What is an Adjunct Faculty?

Q: Are adjunct faculty called professors?

Yes, adjunct faculty are also called professors. Otherwise known as adjunct professors, this is a part-time faculty position. However, universities have nuances in the specific terminology allocated for part-time faculty.

Q: How long does it take to become an adjunct professor?

It takes 4 to 8 years to become an adjunct professor. It depends on the type of adjunct professor position. Most schools require a graduate degree in the field you wish to teach. However, there are some cases where just having a bachelor's degree is enough.

The adjunct faculty is responsible for teaching graduates and undergraduate students in a specific field of expertise. You are allowed to plan, create, lecture, and provide in-class discussions and assignments. Your job allows you to plan and develop a syllabus and ensure it meets college and departmental standards. Plus, you are responsible for grading and assigning papers, exams, and quizzes.

You will give class instructions, evaluate students' performance, and also coordinate courseware and curriculum with the academic department head. However, you will need to be a people person as you need to develop and sustain relationships with students for effectiveness. You will also need to participate in faculty meetings involving departmental updates, prepare materials and supervise the distribution, and make copies of supplementary materials available for distribution in class. You may also be required to maintain a record of student progress, involvement, and attendance.

An adjunct faculty must be detail-oriented, punctual, and must be able to motivate. He/She must also be a lover of academics, possess excellent communication skills, self-discipline, and the ability to teach well. The average salary of an adjunct faculty yearly is $50,000. An adjunct faculty must have a Master's degree in a related academic field.

What Does an Adjunct Faculty Do

There are certain skills that many adjunct faculties have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, organizational skills and interpersonal skills.

Learn more about what an Adjunct Faculty does

How To Become an Adjunct Faculty

If you're interested in becoming an adjunct faculty, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 48.3% of adjunct faculties have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 33.4% of adjunct faculties have master's degrees. Even though most adjunct faculties have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become an Adjunct Faculty

Top Adjunct Faculty Jobs Near You

Adjunct Faculty Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, an adjunct faculty can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as consultant, progress to a title such as project manager and then eventually end up with the title project director.

Top Careers Before Adjunct Faculty

Staff Nurse (699,636 Jobs)

12.2 %

Registered Nurse (646,159 Jobs)

9.0 %

Instructor (39,273 Jobs)

8.4 %

Top Careers After Adjunct Faculty

Faculty (21,142 Jobs)

10.5 %

Instructor (39,273 Jobs)

8.1 %

Consultant (171,733 Jobs)

7.1 %

Average Salary for an Adjunct Faculty

Adjunct Faculties in America make an average salary of $83,069 per year or $40 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $152,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $45,000 per year.

Average Adjunct Faculty Salary

$83,069 Yearly

$39.94 hourly

$45,00010%

$83,000Median

$152,00090%

See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

Roles and Types of Adjunct Faculty

The role of an adjunct faculty includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general adjunct faculty responsibilities:

Candidates with expertise in the areas of programming, databases, healthcare information systems, healthcare data sources & standards
Prepare and teach assigned courses at assigned class meetings based on course catalog description
Assist with student sign-in and sign-out each day of camp. Assist with development

There are several types of adjunct faculty, including:

Adjunct Professor

Role:

So if you're wondering if there's a difference between the adjunct professor that taught your chemistry I class and the professor who teaches the astronomy II class, there is. An adjunct professor is typically hired on a contractual basis.

While it may not be a permanent position, an adjunct professor does essentially the same things a regular professor does. From writing a syllabus to teaching the class, holding office hours and grading tests, an adjunct professor position really is a great starting point if you want to become a full-time professor in the future. Or, ya know, if you just need a little extra cash on the side.

Average Salary: $98,821
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Adjunct Instructor

Role:

As an adjunct instructor, your goal is to impart your wisdom onto students. While also being in charge of coming up with a syllabus for your class, holding office hours and grading their papers. We should note that adjunct instructors aren't full-time. And you probably shouldn't expect the same benefits that are accosted to professors.

Adjunct Instructors are hired on a contractual basis, meaning it's a nice way to make a little extra money but probably shouldn't be your only gig. If your goal is to become a full-time professor in the future, then this is definitely the right stepping stone on that path. If nothing else, you'll at least be able to work on your public speaking. We don't have to tell you how handy that can come in.

Average Salary: $52,030
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Lecturer

Role:

A lecturer is a teacher who prepares and delivers classes in various settings. Lecturers develop material for courses and create lesson plans and use different platforms and methods to get the content through. They engage with students and support them, monitoring their progress, or tutoring them if necessary. They conduct and evaluate examinations as well.

Lecturers are experts in their field. They may work at universities or colleges or other higher education institutions. They do presentations of their research at conferences, publish articles in scholarly papers, and manage research funding.

Excellent presentation skills and passionate knowledge about your subject is a must if you want to work as a lecturer. Teaching is not a 9 to 5 job, you have a lot of work to do after your official teaching hours are up, so you really have to love what you are doing to be able to keep at it. On the other hand, you will be working in a position that is considered the second most beneficial for society's well-being, right after military personnel.

Average Salary: $61,988
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Adjunct Faculty Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active adjunct faculty jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where adjunct faculties earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Adjunct Faculty Jobs By State

Rank	State	Number of Jobs	Average Salary
1	New York	1,409	$108,928
2	Texas	1,304	$68,060
3	California	1,289	$117,732
4	Virginia	1,058	$76,510
5	Pennsylvania	671	$81,003
6	Colorado	600	$62,412
7	New Jersey	588	$82,989
8	North Carolina	557	$92,495
9	Florida	535	$88,474
10	Indiana	480	$65,267
11	Georgia	454	$68,978
12	Ohio	449	$70,874
13	Illinois	425	$58,401
14	Michigan	392	$79,239
15	Oregon	390	$87,417
16	South Carolina	388	$69,923
17	Maryland	373	$64,769
18	Kentucky	348	$66,383
19	Massachusetts	343	$106,669
20	Missouri	224	$68,837
21	Wisconsin	217	$89,269
22	Alabama	214	$63,068
23	Tennessee	211	$64,465
24	Iowa	207	$60,885
25	Washington	202	$94,034
26	Minnesota	192	$79,775
27	Louisiana	188	$62,992
28	Arizona	166	$73,392
29	Utah	151	$80,317
30	Mississippi	130	$66,864
31	Alaska	117	$84,109
32	Montana	115	$79,314
33	West Virginia	99	$77,853
34	Nebraska	93	$72,899
35	Connecticut	65	$80,110
36	Oklahoma	64	$53,438
37	New Mexico	62	$75,678
38	Vermont	54	$104,564
39	Rhode Island	46	$87,557
40	Kansas	46	$62,844
41	Nevada	36	$78,539
42	Maine	34	$93,622
43	New Hampshire	34	$84,910
44	Arkansas	34	$59,116
45	South Dakota	33	$58,741
46	Delaware	27	$73,283
47	Idaho	17	$69,425
48	Wyoming	15	$71,265
49	North Dakota	12	$84,603
50	Hawaii	9	$86,882

Adjunct Faculty Education

Adjunct Faculty Majors

Nursing

17.8 %

Business

14.2 %

Psychology

9.8 %

Adjunct Faculty Degrees

Admissions

Most Popular Majors

Biology

Business

Education

Psychology

Political Science

Top Skills For an Adjunct Faculty

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 10.6% of adjunct faculties listed student learning on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and organizational skills are important as well.

Student Learning, 10.6%

Syllabus, 7.9%

Philosophy, 6.5%

Professional Development, 5.8%

Course Syllabus, 4.7%

Other Skills, 64.5%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Adjunct Faculty Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Adjunct Faculty templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Adjunct Faculty resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Adjunct Faculty Demographics

Adjunct Faculty Gender Distribution

Female

59%

Male

41%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

Among adjunct faculties, 59.1% of them are women, while 40.9% are men.

The most common race/ethnicity among adjunct faculties is White, which makes up 66.0% of all adjunct faculties.

The most common foreign language among adjunct faculties is Spanish at 46.2%.

Online Courses For Adjunct Faculty That You May Like

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1. Specialty Topics: Biology Across Disciplines

In this course, we will explore the applicability and relationship of biology to the arts, business, and psychology. First, we’ll discuss art as a foundational practice to biology and how biology as a science can explain how we interact with the arts, in particular, our experiences making and listening to music. Next, we will discuss the business of biology and how research is funded and the process of clinical trials and human subjects research. Then we will examine two topics at the interface...

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2. Dynamical Modeling Methods for Systems Biology

An introduction to dynamical modeling techniques used in contemporary Systems Biology research. We take a case-based approach to teach contemporary mathematical modeling techniques. The course is appropriate for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students. Lectures provide biological background and describe the development of both classical mathematical models and more recent representations of biological processes. The course will be useful for students who plan to use experimental...

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3. Engineering Project Management: Initiating and Planning

The goal of the course is to give you the tools to initiate a project plan, manage both stakeholders and relationships, organize their team, develop a project charter, and build a business case for a project. By the end of this course you will be able to: - Perform a project assessment using information from previous projects and lessons learned - Identify key deliverables based on business requirements while managing customer expectations - Perform a stakeholder analysis and create a...

See More on Coursera

Show More Adjunct Faculty Courses

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Best States For an Adjunct Faculty

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an adjunct faculty. The best states for people in this position are California, New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Adjunct faculties make the most in California with an average salary of $117,732. Whereas in New York and Massachusetts, they would average $108,928 and $106,669, respectively. While adjunct faculties would only make an average of $104,564 in Vermont, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. New York

Total Adjunct Faculty Jobs: 1,409

Highest 10% Earn:

$188,000

Location Quotient:

2.05

$108,928

Avg. Salary

View 1,409 Adjunct Faculty Jobs In NY

2. Vermont

Total Adjunct Faculty Jobs: 54

Highest 10% Earn:

$179,000

Location Quotient:

1.31

$104,564

Avg. Salary

View 54 Adjunct Faculty Jobs In VT

3. California

Total Adjunct Faculty Jobs: 1,289

Highest 10% Earn:

$204,000

Location Quotient:

0.82

$117,732

Avg. Salary

View 1,289 Adjunct Faculty Jobs In CA

Full List Of Best States For Adjunct Faculties

How Do Adjunct Faculty Rate Their Jobs?

Top Adjunct Faculty Employers

We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ adjunct faculties and discovered their number of adjunct faculty opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Ivy Tech Community College was the best, especially with an average salary of $59,951. Grand Canyon University follows up with an average salary of $77,161, and then comes Argosy University with an average of $78,944. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as an adjunct faculty. The employers include HCA Healthcare, University of Alaska, and Simmons University

Most Common Employers For Adjunct Faculty

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	Pima Community College	$134,751	$64.78	92
2	College of DuPage	$105,463	$50.70	73
3	Southern New Hampshire University	$104,542	$50.26	104
4	Kent State University	$94,601	$45.48	73
5	Webster University	$83,991	$40.38	73
6	Kaplan	$83,496	$40.14	106
7	Cuyahoga Community College	$83,469	$40.13	97
8	Argosy University	$78,944	$37.95	135
9	Grand Canyon University	$77,161	$37.10	156
10	Community College of Baltimore County	$75,351	$36.23	114

Adjunct Faculty Videos

MICA Adjunct Faculty Moves to Unionize

Breaking the Poverty of Adjunct Faculty Oplerno Woodblock 2015

Professors in Poverty BRAVE NEW FILMS

Becoming an Adjunct Faculty FAQs

Are Adjunct Faculty Called Professors?

Yes, adjunct faculty are also called professors. Otherwise known as adjunct professors, this is a part-time faculty position. However, universities have nuances in the specific terminology allocated for part-time faculty.

How Do I Become An Adjunct Professor With No Experience?

To become an adjunct professor with no experience, you will need to have the right educational background. Having a strong GPA and excellent teacher recommendations can improve your odds, along with any related work experience.

How Long Does It Take To Become An Adjunct Professor?

It takes 4 to 8 years to become an adjunct professor. It depends on the type of adjunct professor position. Most schools require a graduate degree in the field you wish to teach. However, there are some cases where just having a bachelor's degree is enough.

What Is The Difference Between Adjunct Faculty And Part-time Faculty?

There is no difference between an adjunct faculty and a part-time faculty. An adjunct faculty is a part-time faculty member. An adjunct faculty teaches part-time at a university, usually no more than ten credits hours.

Why Are Adjuncts Paid So Little?

Adjuncts are paid so little to help universities and colleges save money. Higher education institutions are businesses looking to lower overhead costs and generate revenue. Ultimately colleges save a lot of money by hiring several part-time adjunct instructors rather than full-time tenure-track faculty positions.

Have more questions? See all answers to common education, training, and library questions.

Search For Adjunct Faculty Jobs

Updated February 6, 2023

What is an Adjunct Faculty?

What Does an Adjunct Faculty Do

How To Become an Adjunct Faculty

Adjunct Faculty Career Paths

Top Careers Before Adjunct Faculty

Top Careers After Adjunct Faculty

Recent Job Searches

Average Salary for an Adjunct Faculty

Roles and Types of Adjunct Faculty

Adjunct Professor

Adjunct Instructor

Lecturer

States With The Most Adjunct Faculty Jobs

Number Of Adjunct Faculty Jobs By State

Adjunct Faculty Education

Adjunct Faculty Majors

Adjunct Faculty Degrees

Top Colleges for Adjunct Facultys

1. University of Pennsylvania

2. University of Southern California

3. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

4. Stanford University

5. University of Virginia

6. Pennsylvania State University

7. New York University

8. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

9. Purdue University

10. University of Florida

Top Skills For an Adjunct Faculty

Choose From 10+ Customizable Adjunct Faculty Resume templates

Adjunct Faculty Demographics

Adjunct Faculty Gender Distribution

Online Courses For Adjunct Faculty That You May Like

Best States For an Adjunct Faculty

How Do Adjunct Faculty Rate Their Jobs?

Top Adjunct Faculty Employers

Most Common Employers For Adjunct Faculty

Adjunct Faculty Videos

Becoming an Adjunct Faculty FAQs

Are Adjunct Faculty Called Professors?

How Do I Become An Adjunct Professor With No Experience?

How Long Does It Take To Become An Adjunct Professor?

What Is The Difference Between Adjunct Faculty And Part-time Faculty?

Why Are Adjuncts Paid So Little?

Search For Adjunct Faculty Jobs

Adjunct Faculty Related Careers

Adjunct Faculty Related Jobs

Adjunct Faculty Jobs By Location

Adjunct Faculty Jobs By Company