After some years in the "maître de conférences" position, an MCF may take an "habilitation" to become a supervisor of doctoral theses before applying for a position of "professeur des universités" ("university professor"), whether in their home university or in another institution. Their suitability for such a position will be judged by the National Council of Universities (restricted to full professors). Each individual application is examined by a selection committee, composed exclusively of full professors, mostly on their published original research as well on teaching and administrative duties. In the past, this required a higher doctorate ("state doctorate"). In some fields, such as law, management ("gestion"), and economics, candidates take the competitive examination known as "agrégation"; only those achieving the highest grades are appointed.