Editing Academy (section)

==Structure==
Academia is usually conceived as divided into ''[[academic discipline|disciplines]]'' or ''fields'' of study. These have their roots in the subjects of the medieval [[trivium (education)|trivium]] and [[quadrivium]], which provided the model for scholastic thought in the first [[Medieval university|universities in medieval Europe]].

The disciplines have been much revised, and many new disciplines have become more specialized, researching smaller and smaller areas. Because of this, ''[[Inter-disciplinary|interdisciplinary]]'' research is often prized in today's academy, though it can also be made difficult both by practical matters of administration and funding and by differing research methods of different disciplines. In fact, many new fields of study have initially been conceived as interdisciplinary, and later become specialized disciplines in their own right – a recent example is [[cognitive science]].

Most academic institutions reflect the divide of the disciplines in their [[academic administration|administrative]] structure, being divided internally into ''departments'' or ''programs'' in various fields of study. Each department is typically administered and funded separately by the academic institution, though there may be some overlap and [[Faculty (teaching staff)|faculty]] members, research and administrative staff may in some cases be shared among departments. In addition, academic institutions generally have an overall administrative structure (usually including a [[University president|president]] and several [[dean (education)|deans]]) which is controlled by no single department, discipline, or field of thought. Also, the [[tenure]] system, a major component of academic employment and research in the US, serves to ensure that academia is relatively protected from political and financial pressures on thought.

===Qualifications===
{{Main|Academic degree}}

The degree awarded for completed study is the primary academic qualification. Typically these are, in order of completion, [[associate's degree]], [[bachelor's degree]] (awarded for completion of [[undergraduate]] study), [[master's degree]], and [[doctorate]] (awarded after [[graduate school|graduate]] or [[postgraduate]] study). These are only currently being standardized in Europe as part of the [[Bologna process]], as many different degrees and standards of time to reach each are currently awarded in different countries in Europe. In most fields the majority of academic researchers and teachers have doctorates or other terminal degrees, though in some [[Professional studies|professional]] and creative fields it is common for scholars and teachers to have only master's degrees.

===Academic conferences===
{{Main|Academic conference}}
Closely related to academic publishing is the practice of bringing a number of intellectuals in a field to give talks on their research at an academic conference, often allowing for a wider audience to be exposed to their ideas.

===Conflicting goals===
Within academia, diverse constituent groups have diverse, and sometimes conflicting, goals. In the contemporary academy several of these conflicts are widely distributed and common. A salient example of conflict is that between the goal to improve teaching quality and the goal to reduce costs. The conflicting goals of professional education programs and general education advocates currently are playing out in the negotiation over accreditation standards.
For example, the goals of research for profit and for the sake of knowledge often conflict to some degree.{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}

====Practice and theory====
Putting theory into practice can result in a gap between what is learned in academic settings and how that learning is manifested in practical settings. This is addressed in a number of professional schools such as [[teacher education|education]] and [[social work]], which require students to participate in practica for credit. Students are taught to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Not everyone agrees on the value of theory as opposed to practice. Academics are sometimes criticized as lacking practical experience and thus too insulated from the 'real world,' and some scholars avoid this criticism by labeling themselves as [[blue-collar scholar]]s to showcase their past lived experience related to their teaching and research. Academic insularity is colloquially criticized as being "[[ivory tower]]"; when used pejoratively, this term is criticized as [[anti-intellectualism]].

To address this split, there is a growing body of [[practice research]], such as the [[practice-based research network]] (PBRN) within clinical [[medical research]]. [[Arts]] and [[humanities]] departments debate how to define this emerging research phenomenon. There are a variety of contested models of practice research (practice-as-research, practice-based and practice through research), for example, [[screen media practice research]].

====Nepotism====
Nepotism is frequent in academia [https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/sounding-board/academic-nepotism-good-thing][https://www.diverseeducation.com/latest-news/article/15103475/nepotism-in-the-academy-raises-serious-questions] where it is frequent for professors to have their partners, and sometimes children, hired by the same faculty in which they work.

====Town and gown====
{{Main|Town and gown}}
Universities are often culturally distinct from the towns or cities where they reside. In some cases this leads to discomfort or outright conflict between local residents and members of the university over political, economic, or other issues. Some localities in the Northeastern United States, for instance, have tried to block students from registering to vote as local residents—instead encouraging them to vote by absentee ballot at their primary residence—in order to retain control of local politics.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}} Other issues can include deep cultural and class divisions between local residents and university students. The film ''[[Breaking Away]]'' dramatizes such a conflict.