Professors in The United States - Tenure-track Faculty Ranks

Tenure-track Faculty Ranks

Although the term "professor" is often used to refer to any college or university teacher, there are different 'tiers' of being a professor ranging from an entry level position as an "assistant professor" to "full professor," a rank reserved for professors who have established themselves as experts within their academic fields. Contrary to some beliefs, assistant professors, associate professors, and full professors are all, in fact, technically professors. Usually students who have completed their doctoral studies seek positions as assistant professors in colleges and universities. As they progress in their established fields through research, teaching, and service, they can make bids for promotion and tenure, which elevates them to the rank of associate professor. Associate professors who continue to establish high profiles and become experts in their fields of study may bid for a promotion to full professor, which is considered an esteemed position reserved for the most successful professors working in their fields. College and university teachers who hold the rank of lecturer or instructor are not tenured/tenure-track faculty, and typically focus on teaching undergraduate courses, and are generally not involved in research, nor are they typically involved in department and university decision-making. (Note that in other English-speaking countries, the term lecturer might have a different meaning. E.g., in the United Kingdom and in Ireland, the position of lecturer is equivalent to that of assistant professor in the US system.)