Oberstudienrat [oːbɐˈʃtuːdi̯ənˌʁaːt] (male) or Oberstudienrätin [oːbɐˈʃtuːdi̯ənˌʁɛːtɪn] (female; both abbreviated with OStR; literally "senior councillor of studies" or "senior educational councillor") is an official title for a certain rank of teacher in Germany, mostly employed in state-run grammar schools.
[1][2] The Oberstudienrat is the position immediately superior to the Studienrat (Educational Councillor).
Today, promotion usually requires additional functions and duties; teachers in this rank are usually heads of a subject area, deputy department heads, or commissioners for a specialist field.
[3] About 20 percent of civil servants at educational institutions in Germany are Oberstudienräte (2014).
In the former German Democratic Republic, Oberstudienrat was not used as denominating a rank but solely as an honorary title of high reputation.