How to Become an English Professor

Becoming a professor can take years of work and dedication, but once you start teaching, you can take what you have learned and change people's lives. A college professor needs to have a Master's degree to teach at a community college, and a PhD to instruct at a university. Teaching English in junior and high schools can be done with a Bachelor's degree in most states. Here is how the process of becoming an English professor works.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bachelor's degree (for junior and high schools)
• Master's degree (for community colleges)
• PhD Degree (for universities)
• Resume

1. Begin by going to a university and completing courses required to get a Bachelor's degree in English or English Literature. Keep grades satisfactory, so that getting into a graduate program for English or English Literature can be done with confidence.

2. Apply for graduate school. Once you are accepted, keep grades in good standing. Try getting a job as a graduate assistant so that you can see how things are run and what the job will entail once you get a job as a professor. Many times graduate assistants will teach a small course for freshmen to get real job experience.

3. Get a job at a community college if the Master's degree is the highest level you want to get to.

4. Continue your education if you are interested in teaching at the university level. Attaining a PhD is the required degree at many universities, and publishing books and essays is a must in order to establish yourself as a potential professor. Find the top-ranked college English departments in the Resources section below.

5. Apply for university jobs after you have graduated and submit samples of essays and other works to give them an idea of what you teach. Getting into a university may take months or even years, since there are so many people applying for only a handful of openings. Professors generally stay put for the duration of their career once they get into a university, so the turnaround of open positions is often very low.

Resources

• A comprehensive listing of English departments around the world.
• Top-ranked college English departments.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• Earn your degree from industry experts at University of Phoenix. Take the next step in your career.

[alfredoball20]

on 12/1/2009 Very helpful. Thank you! (=

[sherlockrulez]

on 7/31/2009 This was very specific and informative! Thank you very much!