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A docent (the word being derived from the Latin word docēre, meaning to teach) is officially defined as a professor or university lecturer, but the term has been expanded to designate the corps of volunteer guides who staff many of the museums and other educational institutions in the world.

A docent of a university is one who has the right to teach. Qualifications are similar to those of professors: two dissertations and demonstrating the competence of conducting scientific research independently. Unlike professors, docents may not actively take part in senior administrative duties, such as heading a department. Furthermore, their stay at the university may be intermittent, whereas professors are permanent. Instead of a monthly salary, lecturing fees and piece wages are paid.

In Germany, those who have passed Habilitation, may apply for the post of Privatdozent in a university. In practice, this means research work equivalent to a second doctor's thesis. Similar positions exist in other countries touched by the German university tradition. In Turkey, doçent is an academic title between assistant professor and full professor. In Russia, Poland, and Hungary, as in Turkey, it is an academic title immediately below that of a full professor (Hungarian docens). It is equivalent to reader in the UK and the associate professor in USA as well as Latvia. In Finland and Sweden, docent (Finnish dosentti, Swedish docent), is a title conferred to a person fulfilling requirements similar to German Privatdozent. Such persons are usually expected to give lectures on their specialties if their professional activities permit this.

Docents are educators, trained to further the public's understanding of the cultural and historical collections of the institution. In many cases, docents, in addition to their prescribed function as guides, also conduct research utilizing the institution's facilities.

Prospective docents generally undergo an intensive training process, at the expense of the educational institution, which teaches them good communicative and interpretive skills, as well as introduces them to the institution's collection and its historical significance. They are also provided with reading lists to add to the basic information provided during training, and must then shadow experienced docents as they give their tours before ultimately conducting a tour on their own. Docents are kept up-to-date with continuous training and seminars.

Docents can be found at many institutions, including local and national museums, zoos, historical landmarks, and parks.

• In a 2005 episode of The Simpsons, a man protests the construction of a Stamp Museum with a placard reading SPRINGFIELD DOCENT LIKE MUSEUMS.

• In the video game Final Fantasy XII, "Docent" is the title of clerks situated inside "aerodromes" in the game's world, where airships ferry passengers to and from various destinations. Keeping in line with the traditional meaning of the word, the Docents in the game act as Information Guides who inform the player about the aerodrome and its functions.