How should I go about obtaining a part-time teaching job at a univeristy at nights?

Question

What do the schools look for? Who are my best contacts?

Answer 1

Many colleges that do not have large graduate schools use people from the community as adjunct faculty. THere are a few conditions.

You have to have a degree one level higher than the kids you teach. So if you are going to teach kids working on their BA or BS, you must have at least an MA or MS in that subject. If you are teach a course that has graduate students, you must have a PhD.

The degree must be in the subject you are teaching. So, to teach English you must have an MA in English. not an MAT or MEd or MA in psych, etc.

IT helps a lot if you have teaching experience. So when you make up your resume to send in, be sure to detail exactly what teaching experience you've had.

Don't just shotgun applications. Research each school you intend to apply to. Check their schedules and see when the terms start and end, and what courses are being taught each term. Two months before the start of the term, have a custom written resume on the desk of the Dean and the Department Chair -- it should specifically be written to emphasize that you have skills in the exact courses that the dept is teaching. There is no point in saying that you are an expert in American lit if they are only teaching composition and 18th Century Novels!

Each term send the resume again, and just before the start of the term send a little note saying that you were sorry that nothing was available but you are still interested if anything turns up. Sometimes an adjunct will back out at the last minute leaving the Dept Chair stranded... you could save him!

Once you get on the adjunct rotation, do a really good job. Always be there on time, always be really well prepared, be businesslike about all your paperwork and reports, and don't let the kids go an hour early! If you do a good job you will be hired back.

Answer 2

Most large universities have a ready-formed cadre of part-time teachers in the form of their graduate students. Smaller universities and colleges frequently use adjunct faculty to supplement their full-time professors. Most want a MINIMUM of a Master's degree, some insist on the Ph.D. Check with the program heads of the department or program you are interested in teaching in at the schools you are interested in. Do a little research on the schools' web sites to obtain the name and contact info.

Oh, yes, and learn to spell "university."