We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Education

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

How do I Become a College Professor?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 5,578
Share

There are college professors in many different fields and people can choose from a vast variety of disciplines to major in if they want to become a college professor. No matter what field chosen, there are usually some basic methods to pursue this career path. It typically starts with education, and lots of it.

First it should be noted, that under most circumstances, a person who wants to become a college professor needs a terminal degree. This could be a PhD, MD, JD or in some cases a master’s degree if no higher degree can be earned, which might be the case in some of the fine arts and occasionally in some medical teaching in nursing school or medical technologist training programs, though this last is not always set in stone. Initially then, it’s necessary to earn an undergraduate degree in a field of interest.

Undergraduate work is followed by graduate work, usually in the same or a related field. Some people stop after having earned a master’s degree, even is this not the terminal degree in their field, and they may be able to find work as a college professor at a community college or some four-year colleges. This isn’t always the case, and in competitive schools doctorate level work may be preferred, even at the community college level. To get a good sense of how easy it will be to become a college professor with a master’s degree only, it’s a good idea to look at the recent hirees at local community colleges to determine what present trends are.

For those who don’t want to hedge their bets, finishing a PhD or equivalent program is likely to leave more options open. This work becomes important too, since so many colleges have an expectation that professors will publish work. Even before a doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis is completed, students are often encouraged to try to publish, and these publications may prove very valuable on a curriculum vitae.

At the graduate level, another important part of training to become a college professor can take place. Many schools have teaching fellowships or require their master’s and doctoral students to teach. This is where people can begin to get the training needed to teach at the college level. If these programs are not available, students should take every opportunity possible to work for teacher in teaching assistant roles. Such work, when done well, opens the possibility of glowing letters of recommendation, which are useful when applying for work and which can attest to teaching skills.

Lastly, graduate work is an opportunity to gain expertise that will be needed to become a college professor. People can’t teach material they don’t know well. Graduate work is the means by which people develop significant and weighty knowledge in their subject.

Once through a program, and especially after having published, taught, and gained knowledge people are ready to seek jobs. They may not need to search far. Some people join the faculty of the school that they have attended. Others might have to do significant looking to find available jobs, and this may vary by discipline chosen. Online job searching may be useful in this respect so that people can start making applications.

A person that would like to become a professor should be sure to have a very well written CV, and ought to obtain letters of recommendation or the permission of people they can use as references for job applications. Getting a good outfit of clothing in which to interview is a wise choice too once applications start. With all of these things in place many soon reach their goal and become at least an assistant professor (tenure takes a little longer), though again hiring for jobs is partly influenced by things like changing student enrollment or changes in a school’s economic status.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia...
Learn more
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/how-do-i-become-a-college-professor.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.