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. | Anatomy | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of organ systems, tissue structures, and whole bodies together with their cellular and structural components and dynamics. Includes instruction in cell biology and histology, structural biology, molecular mechanics, regional and gross anatomy, embryology, neuroanatomy, endocrinology and secretory dynamics, and applications to such topics as aging and disease conditions. (Moved from 26.0601) | |||
| [ save ] | 2. | Animal Physiology | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of function, morphology, regulation, and intercellular communications and dynamics within vertebrate and invertebrate in animal species, with comparative applications to homo sapiens and its relatives and antecedents. Includes instruction in reproduction, growth, lactation, digestion, performance, behavioral adaptation, sensory perception, motor action, phylogenetics, biotic and abiotic function, membrane biology, and related aspects of biochemistry and biophysics. | |||
| [ save ] | 3. | Biochemistry | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of the chemistry of living systems, their fundamental chemical substances and reactions, and their chemical pathways and information transfer systems, with particular reference to carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. Includes instruction in bio-organic chemistry, protein chemistry, bioanalytical chemistry, bioseparations, regulatory biochemistry, enzymology, hormonal chemistry, calorimetry, and research methods and equipment operation. | |||
| [ save ] | 4. | Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| Any instructional program in the biological and biomedical sciences not listed above. | |||
| [ save ] | 5. | Biology and Biological Sciences, General | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A general program of biology at the introductory, basic level or a program in biology or the biological sciences that is undifferentiated as to title or content. Includes instruction in general biology and programs covering a variety of biological specializations. | |||
| [ save ] | 6. | Biometry/Biometrics | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the application of statistics and other computational methods to the study of problems in the biological sciences and related fields in agriculture and natural resources. Includes instruction in computational biology, mathematical statistics, matrix algebra, applied calculus, experimental design, linear modeling, sampling theory, stochastic processes, spatial and temporal analysis, longitudinal analysis, sparse/unbalanced data and complex error, and applications to such topics as population genetics, animal breeding, forest genetics, population dynamics, wildlife biometry, ecology, and agricultural and natural resource management. (Moved from 26.0614) | |||
| [ save ] | 7. | Biophysics | |
| Matching Occupations: 6 | |||
| A program that focuses on the application of physics principles to the scientific study the mechanisms of biological processes and assemblies at all levels of complexity. Includes instruction in research methods and equipment operation and applications to subjects such as bioenergetics, biophysical theory and modeling, electrophysics, membrane biology, channels, receptors and transporters, contractility and muscle function, protein shaping and folding, molecular and supramolecular structures and assemblies, and computational science. | |||
| [ save ] | 8. | Biotechnology | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the application of the biological sciences, biochemistry, and genetics to the preparation of new and enhanced agricultural, environmental, clinical, and industrial products, including the commercial exploitation of microbes, plants, and animals. Includes instruction in bioinformatics, gene identification, phylogenetics and comparative genomics, bioinorganic chemistry, immunoassaying, DNA sequencing, xenotransplantation, genetic engineering, industrial microbiology, drug and biologic development, enzyme-based production processes, patent law, biotechnology management and marketing, applicable regulations, and biotechnology ethics. (Moved from 26.0616) | |||
| [ save ] | 9. | Botany/Plant Biology | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of plants, related microbial organisms, and plant habitats and ecosystem relations. Includes instruction in plant anatomy and structure, phytochemistry, cytology, plant genetics, plant morphology and physiology, plant ecology, plant taxonomy and systematics, paleobotany, and applications of biophysics and molecular biology. | |||
| [ save ] | 10. | Cell/Cellular Biology and Histology | |
| Matching Occupations: 6 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of the structure, function, and regulation of cells as individual units and as components of larger systems. Includes instruction in cell chemistry, cellular dynamics, cellular replication and reproduction, cell anatomy, membrane function, organelles, cell adhesion and extracellular matrices, cell dynamics and motility, meiosis and mytosis, signal transduction, regulation, recognition and defense mechanisms, the cell cycle, cell metabolism and respiration, gene expression, and studies of cell types and characteristics. | |||
| [ save ] | 11. | Ecology | |
| Matching Occupations: 6 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of the relationships and interactions of small-scale biological systems, such as organisms, to each other, to complex and whole systems, and to the physical and other non-biological aspects of their environments. Includes instruction in biogeochemistry; landscape and/or marine/aquatic dynamics; decomposition; global and regional elemental budgets; biotic and abiotic regulation of nutrient cycles; ecophysiology; ecosystem resilience, disturbance, and succession; community and habitat dynamics; organismal interactions (co-evolution, competition, predation); paleoecology, and evolutionary ecology. (Moved from 26.0603) | |||
| [ save ] | 12. | Ecology, Evolution, Systematics & Population Biology, Other | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics and Population Biology, Other. Any instructional program in ecology, evolution, and systematics not listed above. | |||
| [ save ] | 13. | Entomology | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of insect species and populations in respect of their life cycles, morphology, genetics, physiology, ecology, taxonomy, population dynamics, and environmental and economic impacts. Includes instruction in applicable biological and physical sciences as well as insect toxicology and the biochemical control of insect populations. | |||
| [ save ] | 14. | Evolutionary Biology | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of the genetic, developmental, functional, and morphological patterns and processes, and theoretical principles; and the emergence and mutation of organisms over time. Includes instruction in molecular and morphological systematics; genetics and development; evolutionary transformation; paleobiology and paleontology; morphogenesis; mutation; locomotor, biomechanical and craniodental form and function; evolutionary theory; and systematic biology. (Moved from 26.0617) | |||
| [ save ] | 15. | Immunology | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that focuses on scientific study of the biological mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of disease, host-pathogen interactions, and host response to disease. Includes instruction in antigen and antibody structure and function, effector mechanisms, receptors, histocompatibility, host-pathogen recognition, disease modeling, autoimmune systems, antibody formation, cytotoxic responses, regulation of immune response, virulence determinants, intercellular signalling, immunosuppression, immunotherapy, immunogenetics, disease markers, transplantation, antibody humanization, and microbial pathogenesis. (Moved from 26.0618) | |||
| [ save ] | 16. | Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of the ecology and behavior of microbes, plants, and animals inhabiting oceans, coastal waters, and saltwater wetlands and their interactions with the physical environment. Includes instruction in chemical, physical, and geological oceanography; molecular, cellular, and biochemical studies; marine microbiology; marine botany; ichthyology; mammalogy; marine population dynamics and biodiversity; reproductive biology; studies of specific species, phyla, habitats, and ecosystems; marine paleocology and palentology; and applications to fields such as fisheries science and biotechnology. (Moved from 26.0607) | |||
| [ save ] | 17. | Microbiology, General | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of unicellular organisms and colonies, and subcellular genetic matter and their ecological interactions with human beings and other life. Includes instruction in microbial genetics, cell biology, cell physiology, virology, pathogenic microbiology, environmental microbiology, immunology, biostatistics, bioinformatics, and laboratory methods including microscopy. | |||
| [ save ] | 18. | Molecular Biology | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of the structure and function of biological macromolecules and the role of molecular constituents and mechanisms in supramolecular assemblies and cells. Includes instruction in such topics as molecular signalling and transduction, regulation of cell growth, enzyme substrates and mechanisms of enzyme action, DNA-protein interaction, and applications to fields such as biotechnology, genetics, cell biology, and physiology. (Moved from 26.0402) | |||
| [ save ] | 19. | Neuroscience | |
| Matching Occupations: 3 | |||
| A program that focuses on the interdisciplinary scientific study of the molecular, structural, physiologic, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of the brain and nervous system. Includes instruction in molecular and cellular neuroscience, brain science, anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system, molecular and biochemical bases of information processing, behavioral neuroscience, biology of neuropsychiatric disorders, and applications to the clinical sciences and biomedical engineering. (Moved from 26.0608) | |||
| [ save ] | 20. | Nutrition Sciences | |
| Matching Occupations: 6 | |||
| A scientific program that focuses on the utilization of food for human growth and metabolism, in both normal and dysfunctional states, from the interdisciplinary perspective of the agricultural, human, biological, and biomedical sciences. Includes instruction in food science, biochemistry, physiology, dietetics, food and nutrition studies, biotechnology, biophysics, and the clinical sciences. (Moved from 26.0609) | |||
| [ save ] | 21. | Parasitology | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of biological organisms living in ecologically exploitative and competitive relationships with host organisms, and the role of parasites in causing injury, disease, and environmental damage. Includes instruction in vector biology, immunoparasitology, medical parasitology, molecular biology of parasitical associations, veterinary and comparative parasitology, chemotherapeutics, and ecological and systematic parasitology. (Moved from 26.0610) | |||
| [ save ] | 22. | Pathology/Experimental Pathology | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of the expression, initiation, maintenance and progression of tissue injury and disease, including death, and the relationship of pathogenesis to fundamental molecular and cellular mechanisms. Includes instruction in immunology, microbiology, gene expression, inflammation, cell injury, apoptosis, immunopathology, molecular markers of disease and toxins, neoplasia, growth regulation, and organ- and system- specific investigations. | |||
| [ save ] | 23. | Pharmacology | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of drug interactions on biological systems and organisms and the sources, chemical properties, biological effects, and therapeutic uses of drugs. Includes instruction in pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, drug therapeutics, drug action, bodily responses to drug events, biochemical proliferation and differentiation, apoptosis, cell biology, medicinal chemistry, and studies of specific drugs and drug interactions. (Moved from 26.0705) | |||
| [ save ] | 24. | Plant Genetics | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of the genetics of multicellular plants and fungi as related to botanical research as well as to applications in comparative genetics, ecology and evolutionary studies, clinical studies, and industrial research. Includes instruction in molecular genetics, gene expression, gene regulation, genomics, epigenetic phenomena, DNA recombination and repair, genetic interactions at the microbial and higher levels, and molecular evolution. | |||
| [ save ] | 25. | Plant Pathology/Phytopathology | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of plant diseases and plant health, and the development of disease control mechanisms. Includes instruction in plant anatomy and physiology; pathogenesis; molecular plant virology; molecular genetics; bacterial epidemiology; causal agent identification; host/agent interactions; disease resistance and response mechanisms; developing plant disease treatments; disease prevention; and disease physiology and control. | |||
| [ save ] | 26. | Plant Physiology | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of plant internal dynamics and systems, plant- environment interaction, and plant life cycles and processes. Includes instruction in cell and molecular biology; plant nutrition; plant respiration; plant growth, behavior, and reproduction; photosynthesis; plant systemics; and ecology. | |||
| [ save ] | 27. | Radiation Biology/Radiobiology | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the effects of radiation on organisms and biological systems. Includes instruction in particle physics, ionization, and biophysics of radiation perturbations, cellular and organismic repair systems, genetic and pathological effects of radiation, and the measurement of radiation dosages. (Moved from 26.0611) | |||
| [ save ] | 28. | Toxicology | |
| Matching Occupations: 5 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of poisons and other biohazards; their interactions with organisms and their food and respiratory systems; and their prevention, management, and counteraction. Includes instruction in toxicological biochemistry, toxic agents and transporters, toxin fate, toxicokinetics and metabolism, toxin classification, molecular toxic mechanisms, extracellular matrices and cell function, bacterial pathogenesis and mutagenesis, pathophysiology and apoptosis, cell stress and injury, studies of specific toxins, and studies of specific organ systems and physiological functions in relation to toxicological problems. (Moved from 26.0612) | |||
| [ save ] | 29. | Virology | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A program that focuses on the scientific study of subcellular pieces of genetic material, called viruses, that inhabit living cells in parasitical relationships and their role in disease. Includes instruction in virus taxonomy and systematics, viral structures, viral genetics, prions, virus/host cell interaction, viral pathogenesis, and applications to specific topics such as cancer biology. (Moved from 26.0619) | |||
| [ save ] | 30. | Zoology/Animal Biology | |
| Matching Occupations: 4 | |||
| A general program that focuses on the scientific study of the biology of animal species and phyla, with reference to their molecular and cellular systems, anatomy, physiology, and behavior. Includes instruction in molecular and cell biology, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, ecology and behavior, evolutionary biology, and applications to specific species and phyla. | |||
Knowledge
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Skills
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