To become a full professor, you will most likely need to complete and receive a doctorate of philosophy (PhD) program. After receiving your degree, you can seek employment at a college or university, where you will most likely be hired as an assistant professor to teach and conduct research. You can apply for a promotion to associate professor after about six to eight years as an assistant professor. It’s possible that this is a tenured position, though this isn’t always the case. You can apply for a promotion to full professor after a number of years of performing research, teaching, and filling positions as staff or faculty at the college or university.
A full professor is a professor at an American university who has attained the highest level of professorship. Although in the United Kingdom (UK) and other regions, the term “professor” is reserved only for those who have achieved a chair position at the school, the term is commonly used in Canadian colleges and universities. In the United States, the path to becoming a full professor usually begins with the completion of a PhD and employment as an assistant professor at a college or university.
After being hired as an assistant professor, you can work toward becoming a full professor teaching classes, conducting relevant research and publishing your findings, and serving on staff boards. Most schools will give you a raise if you excel in all three areas: teaching, research, and service. You can apply for a promotion to associate professor after five to eight years as an assistant professor. If you are promoted to associate professor, you will almost certainly be given tenure, though not all schools consider associate professor to be a tenured position; if you are not promoted, you will be expected to leave the school within one year.
As an associate professor, you’ll typically continue to teach, conduct research, and work as a member of the university’s faculty or staff while working toward a full professorship. Though most schools emphasize all three aspects of being a professor, many in academia place a strong emphasis on research, which you should keep in mind as you work toward becoming a full professor. Your work as a researcher and teacher will be evaluated other experts in your field, the head of your department, and the dean of the university, in a manner similar to that of becoming an associate professor. If you are promoted to full professor, you will almost certainly be tenured and will be eligible for staff positions as well as seats on boards reserved for full professors.