits of the mage in question. This in turn can be dangerous should either participant be notably weaker than expected in conjunction with the other, and so further precautions often have to be in place to prevent unnecessary death leading to hundreds of years of study becoming wasted in an instant. As such, requests for grading of tier 4 or 5 status have to be requested through either the Academy of Arcanus or Stalvenrakh's Bureau of Magical Management, as they are the only organisations with the infrastructure to safely accommodate tests of such magnitude, and are often overseen by Arcanus or Vatra personally.
Once an individual has proven their worth and received the title of Archmagus, they are entitled to register themselves as an independent educator of the schools they're proficient in and are permitted access to the Arcanus Vault; a venerable treasure trove of hidden knowledge and arcane artifice.

Type

Academic, Qualification