A Proust scholar is someone who has devoted his or her life's work to studying the 20th century French author Marcel Proust. Proust's chef d'oeuvre is a work in seven volumes collectively entitled The Remembrance of Things Past. A Proust scholar will probably focus his/her attention on this work, but will also be interested in Proust's life and lesser works of fiction.

The Remembrance of Things Past itself is fodder for a life's worth of study. Written over a span of 13 years, from 1909 to the end of Proust's life in 1922, the novel offers a thoughtful look into the social and political changes in France during the latter part of the 19th century. The novel features over 2,000 characters and deals with such themes as the nature of memory, the conflict between art and society, homosexuality, World War I, the rise of the middle class and the decline of the aristocracy. Much of the work is autobiographical, so studying Proust's life offers significant insight into the novel. Proust is also known for his long, elaborate sentences and sensory descriptions.

A Proust scholar works at an institution of higher education and will probably begin his study with an undergraduate course in a related but broader field, such as French literature. Progression to a Master's Degree and Doctorate is mandatory to become a scholar of this sort. In addition to individual study and work with colleagues, a Proust scholar will most likely teach some graduate and/or undergraduate courses and work with grad students developing their theses.

A Proust scholar is a very specialized type of academic, as he/she focuses on the life and work of a single author. However, the study of Proust has many connections to various fields of study, such as French and European history, human sexuality, psychology, and philosophy. A Proust scholar may choose to focus on one or a few of these areas or may try to synthesize many of them.