The education and training required of postsecondary teachers varies widely, depending on the subject taught and educational institution employing them. Educational requirements for teachers are generally the highest at 4-year research universities while experience and expertise in a related occupation is the principal qualification at career and technical institutes.
Postsecondary teachers should communicate and relate well with students, enjoy working with them, and be able to motivate them. They should have inquiring and analytical minds, and a strong desire to pursue and disseminate knowledge. Additionally, they must be self-motivated and able to work in an environment in which they receive little direct supervision.
Training requirements for postsecondary career and technical education teachers vary by State and by subject. In general, teachers need a bachelor's or higher degree, plus at least 3 years of work experience in their field. In some fields, a license or certificate that demonstrates one's qualifications may be all that is required. Teachers update their skills through continuing education, in order to maintain certification. They must also maintain ongoing dialogue with businesses to determine the most current skills needed in the workplace.
Four-year colleges and universities usually consider doctoral degree holders for full-time, tenure-track positions, but may hire master's degree holders or doctoral candidates for certain disciplines, such as the arts, or for part-time and temporary jobs. Most college and university faculty are in four academic ranks—professor, associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor. These positions usually are considered to be tenure-track positions. Most faculty members are hired as instructors or assistant professors. A smaller number of additional faculty members, called lecturers, are usually employed on contracts for a single academic term and are not on the tenure track.
In 2-year colleges, master's degree holders fill most full-time positions. However, in certain fields where there may be more applicants than available jobs, institutions can be more selective in their hiring practices. In these fields, Master's degree holders may be passed over in favor of candidates holding Ph.Ds. Many 2-year institutions increasingly prefer job applicants to have some teaching experience or experience with distance learning. Preference also may be given to those holding dual master's degrees, especially at smaller institutions, because they can teach more subjects.
Schools and programs that provide education and training for working adults generally hire people who are experienced in the field to teach part time. A master's degree is also usually required.
Doctoral programs take an average of 6 years of full-time study beyond the bachelor's degree, including time spent completing a master's degree and a dissertation. Some programs, such as those in the humanities, may take longer to complete; others, such as those in engineering, usually are shorter. Candidates specialize in a subfield of a discipline—for example, organic chemistry, counseling psychology, or European history—but also take courses covering the entire discipline. Programs typically include 20 or more increasingly specialized courses and seminars plus comprehensive examinations on all major areas of the field. Candidates also must complete a dissertation—a written report on original research in the candidate's major field of study. The dissertation sets forth an original hypothesis or proposes a model and tests it. Students in the natural sciences and engineering usually do laboratory work; in the humanities, they study original documents and other published material. The dissertation is done under the guidance of one or more faculty advisors and usually takes 1 or 2 years of full-time work.
Some students, particularly those who studied in the natural sciences, spend additional years after earning their degree on postdoctoral research and study before taking a faculty position. Some Ph.D.s are able to extend postdoctoral appointments, or take new ones, if they are unable to find a faculty job. Most of these appointments offer a nominal salary.
Obtaining a position as a graduate teaching assistant is a good way to gain college teaching experience. To qualify, candidates must be enrolled in a graduate school program. In addition, some colleges and universities require teaching assistants to attend classes or take some training prior to being given responsibility for a course.
Although graduate teaching assistants usually work at the institution and in the department where they are earning their degree, teaching or internship positions for graduate students at institutions that do not grant a graduate degree have become more common in recent years. For example, a program called Preparing Future Faculty, administered by the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the Council of Graduate Schools, has led to the creation of many now-independent programs that offer graduate students at research universities the opportunity to work as teaching assistants at other types of institutions, such as liberal arts or community colleges. Working with a mentor, the graduate students teach classes and learn how to improve their teaching techniques. They may attend faculty and committee meetings, develop a curriculum, and learn how to balance the teaching, research, and administrative roles that faculty play. These programs provide valuable learning opportunities for graduate students interested in teaching at the postsecondary level, and also help to make these students aware of the differences among the various types of institutions at which they may someday work.
For faculty, a major step in the traditional academic career is attaining tenure. New tenure-track faculty usually are hired as instructors or assistant professors, and must serve a period—usually 7 years—under term contracts. At the end of the period, their record of teaching, research, and overall contribution to the institution is reviewed; tenure is granted if the review is favorable. Those denied tenure usually must leave the institution. Tenured professors cannot be fired without just cause and due process. Tenure protects the faculty's academic freedom—the ability to teach and conduct research without fear of being fired for advocating controversial or unpopular ideas. It also gives both faculty and institutions the stability needed for effective research and teaching, and provides financial security for faculty. Some institutions have adopted post-tenure review policies to encourage ongoing evaluation of tenured faculty.
The number of tenure-track positions is declining as institutions seek flexibility in dealing with financial matters and changing student interests. Institutions rely more heavily on limited term contracts and part-time, or adjunct, faculty, thus shrinking the total pool of tenured faculty. Limited-term contracts—typically 2- to 5 years, may be terminated or extended when they expire, but generally do not lead to the granting of tenure. In addition, some institutions have limited the percentage of faculty who can be tenured.
For most postsecondary teachers, advancement involves a move into administrative and managerial positions, such as departmental chairperson, dean, and president. At 4-year institutions, such advancement requires a doctoral degree. At 2-year colleges, a doctorate is helpful but not usually required, except for advancement to some top administrative positions. (Deans and departmental chairpersons are covered in the Handbook statement on education administrators, while college presidents are included in the Handbook statement on top executives.)
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Programs
| [ save ] | 1. | Accounting | |
| Matching Occupations: 7 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to practice the profession of accounting and to perform related business functions. Includes instruction in accounting principles and theory, financial accounting, managerial accounting, cost accounting, budget control, tax accounting, legal aspects of accounting, auditing, reporting procedures, statement analysis, planning and consulting, business information systems, accounting research methods, professional standards and ethics, and applications to specific for-profit, public, and non-profit organizations. | |||
| [ save ] | 2. | Actuarial Science | |
| Matching Occupations: 2 | |||
| A program that focuses on the mathematical and statistical analysis of risk, and their applications to insurance and other business management problems. Includes instruction in forecasting theory, quantitative and non-quantitative risk measurement methodologies, development of risk tables, secondary data analysis, and computer-assisted research methods. (Moved from 52.0802) | |||
| [ save ] | 3. | Business Administration and Management, General | |
| Matching Occupations: 13 | |||
| A program that generally prepares individuals to plan, organize, direct, and control the functions and processes of a firm or organization. Includes instruction in management theory, human resources management and behavior, accounting and other quantitative methods, purchasing and logistics, organization and production, marketing, and business decision-making. | |||
| [ save ] | 4. | Business Statistics | |
| Matching Occupations: 3 | |||
| A program that focuses on the applica tion of mathematical statistics to the description, analysis, and forecasting of business data. Includes instruction in statistical theory and methods, computer applications, data analysis and display, long- and short-term forecasting methods, and market performance analysis. | |||
| [ save ] | 5. | Business Teacher Education | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to teach vocational business programs at various educational levels. | |||
| [ save ] | 6. | Business/Commerce, General | |
| Matching Occupations: 10 | |||
| A program that focuses on the general study of business, including the processes of interchanging goods and services (buying, selling and producing), business organization, and accounting as used in profit-making and nonprofit public and private institutions and agencies. The programs may prepare individuals to apply business principles and techniques in various occupational settings. | |||
| [ save ] | 7. | Business/Corporate Communications | |
| Matching Occupations: 3 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to function in an organization as a composer, editor and proofreader of business or business-related communications. | |||
| [ save ] | 8. | Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that generally prepares individuals to perform development, marketing and management functions associated with owning and operating a business. | |||
| [ save ] | 9. | Finance, General | |
| Matching Occupations: 9 | |||
| A program that generally prepares individuals to plan, manage, and analyze the financial and monetary aspects and performance of business enterprises, banking institutions, or other organizations. Includes instruction in principles of accounting; financial instruments; capital planning; funds acquisition; asset and debt management; budgeting; financial analysis; and investments and portfolio management. | |||
| [ save ] | 10. | Financial Planning and Services | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to plan and manage the financial interests and growth of individuals and institutions. Includes instruction in portfolio management, investment management, estate planning, insurance, tax planning, strategic investing and planning, financial consulting services, and client relations. | |||
| [ save ] | 11. | Franchising and Franchise Operations | |
| Matching Occupations: 2 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to manage and operate franchises. Includes instruction in legal requirements, set-up costs and capitalization requirements, financing, and applications to specific franchise opportunities. | |||
| [ save ] | 12. | Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General | |
| Matching Occupations: 11 | |||
| A program that generally prepares individuals to manage the development of human capital in organizations, and to provide related services to individuals and groups. Includes instruction in personnel and organization policy, human resource dynamics and flows, labor relations, sex roles, civil rights, human resources law and regulations, motivation and compensation systems, work systems, career management, employee testing and assessment, recruitment and selection, managing employee and job training programs, and the management of human resources programs and operations. | |||
| [ save ] | 13. | Insurance | |
| Matching Occupations: 7 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to manage risk in organizational settings and provide insurance and risk-aversion services to businesses, individuals, and other organizations. Includes instruction in casualty insurance and general liability, property insurance, employee benefits, social and health insurance, loss adjustment, underwriting, risk theory, and pension planning. (Moved from 52.0805) | |||
| [ save ] | 14. | International Business/Trade/Commerce | |
| Matching Occupations: 3 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to manage international businesses and/or business operations. Includes instruction in the principles and processes of export sales, trade controls, foreign operations and related problems, monetary issues, international business policy, and applications to doing business in specific countries and markets. | |||
| [ save ] | 15. | International Finance | |
| Matching Occupations: 3 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to manage international financial operations and related currency transactions. Includes instruction in international banking, international monetary and financial policy, money and capital markets, foreign exchange, risk analysis, and international cash flow operations. | |||
| [ save ] | 16. | International Marketing | |
| Matching Occupations: 2 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to perform marketing activities in enterprises primarily engaged in exporting or importing goods and services in world markets. Includes instruction in international trade controls, foreign trade operations, locating markets, negotiation practices, monetary issues, and international public relations. | |||
| [ save ] | 17. | Investments and Securities | |
| Matching Occupations: 3 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to manage assets placed in capital markets, and related technical operations. Includes instruction in security analysis, debt and equity analysis, investment strategies, securities markets, computer-assisted research, portfolio management, portfolio performance analysis, and applications to specific investment problems and business situations. | |||
| [ save ] | 18. | Labor and Industrial Relations | |
| Matching Occupations: 7 | |||
| A program that focuses on employee-management interactions and the management of issues and disputes regarding working conditions and worker benefit packages, and that may prepare individuals to function as labor or personnel relations specialists. Includes instruction in labor history, policies and strategies of the labor movement, union organization, labor-management negotiation, labor law and contract interpretation, labor economics, welfare and benefit packages, grievance procedures, and labor policy studies. | |||
| [ save ] | 19. | Logistics and Materials Management | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to manage and coordinate all logistical functions in an enterprise, ranging from acquisitions to receiving and handling, through internal allocation of resources to operations units, to the handling and delivery of output. Includes instruction in acquisitions and purchasing, inventory control, storage and handling, just-in- time manufacturing, logistics planning, shipping and delivery management, transportation, quality control, resource estimation and allocation, and budgeting. | |||
| [ save ] | 20. | Management Science, General | |
| Matching Occupations: 2 | |||
| A general program that focuses on the application of mathematical modeling, programming, forecasting and operations research techniques to the analysis of problems of business organization and performance. Includes instruction in optimization theory and mathematical techniques, stochastic and dynamic modeling, operations analysis, and the design and testing of prototype systems and evaluation models. | |||
| [ save ] | 21. | Marketing Research | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to provide analytical descriptions of consumer behavior patterns and market environments to marketing managers and other business decision-makers. Includes instruction in survey research methods, research design, new product test marketing, exploratory marketing, consumer needs and preferences analysis, geographic analysis, and applications to specific products and markets. | |||
| [ save ] | 22. | Marketing/Marketing Management, General | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that generally prepares individuals to undertake and manage the process of developing consumer audiences and moving products from producers to consumers. Includes instruction in buyer behavior and dynamics, principle of marketing research, demand analysis, cost-volume and profit relationships, pricing theory, marketing campaign and strategic planning, market segments, advertising methods, sales operations and management, consumer relations, retailing, and applications to specific products and markets. | |||
| [ save ] | 23. | Operations Management and Supervision | |
| Matching Occupations: 7 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to manage and direct the physical and/or technical functions of a firm or organization, particularly those relating to development, production, and manufacturing. Includes instruction in principles of general management, manufacturing and production systems, plant management, equipment maintenance management, production control, industrial labor relations and skilled trades supervision, strategic manufacturing policy, systems analysis, productivity analysis and cost control, and materials planning. | |||
| [ save ] | 24. | Organizational Behavior Studies | |
| Matching Occupations: 3 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of the behavior and motivations of individuals functioning in organized groups, and its application to business and industrial settings. Includes instruction in organization theory, industrial and organizational psychology, social psychology, sociology of organizations, reinforcement and incentive theory, employee relations strategies, organizational power and influence, organization stratification and hierarchy, leadership styles, and applications of operations research and other methodologies to organizational analysis. | |||
| [ save ] | 25. | Public Finance | |
| Matching Occupations: 3 | |||
| A program that prepares individuals to manage the financial assets and budgets of public sector organizations. Includes instruction in public trusts and investments; the laws and procedures used to plan, prepare and administer public agency budgets; and the preparation and analysis of public budget projections and policies. | |||
| [ save ] | 26. | Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions & Contracts Management | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions and Contracts Management. A program that prepares individuals to manage and/or administer the processes by which a firm or organization contracts for goods and services to support its operations, as well as contracts it to sell to other firms or organizations. Includes instruction in contract law, negotiations, buying procedures, government contracting, cost and price analysis, vendor relations, contract administration, auditing and inspection, relations with other firm departments, and applications to special areas such as high-technology systems, international purchasing, and construction. | |||
Knowledge
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Skills
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