An important theorem of Emil Artin states that for a finite extension ${\displaystyle E/F,}$  each of the following statements is equivalent to the statement that ${\displaystyle E/F}$  is Galois:

• ${\displaystyle E/F}$  is a normal extension and a separable extension.
• ${\displaystyle E}$  is a splitting field of a separable polynomial with coefficients in ${\displaystyle F.}$ 
• ${\displaystyle |\!\operatorname {Aut} (E/F)|=[E:F],}$  that is, the number of automorphisms equals the degree of the extension.

Other equivalent statements are:

• Every irreducible polynomial in ${\displaystyle F[x]}$  with at least one root in ${\displaystyle E}$  splits over ${\displaystyle E}$  and is separable.
• ${\displaystyle |\!\operatorname {Aut} (E/F)|\geq [E:F],}$  that is, the number of automorphisms is at least the degree of the extension.
• ${\displaystyle F}$  is the fixed field of a subgroup of ${\displaystyle \operatorname {Aut} (E).}$ 
• ${\displaystyle F}$  is the fixed field of ${\displaystyle \operatorname {Aut} (E/F).}$ 
• There is a one-to-one correspondence between subfields of ${\displaystyle E/F}$  and subgroups of ${\displaystyle \operatorname {Aut} (E/F).}$ 

There are two basic ways to construct examples of Galois extensions.

• Take any field ${\displaystyle E}$ , any finite subgroup of ${\displaystyle \operatorname {Aut} (E)}$ , and let ${\displaystyle F}$  be the fixed field.
• Take any field ${\displaystyle F}$ , any separable polynomial in ${\displaystyle F[x]}$ , and let ${\displaystyle E}$  be its splitting field.

Adjoining to the rational number field the square root of 2 gives a Galois extension, while adjoining the cubic root of 2 gives a non-Galois extension. Both these extensions are separable, because they have characteristic zero. The first of them is the splitting field of ${\displaystyle x^{2}-2}$ ; the second has normal closure that includes the complex cubic roots of unity, and so is not a splitting field. In fact, it has no automorphism other than the identity, because it is contained in the real numbers and ${\displaystyle x^{3}-2}$  has just one real root. For more detailed examples, see the page on the fundamental theorem of Galois theory.

An algebraic closure ${\displaystyle {\bar {K}}}$  of an arbitrary field ${\displaystyle K}$  is Galois over ${\displaystyle K}$  if and only if ${\displaystyle K}$  is a perfect field.