4 ms·
Different countries and different schools define "professor" differently. The lowest rank in the US is often called "adjunct professor", which is a part-time po
by freehunter 8y ago
Different countries and different schools define "professor" differently. The lowest rank in the US is often called "adjunct professor", which is a part-time position with no research requirements. Adjunct professors often only have masters degrees, as well.
I don't think there's one single definition of "professor" that is true around the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_academic_ranks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_academic_ranks
- mattkrause 8y agoAdjunct is grafted onto the side of the regular academic ladder, which goes assistant —> associate -> full professor, and then perhaps a named chair or professsorship (e.g. Lucasian Professor of Mathematics) The idea behind adjuncts was originally that you might hire someone on a temporary basis, either because of an unexpectedly large class or to offer a class on a special topic: a famous politician might offer a seminar about their time in office or an industrial researcher might offer something related to their work. However, it’s become increasingly common to hire adjuncts to teach intro classes because they’re cheaper than professors (usually a flat fee per class and minimal benefits) and don’t involve much commitment (usually hired per semester), both of which have obvious short-term benefits to the administration.
- throwawayjava 8y agoIt's worth noting that some departments at some universities have an alternative academic ladder for instructors. Even with something analogous to assistant -> associate ~> analogous-to-tenured -> full. It's possible to treat teaching faculty well. And even necessary in some in-demand fields where the private sector options remove the option of treating non-traditional faculty like crap.