What are the requirements to become a professor?

Generally a PHD in the field of study that you plan to teach is required. However, I have found that it depends on the college or university. Community college only requires a master's degree and some universities will allow you to become a professor with a master's as well to their discretion.

Many colleges provide incredible teaching programs. A few of the best in the nation are Johns Hopkins University, NYU, and UConn

Teaching involves a number of different skills and qualities. I would say the most important are:

1. People skills - being friendly and working well with others. You will need to be personable, caring, kind, friendly, compassionate, and understanding. These qualities make a great teacher. But you also need to be stern and firm in your directions, rules, and discipline
2. Public speaking - every day in your class you will need to be able to speak and present information to your students, practice speech, and practice fluency of language and talking in front of others
3. The subject you plan to teach - become a master of the subject you plan to teach, make sure you know as much as possible and learn as much as you can about the subject you plan to teach. Take as many classes as possible in this subject and learn everything you can about it.
4. Psychology & Human Development - start reading books and research articles on human development and psych. It will be helpful for you to know how people learn at different stages and the best ways to teach them at these stages (depending on stage of development and schema).

In most cases, it is required that you earn a doctorate (also known as a PhD) in the subject matter you are interested in, In some cases, you can teach in a community college with a Master's degree alone. Also, some community colleges require only 18 hours of the subject matter you are interested in might suffice?

Hi Devetra!

You do need at absolute minimum a Master's degree and that degree must be in the field you want to teach in. Texas, and I suspect most states allow for a different Master's but you have to have taken 18 graduate hours in the appropriate field.

My Master's is Software Engineering but I taught Computer Science and Information Technology at many different universities. I even headed up a few programs in CS so it is not unheard of to head a program with only a Master's, although it is rare.

The reason that I was able to head programs is that none of them had graduate programs in my field. If they did, it would require a terminal degree.

Smaller universities and colleges are more apt to hire Master's level teachers. If you get into one, they may pay for your PhD.

Best of luck!

Jeff

It does depend on the college or university and it also depends on the field of study. But generally speaking, a PhD will be needed. Many community college professors have Masters degrees...but universities will most likely want a PhD or and EdD depending on your field of study. Also know that the professor system at most colleges and universities runs on a "tenure" system... so you may start as an "assistant professor", then work your way up to "associate professor" and finally to a full professor with tenure. However, the tenure system is somewhat under attack right now.. .and some colleges are starting to do away with tenure. I've never heard of a full professor that didn't have a PhD. The available jobs for professors is on the decline right now - especially in the Humanities and Social Sciences - (English, Education, Art, Music, Sociology, Psychology, etc.). And there are plenty of people out there working as adjunct professors - meaning part-time) at 2 or 3 different colleges because they can't find a full time professor position. In general, there are many more people looking for professor positions than there are available positions.

Depends on the field of study and college or university. Typically a PhD is required but some schools will let you teach with just a Masters. For professors in the sciences 1-3 post doctoral fellowships (post-docs) are typically required on top of a PhD before an applicant will be considered for a tenure-track position.

Requirements to become a professor typically include high school and college education where teaching degrees/certifications are obtained. College professors often have graduate degrees.