A preceptor is a teacher responsible to uphold a certain law or tradition, a precept

Precept

A precept is a commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action.-Christianity:The term is encountered frequently in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures; e.g.:...

.

Christian military orders

A preceptor was historically in charge of a preceptory, the headquarters of certain orders of monastic Knights, such as the Knights Hospitaller

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

 and Knights Templar

Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

, within a given geographical area. The preceptor had supreme control of his brethren and was only answerable to the Grand Master

Grand Master (order)

Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including various military orders, religious orders and civil orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order...

 of his particular order. A preceptory's main focus would be its church and accommodation for the brethren.

Examples include the Hospitaller Torphichen Preceptory

Torphichen Preceptory

Torphichen Preceptory, is a church in the village of Torphichen, West Lothian, Scotland. It comprises the remains of the Preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Scotland...

 in West Lothian

West Lothian

West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

; West Peckham Preceptory

West Peckham Preceptory

-History:West Peckham Preceptory was founded circa 1408 by Sir John Culpeper of Oxon Hoath, West Peckham. It was held by the Knights Hospitallers, and used by them as an administrative centre. The preceptory remained in the possession of the Knights Hospitallers until it was dissolved by King Henry...

 in West Peckham

West Peckham

West Peckham is a village in the local government district of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The River Bourne flows through the extreme west of the parish, and formerly powered a paper mill and corn mill . The Wateringbury Stream rises in the parish...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and the Templar Aslackby Preceptory

Aslackby Preceptory

The site of Aslackby Preceptory, Lincolnshire is now occupied by the village of Aslackby. The structure of one of the houses includes parts of a Templar building. Temple Farm is built on the site of, and using material from, the ruins of the round church....

 in Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

 and Temple, Midlothian

Temple, Midlothian

Temple is a village and parish in Midlothian, Scotland. Situated to the south of Edinburgh, the village lies on the east bank of the River South-Esk.-Pre-Reformation:...

.

Freemasonry

Within modern-day Freemasonry the preceptor is the head of a lodge of instruction. Such lodges operate within a geographical area and provide training in the performance of the order's ritual for members of the order. The preceptor is an elected position and is usually a Freemason who has spent several years as a director of ceremonies in his local lodge and is considered an expert in the ritual of the order.

Music

Musically, the title preceptor usually refers to a monk responsible for making music in a monastery

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

. He trained the monks in the traditions of plain chant for daily services and prayers.

Education

Some North American universities have a special student position called preceptor. Preceptors are student volunteers who assist the staff professor and teaching assistants of a large lecture class by helping design certain lessons and holding their own office hours and review sessions. In some cases, volunteers are required to take an outside class focused on leadership development, where their final grade is determined by both the lecture professor and leadership development teacher. Thus, the preceptor earns credit for their preceptorship. It is considered a good leadership experience and reflects well on the student in their transcript. Preceptor can also refer to a paid student grader.

At some old universities (Harvard

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, Cambridge, and Oxford), "preceptors" are not students at all but faculty members teaching courses in expository writing (expos), music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, languages and the life sciences

Life sciences

The life sciences comprise the fields of science that involve the scientific study of living organisms, like plants, animals, and human beings. While biology remains the centerpiece of the life sciences, technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to a burgeoning of...

. In some departments they are not faculty but rather staff (generally PhDs) who help administer and run the course, especially with the larger ones. Famous past Harvard Expos preceptors include New Yorker

The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

staff writer George Packer

George Packer

George Packer is an American journalist, novelist and playwright.-Biography:Packer's parents, Nancy Packer and Herbert Packer, were both academics at Stanford University; his maternal grandfather was George Huddleston, a congressman from Alabama. His sister, Ann Packer, is also a writer...

, novelist Tom Perrotta

Tom Perrotta

Thomas R. Perrotta is an Albanian-American/ Italian-American novelist and screenwriter best known for his novels Election and Little Children , both of which were made into critically acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated films...

, former Globe music critic Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer

Richard W. Dyer is an English academic specialising in cinema. As of 2006 he is Professor of Film Studies at King's College London. Previously he was at the University of Warwick...

, poet Dan Chiasson

Dan Chiasson

-Life:He graduated from Amherst College and Harvard University, with a Ph.D in English.He is currently an associate professor at Wellesley College. He lives in Sudbury, Massachusetts....

, and scholar Mark Gaipa. At Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, on the other hand, "preceptors" are senior graduate students (one or two years from award of the doctoral degree) who, along with veritable senior faculty, teach the courses on "Literature Humanities" and "Contemporary Civilization," and in rare cases, other subjects. The title is also used to refer to teaching assistants at Princeton

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, a role typically filled there by graduate students.

Health

In Allied Health, Midwifery, Naturopathic, and Nursing

Nursing

Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....

Education, a preceptor is a skilled practitioner or faculty member who supervises students in a clinical setting to allow practical experience with patients.