If one wants to become a college professor, what kind of education does one need?

Question

I have a Bachelor's degree and I am interested in going to grad school and becoming a college professor. Somehow, however, I don't know what kind of education I would need! I would prefer to teach English or a related field. Should I get a Master's degree in English, or a Master's degree in some kind of an educatory field? I feel silly for not understanding this, perhaps someone can help me.

Answer 1

You will not need an Education degree unless you plan to be a professor of Education.

Aspiring English professors must get a PhD in English if they wish to teach at a 4 year college or university.

Professors in any field of study must hold a PhD in their particular area of specialization.

You will probably get some answers indicating that it is possible to teach at a community college with only a Master's degree in your specific field of study, but this is becoming more difficult today. Many community college professors hold PhDs these days.

Answer 2

It's not silly. teaching for a college is not as clear as grade school. Typically you need a minimum of a Master's degree in the field you are teaching. Most Universities want a Ph.D. level person. I would recommend taking advantage of any teaching opportunities in grad school. Often there are teaching assistant positions for the undergrad classes. This allows you to learn how to structure a class, write lectures, and deal with other issues. This is also a way to gain experience for your CV. You may not get a teaching position right out of school. Use your contacts and send out your resume to all local colleges for adjunct positions. This will also allow you to get a stronger network and gain experience. If you really want to teach full time you have to be willing to move. Sometimes in smaller colleges finding a position is a matter of timing when someone else retires. I used to be on search committees at the community college where I used to work. We would get an average of 200 resumes for every opening, of those only about 75 would meet minimum requirements and we would weed that down to about 20 people called in for interviews. I hope I'm not deterring you I just want you to be realistic. It can be great to be a full time instructor but you may have to work somewhere else and teach part-time until something opens up. Be flexible and try to make your own opportunities. Good luck.

Answer 3

almost all professors have doctoral degrees. if you want to teach at a community college or at a low ranked college you may be able to get an adjunct position with a masters degree, but the school would probably expect that you plan to pursue a phd

Answer 4

you want a doctorate. you do not favor a education degree or adventure in decrease coaching, notwithstanding you do favor a sparkling and certain portion of diagnosis it truly is miles narrower than only a topic, jointly with biology or historic previous or English. At study universities you would spend maximum of a even as doing study to create understanding in parts no longer yet studied. At education universites, which pay a lot less, you would spend more suitable time education yet would nevertheless be predicted to post unique study. At a junior college or community college, you are able to likely only teach with out doing study. Adjunct instructors artwork section-time and frequently have draw close's tiers, no longer PhDs, and are not required to do study.

Answer 5

You need a PhD in English Literature. Education classes will not help you -- because universities do not hire professors for their teaching ability -- they hire them for their research ability. To keep your job you must publish.

If you are interested in teaching college but not interested in research -- then you should plan on doing something else. If you want to do research and don't mind teaching -- then consider the PhD.

Answer 6

If you want to be a college prof, you'll need a Ph.D. in your subject. If you want to teach community college or junior college, you'll probably get away with a masters, but 4 year colleges and universities need to hire as many Ph.D's to teach as possible to be ranked higher.