How Long does It Take to Become a College Professor?

Because there's so much talk about getting ridding of teacher unions and getting rid of tenure, I thought I'd like to write briefly about what is involved in becoming a college professor.

In short, it's a long and difficult process (not unlike many other professions). After the 13 years of K through 12 schooling, a future professor must get a bachelor's degree. That takes 4 to 5 years (increasingly, it's taking 5 years unless you know from the very beginning what you are going to major in). After getting a bachelor's degree, a future professor must get a master's degree. There are a few programs that can be done in maybe a year and a half (3 semesters), but more typical is two years, possibly even 3 years.

After getting a master's degree in some fields, you can begin to teach in college (but you probably wouldn't be competitive for a job). At my college, a typical English-professor search yields about 150 applications. Normally, only those with a Ph.D. in hand or someone who is "ABD" (All But Dissertation on the doctoral level) has a shot at getting an interview. We might interview 5 of the original 150 applicants; only one will get a job offer.

A doctoral program in English typically takes 4 to 7 years. After all the doctoral course work and comprehensive exams, the doctoral candidate must write a book-length dissertation--and then defend it before a committee of experts.

This whole process has taken from 10 years of college study to about 15 years. A person receiving his or here doctorate can easily be mid 30's when the doctorate is conferred (or much older!).


At that point, it would still be difficult to win a professorship. Most people then go into a period of part-time teaching, often at multiple colleges--for incredibly little pay. We have adjunct (part-time) professors who work at Lakeland Community College, John Carroll University, and Cuyahoga Community College--at the same time. For all their work, they might make less than $10,000 per semester, with no health benefits! This period of apprenticeship is difficult, poor-paying, and almost thankless--with no guaranteed future job.

So after 10-15 years of schooling and several years of part-time teaching, a person might be a good candidate for a professorship at my community college. But to do this he or she would have to go through a multi-level application process that often involves submitting a paper application and curriculum vitae, one telephone interview and two face-to-face interviews. These face-to-face interviews take place in front of a committee of 5 to 8 people and involve answering questions and doing a teaching demonstration.

If, after all that, someone is offered a professorship, that person would have to teach and do the other aspects of a professor's job for 4 to 6 years before being granted tenure. All that time as a non-tenured prof, he or she could be let go--and no reason has to be given (we have seen it happen!).

So all in all, it's a long hard slog to becoming a tenured professor. Good luck getting this accomplished before you are 40 or 45 years old!