Honorary titles in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and some universities and colleges in the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, and Canada.
Examples of such titles are Honorary Professor, Honorary Fellow, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Honorary Reader, Honorary Lecturer (normally applies to non-teaching staff, who give occasional lectures), Visiting Fellow (normally applies to students carrying out further studies and research programmes), Industrial Fellow.
Various professional bodies, such as the Royal Institute of British Architects also have honorary fellowships.
In Germany, visiting lecturers and private lecturers can be conferred the titles of "Honorarprofessor" or "Außerplanmäßiger Professor" respectively after several semesters of successful teaching.
Honorary title sometimes permit non-employees to enjoy the privileges available to regular staff members, such as access to facilities and libraries, parking permit.