University and Community College Professors work with students to provide the necessary support and information to help them prepare for their careers.

Interview with Miachelle Andrade

Adjunt professor at Cal Poly Pomona and Rio Hondo College

Interview with Giselle Navarro-Cruz (click here)

Assistant professor of Early Childhood Studies in the College of Education and Integrative Studies at Cal Poly Pomona

What qualifications are needed?

Community College professors need a minimum of a master's degree and experience in the field.

Community College Professor

Community College professors make up the faculty of a two-year community college or vocational school. College professors teach classes that students take to earn an associate's degree or similar certification.

Community college professors are responsible for preparing and teaching lectures, creating and grading examinations and assignments, and providing constructive feedback to help students succeed.

Community college professors typically do not conduct research or publish in peer-reviewed journals, nor take on leadership roles within the college.

What qualifications are needed?

Ph.D.
Experience in the chosen field
Internships

What are the qualifications for a doctoral program?

Undergraduate degree (A master's degree is not required.)
Some institutions grant a master's while obtaining your doctoral degree.
Some institutions may accept your master courses as part of the doctoral program

Four-year University Professor

Professors that work at a four-year university often have many roles and duties.

University professors teach students. This includes preparing lectures, assignments, and examinations.
University professors conduct original research related to their field of expertise and publish that research in peer-reviewed journals.
Some university professors may take on leadership roles within their university such as heads of departments or deans of specific colleges within the university.

University professors are known by different titles based upon their educational levels and qualifications:

associate professor
assistant professor
full professor
tenured professor

Four-year University Professor Salary

What Qualifications are needed?

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree

Experience in the field you will be teaching.

Sometimes a doctorate degree may be required depending on the college and university but typically, a master's degree is enough for adjunct positions.

Adjunt Professor

Sometimes called contingent faculty, adjunct professors work part-time. They are not considered part of the permanent staff, nor are they on the path to a tenured position. As a contract employee, they are free to create a teaching schedule that works for them.

Some teach only one class; others teach more. However, in California, an adjunct professor cannot teach a full-time course load at a single institution. They may accept assignments at multiple schools or even hold a day job. When the term ends, the adjunct is free to pursue new teaching positions at the same school or a different one.

While they do not have the same responsibilities as full-time, tenured professors (conducting research for the university, for example), adjuncts perform many “regular” tasks associated with teaching a class. These include: