How To Become a College Professor
What Is a Professor?
A college professor is a teacher who works with postsecondary students enrolled at a college or university. These educators specialize in a specific field, such as engineering or history. Professors teach classes in their field and mentor students. They help students prepare for life after college by offering career guidance and advising students on their course of study.
College professors may teach either undergraduate or graduate students, or both, along with courses for certificate of completion programs. They can teach classes in person or online. Some professors also teach labs, which students take in conjunction with a lecture course on the same topic.
GCU doctoral degree programs, emphases and certificates as of December 2025
What Does a Professor Do?
Postsecondary educators instruct undergraduate and/or graduate students in specialized topics in their field. They plan classes, deliver lectures, facilitate group discussions and mentor students individually. The primary goal of a college professor is to prepare students to pursue careers in their field of study or in a closely related field.
What is a professor’s job like? Some specific tasks can include:
Course Planning
Develop instructional plans and curriculum for individual courses
Teaching
Deliver lectures, encourage group discussion and lead labs
Assessing
Grade papers and exams, and issue course grades
Administration
Serving on academic committees within the college
Researching and Publishing
Conducting original research in the field and publishing findings in academic journals
What Degree Do You Need to Be a College Professor?
The path of how to become a college professor involves advanced education, including a master’s degree and/or doctoral degree in one’s field. While a doctoral degree is a common requirement at four-year colleges and universities, some community colleges may hire professors with a master’s degree or those who are PhD candidates. Some institutions may prefer to hire professors who also have applied work experience in their field of study.(See disclaimer 1)
High School Diploma
College Degree
Undergraduate Certificates
Internships and Work Experience
Entry-Level Roles
Professional Certifications
Best Degrees for College Professors
It’s ideal to choose degree programs in the field of study that you wish to teach. If you are interested in teaching nursing or psychology, for example, earn bachelor’s and graduate degrees in those fields. You can often choose an area of specialization within your field during your graduate studies, such as the specialty of performance psychology within the psychology field.
A typical doctoral degree program will teach topics and skills such as:
Qualitative and quantitative research skills
Data collection and management
Research design
Theories and principles in the academic field
GCU Recommends These Degree Programs for College Professors
27 Matching Degrees
What Skills Does a College Professor Need?
College professors can benefit from having in-depth knowledge in the field they teach, along with a mix of soft and hard skills. These skills enable professors to connect with students, deliver lectures effectively, offer mentorship and guide students’ academic development.
Many professors also build subject-matter expertise through professional experience in their field before teaching. For example, someone who wants to teach business at the college level may first gain experience working in areas such as management, finance or marketing.
Hard and soft skills for college professors include:(See disclaimer 1,3)
Interpersonal skills
Communication skills
Critical thinking skills
Quantitative and qualitative research skills
Instructional design
Grant writing
What Can I Specialize in as a College Professor?
Colleges and universities hire professors to teach in all of the major fields, as well as areas of specialization. To find the area that aligns with your interests and goals, first choose the overall field of study you’re interested in, such as psychology, and then explore the different specialization areas within that field.
Some areas of specialization that may interest you include:
Nursing Educational Leadership
The development of nursing education programs and how best to facilitate learning
Cognition and Instruction
The study of how people acquire, process and retain knowledge
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
The study of effective workspaces and application of psychology principles to improve worker satisfaction and productivity
Performance Psychology
How psychology principles can support the mental health and performance of athletes, entertainers and executives
Median annual salary of postsecondary teachers as of May 2024(See disclaimer 4)
Expected number of new openings for postsecondary teachers, each year, from 2024 through 2034(See disclaimer 5)
Advancement Opportunities Within Higher Education
A college professor might begin their teaching career as an assistant professor before progressing to the role of associate professor. Later, an experienced associate professor could become a full professor, who might later achieve tenure. Tenure is granted to experienced professors who contribute to their academic field, and it guarantees that the professor cannot be terminated without cause. Some professors may pursue high-level administrative positions within their university. Examples include dean or president.(See disclaimer 1)
Explore More on College Professors
Take a closer look at the role of college professors and what you can expect from pursuing this career path.
Discover career paths within higher education, including teaching, administration and student affairs.
Learn how to recognize academic burnout and how to prioritize your wellness with preventive and therapeutic strategies.
Explore what you can expect from earning a doctorate degree and learn why a terminal degree program can be challenging.
Make an impact on students’ futures as a college professor. Begin or continue your academic journey at GCU.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025, Aug. 28). How to Become a Postsecondary Teacher. Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved February 2026.
- Berlinsky-Schine, L. (2021, April 23). How to Become a College Professor: Steps to Take from High School. CollegeVine. Retrieved February 2026.
- CV Owl. (n.d.). Top University Professor Skills to Include in Your Resume (With Examples). Retrieved February 2026.
- The earnings referenced were reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Postsecondary Teachers as of May 2024, retrieved February 2026. Due to COVID-19, data from 2020 to 2023 may be atypical compared to prior years. BLS calculates the median using salaries of workers nationwide with varying levels of education and experience. It does not reflect the earnings of GCU graduates as postsecondary teachers, nor does it reflect the earnings of workers in one city or region of the country or a typical entry-level salary. Median income is the statistical midpoint for the range of salaries in a specific occupation. It is very unlikely that a median salary will reflect an entry-level salary. It represents what you would earn if you were paid more money than half the workers in an occupation, and less than half the workers in an occupation. It may give you a basis to estimate what you might earn at some point if you enter this career. Grand Canyon University can make no guarantees on individual graduates’ salaries. Your employability will be determined by numerous factors over which GCU has no control, such as the employer the graduate chooses to apply to, the graduate’s experience level, individual characteristics, skills, etc. against a pool of candidates.
- COVID-19 has adversely affected the global economy and data from 2020 to 2023 may be atypical compared to prior years. Accordingly, data shown is effective August 2025, which can be found here: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Postsecondary Teachers, retrieved February 2026.