Additional Information
No single education program exists for professors. Professors have a doctorate
in their chosen discipline. Doctorates are granted at universities that offer
graduate studies in the discipline of choice.
Professors at four-year institutions are usually required to have a PhD.
Professors at two-year institutions may have a master's degree. As competition
gets stronger, people with master's degrees will find it harder to find tenure-track
employment.
PhD programs typically require six to eight years of full-time study beyond
the bachelor's level. Some disciplines take longer to complete than others,
and doctoral candidates normally specialize in a subspecialty of the discipline.
Candidates must also complete a dissertation. That's a written report on
original research that they conduct under the guidance of a faculty advisor.
The dissertation may take two or more years. In certain fields, particularly
the sciences, candidates may spend an additional two or more years doing post-doctoral
research.
Astronomy professor Pauline Barmby says you don't need straight As to become
a professor. At the same time, "The better you do in school, the easier it
is [to become a professor]," she says. "You can make the road easier by doing
well all the way through, but you don't rule yourself out [by not getting
straight A's]," says Barmby. "You just have to work harder and find... more
of an indirect way to where you're going."