How does one become a Professor??

Question

If one completes a PhD they can call themselves a doctor (not a medical doctor mind you), but how does one gain the title of professor??

Answer 1

In British universities professorships are granted by either internal promotion or by appointment to a position with a professorship attached (e.g head of department). A professorship would only be considered for a mature scholar with very externsive experience and distinction in his/her academic field.

Typically universities will use the following criteria to assess candidates, in this order: (i) research excellence; (ii) excellence in teaching, (iii) experience and excellence in university administration and management. A professorship is generally considered to be a research related rank. The other criteria are important, but nevertheless subsidiary.

Typically a professorship would be awarded for excellence that is recognised by academic peers, both inside and outside the university concerned. The scope of the candidate's research activity should be of international impact and demonstrate international recognition in the field. This will be verified by the university obtaining numerous detailed references to guide its decision.

Decisions on professorships are generally made be a senior academic titles committee at the university concerned. It will involve several senior academics who will consider the candiate in the light of their opinions, the subject specialist referees and other factors, e.g. quality and quantity of scholarly output.

At most 'good' universities it is very difficult to get a professorship and it is not unusual for a person to be considered more than once, even a number of times.

Depending on the institution sometimes professors get a pay increase on being awarded the title, sometimes there is no effect on salary.

Answer 2

In the UK the title of Professor is awarded by certain insitutions - mostly Universities. Universities award titles according to criteria they determine - though all Universities have procedures for independent checking of the criteria.

In practice in UK Universities there are two types of Professor, those with established "chairs" and those with personal "chairs". You get an established chair by applying for them like a normal job, except that you have to meet the criteria for awarding the title as well as any job specific requirements. An academic in a University can apply for a personal chair and should be awarded one if they meet the appropriate criteria. In both cases the decision will involve external referees. The external referees should be independent and will nearly always be Professors at other institutions who are experts in the same discipline as the candidate. The criteria are usually for excellence in research (though some Universities may have criteria that allow the title to be awarded for excellence in some other area such as teaching). There is considerable variation in the details of the criteria but most Universities would expert a Professor to have an international reputation for excellence in their field - backed up by appropriate evidence such as professional activity, research income and publication in internation peer-reviewed journals.

In other countries the situation differs considerably. For example in the USA pretty much all lecturing staff would be professors (assistant, associate, full professor etc.) and the title may not be such a big deal.

There are other professions where people are known as Professors. Punch and Judy men are known traditionally as Professors and it is possible to be a Professor of Fencing and, I believe, boxing also. These latter titles are probably traced back to a Royal warrant made by Henry VIII though I understand the warrant lapsed on his death, was revived by James I and later abolished when he passed a Monopolies act (details from the British Academy of Fencing).

As an aside: note that a Ph.D. or DPhil or other doctorate qualification is technically a 'true' Doctor, while medics - who are generally called doctors - may not have a doctorate.

Answer 3

Anyone with a doctorate is a 'doctor' in their chosen field. A professor is a full time faculty member at a college or university and it is a job title. Non-faculty are not professors. Some schools differentiate between adjunct (part time) faculty and lecturers and those who are professors - it has to do with their status with the school.

There are typically stages of professsorship - assistant professor, associate professor, full professor, and professor emeritus (for those retiring from their positions). Regardless, each is referred to as a professor. It is akin to calling all police officers 'officer' even though they have different ranks, or calling all nurses 'nurse' even though some are LPNs, some RN's and some BSN's etc....

Note that you don't necessarily have to have a doctorate to be a professor (I have a terminal masters degree in my field and was a professor for years without a PhD). So you can't assume everyone who is called 'professor' is also a doctor. I hope that makes sense.

hope this helps

Answer 4

There are some quite interesting comments here about professors in British universities, In the USA it is rather different.

Most American colleges hire faculty who have PhDs. they are routinely hired at the rank of Assistant Professor. After about 6 years or so they have a major review of their work. It they pass the review, they may be granted a promotion to Associate Professor, and also granted "tenure" which is a special privilege - it means you cannot be fired except for specific reasons which usually involve extreme immorality. In other words, you are hired for life. In many colleges you advance to Professor ("Full" professor) after more years of study and research and teaching. In some schools these promotions are fairly routine, but in other schools they are very competitive - I think at Harvard that only a small per cent of faculty are granted tenure.

If a person is hired without a PhD or other doctorate, then they are usually hired as an "Instructor" but in some colleges they may be hired as an Assistant Professor. All of these college teachers are referred to as "Professor" as a courtesy title, as one of the other answers explained.

So, the majority of people teaching at American colleges, at least at all the famous ones, are PhD and could be called "Doctor" or "Professor." In the USA all physicians and surgeons and dentists have earned doctorates, so they are always called "Doctor."

Answer 5

Its gained not from a qualification (as is the case with a doctor), but mainly from experience and being seen as an expert of a certain field of subject. You must have lectured and written a lot of papers or books on a subject and do or lead a lot of investigative work in the subject. Most professors have a PhD background, but its not necessary. A professorship is awarded by a university who see you as a leading academic and want to recognise your services to the field. Its kind of like being awarded an OBE, for example, but in the academic world. It takes many years to obtain such a title, hence it is rare to see young professors.

Answer 6

go teach in a college or university, everyone will call you a professor

Answer 7

In short, toe the party line, in whatever endevour you take on.