Editing Jedi Order (section)

==='''Jedi Ranks '''===

''Confer on you, the level of Jedi Knight, the Council does. But agree with your taking this boy as your Padawan learner, I do not!''―Yoda to Obi-Wan Kenobi

As the Jedi were instructed in the ways of the Order and of the Force, each member progressed through several different ranks.

*'''Jedi Initiate''' (or Youngling or "Jedi Hopeful") – The youngest members of the Order, these Force-sensitive child were given the rank of Initiate when they began their communal training in clans. Recruited from worlds throughout the galaxy where blood testing was required upon birth, Initiates were removed from their families and brought to a Jedi academy for formal training.
*'''Jedi Padawan''' – After being selected for individual tutelage under a single Jedi Knight or Jedi Master, Initiates were given the title of Padawan. Eligible for this rank following the successful completion of the Initiate Trials, Padawans were typically taken at adolescence and completed their training away from the academy. Per tradition, Padawans of a hair-growing species would wear a long braid of hair behind their ear; non-haired Padawans were encouraged to wear a type of jeweler, a tattoo, or other body modification. A Jedi Knight or Jedi Master could have only one apprentice at a time, and the Padawan had to be promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight before another apprentice could be chosen; a practice that was formalized following the Great Sith War. While in place, the policy could be revoked should the Order see a decline in number, and necessity forces the apprenticeship of several students to a single master. Following several unsuccessful attempts at the Initiate Trials or if a student is not chosen by a Master, the Council of Reconciliation would place the student within the Jedi Service Corps. Depending on where the student's talents lay, this might be the Agricultural Corps, the Medical Corps, the Educational Corps or the Exploration Corps. If this role did not suit a particular student, they could chosen to leave the Order entirely.
*'''Jedi Knight '''– Following a period of nearly a decade of one-on-one training with a master, a disciplined Padawan was eligible to attempt the Jedi Trials. Upon successfully completing all tests put forth, a Padawan's braid was severed by the High Council and their life as a Knight began. No longer attached to a master, Knights were free to accept missions from the Council, pursue specialized training on one of the three branches of Knighthood, or take their own Padawan.
*'''Jedi Master '''– A Knight who showed great understanding of the Force and managed to instruct a Padawan and train them successfully to the level of a Jedi Knight was elevated to the rank of Master by the High Council. Self-declaration of the title was frowned upon and rare practice in the latter days of the Order, but not uncommon during war times or periods of disbandment. Amongst the Order's Masters, only a select few were appointed to one of the Jedi Councils. Made up exclusively of wise, experienced Masters, the Councils of the Order had different levels of membership, ensuring fresh perspectives were expressed as new events occurred. The High Council was made up of 12 masters, five of them holding life terms, four holding long-terms, and three holding short-terms. The elected leader of the Council was known as the Master of the Order and was often bestowed upon the acting Grand Master; the recognized leader of the entire Order.