Do All Professors have a PhD? (Answered 2024)

Do you want to become a professor? If yes, I am sure you must have gotten so many suggestions to complete the PhD first. When my cousin, chose this career, the most common suggestion was to complete it. This leads me to curiosity to know whether all professors have a PhD qualification.

Becoming a professor is very tough and you will have to follow a particular path to achieve your goal. Many believe that you will need to have a PhD to become a professor which is of course not true. There are a lot of professors who do not have Ph. D.s or are hired on the basis of a master’s degree. Thus here we will help you to know more about if all professors have a PhD or not.

Quick Takeaways

• If you want to become a professor you can apply for that position even after getting the master’s degree.
• It means that not all professors need to have a Ph.D. 
• To become a professor you will need to complete the undergraduate degree followed by the master’s degree. 
• After that, you will need to complete the PhD if you want to specialise in a particular subject.
• The salary that you get as a Ph.D. professor is much higher than the salary you get as a normal professor. 

However, you must read till the end so that you get a deep understanding of whether all professors need to have a PhD or not.

Do all professors have a PhD?

Professors are the ones who will be teaching you in a class at a higher level of education like Universities or Colleges. To become a professor the least requirement is having a master’s degree. It means that if you want to apply for a professor’s position, you must have a master’s degree. However, most of the institutions will want to have a PhD if you want to become a professor. Therefore we can say that not all the professors have Ph.D and it will depend upon the institution you are applying to. If you have not done the PhD then you must research properly while applying at different institutions.

How to become a professor?

Following are the steps that you need to follow to become a professor-

1. Undergraduate degree

You will need to complete the undergraduate degree in the subject you want to teach. It is the first step for any of the careers you want to pursue.

2. Master’s degree

Once you complete the undergraduate degree you will need to get into graduate school. You will need to get a master’s program so that you can get more knowledge in the related subject.

3. Gain some experience

If you are interested in applying for the position just after the master’s degree then you must try to gain some of the experience related to it. Either you can provide tuition to other students or you can think of becoming an adjunct professor. Try to work on different research projects and also take part in various publications.

4. Complete your Doctoral degree

If you want to apply for the professor position at a higher salary, then having a PhD or doctorate is it. You can either complete it once your master’s degree is over or you can also apply for it while working as a professor. It will also help you to earn extra money which will help you to earn the fees paid for the PhD program. 

5. Start applying

Once you have completed your PhD, you will need to apply for the position of professor. You must try to research properly before applying so that you get the right position. Researching properly before applying will help you to know the requirements of becoming a professor. There are chances that they need some kind of experience. You can try getting it from some kind of internship or voluntary project. 

What is the salary you will earn as a professor vs. a PhD professor?

The average salary that you will be earning as a professor is lower than the average salary of a Ph.D. professor. There are different factors that affect the salary that you will be earning like area of living, experience you are having, etc. The average salary that you can earn as a PhD professor is around $98,000. Whereas the salary that you can earn as a normal professor is around $1,70,000.

If someone has a PhD are they known as Doctors?

If you have completed your PhD, you will be getting a ‘Doctor’ title. PhD title is the highest academic degree that you can take up as a student after completing the master’s degree. When you complete the doctoral degree of the PhD, you will be known as a Doctor in your respective field of study.

How to address someone with a PhD?

If your professor has a PhD or you know someone who has completed the PhD, then you can address them with the title doctor before their name. When you are addressing them you will need to use Dr. title before their name. However, if you are not sure whether the professor has completed the doctorate degree or not, you must call them by the title professor.

Is it worth it to become a professor with a Ph.D.?

PhD is the highest academic degree that you can take up. It means start if you have a PhD the chances of you getting a higher salary are higher. Also, it helps to get a deep understanding of the subject and helps to publish the articles under your name.

Conclusion

Being a professor means teaching the students and evaluating them throughout the semester. Many believe that you need to have a Ph.D. to become a professor. However, this is not true as not all professors need need Ph.D. It all depends on where you are applying. If you want to become a professor you will need to complete your undergraduate degree and get a master’s. After that, you can directly apply to the institutions depending upon the requirements. If you are really interested in becoming a professor and want to get a higher salary then you must go for a PhD. You can also think of getting a PhD even after becoming a professor.

FAQs