From what I read, they are NPCs that they plan to implement near the vendors that sell the spell scrolls {like the fun spells and App4s} and will require "acquiring" the prior tier of the spell you want to upgrade. Now, if this means you have to hand them a journeyman or expert or just have it learned, I've yet to see. I am more than happy to wait a month or whatever for my research to complete instead of shelling out 400plat per master to professional plat-suckers.