How to Become a Professor

The path to becoming a professor begins with a bachelor’s degree. It is a prerequisite to entering graduate school. A student may know the subject they want to specialize in from their first day of college, or may discover it later on.

People who want to become a professor must choose a subject to teach and begin gaining expertise in that area, usually by studying the subject while pursuing their undergraduate degree but not always. In addition to taking coursework in a specific subject matter area, participating in an internship program in their undergraduate years can also help future professors develop their knowledge and skills.

Hopeful professors must continue their education with a graduate degree. Generally, those who want to work as professors at community colleges are required to earn a master’s degree, while those who want to teach at four-year colleges and universities should earn a doctorate. However, when there are a lot of job candidates to choose from, community colleges may also favor those who have earned a doctoral degree.

During their graduate years, students who want to become professors should participate in an assistantship program at their school, which is a kind of financial aid that allows students to get full or partial tuition remission and a stipend as they gain work experience under the supervision of a professor. In some cases, students may also be able to earn graduate credit hours toward their degree when they participate in an assistantship.

There are different kinds of assistantships available, depending on the students’ academic department. Research assistantships allow students to perform certain duties, such as collecting, documenting, and analyzing research data. Those in teaching assistantships participate in instructional activities that may include grading tests and assignments, meeting with students during office hours, and giving class lectures. Those in an administrative assistantship work with the staff of an academic department and perform duties such as providing academic advising and career counseling to students, giving presentations, and evaluating programs in the department.

No matter what kind of assistantship students participate in, they will be expected to work a certain number of hours each week and maintain a minimum GPA.

In order to successfully compete for professor positions, people should obtain post-doctoral experience. This allows those who completed their Ph.D. to conduct original research and begin to amass a catalog of studies published in academic journals.

Post-doctoral jobs are generally positions at a college or university that last two or three years. Those who want to teach in scientific disciplines, such as biological science, chemistry, and physics, may be expected to have this type of experience in order to land a position.