How To Become An Assistant Dean: What It Is and Career Path

What is an assistant dean and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Melissa Gregory

An assistant to the dean of an educational institution lends a hand to the dean in carrying out various duties related to the activities of the department. Among many other tasks, this includes creating the curriculum and organizing opportunities for extra-curricular activities as well.

As an assistant dean, most of your responsibilities will revolve around administrative tasks, but sometimes you might take part in educational activities as well, such as giving lectures and seminars and assisting students in their academic development.

Working together with the leaders of other departments, you will contribute to the recruitment of department staff and prospective students. You will also have to dip your toe into the financial aspects of leading a department, such as assisting in the financial planning of an academic year and supervising marketing and accounting tasks.

What general advice would you give to an assistant dean?

Melissa Gregory

Dean and Professor, University of Toledo

Melissa Valiska Gregory, Dean, College of Arts and Letters, University of Toledo, https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-gregory-193546290/, https://www.utoledo.edu/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=Gen-Enrollment&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqpSwBhClARIsADlZ_TlC5r5c4-Sw7v9XW7tXvN3mlDs-TrgkdXuf8J8xwnvs7T-HF2gVPgoaAkYCEALw_wcB

ScoreAssistant DeanUS Average

Salary

6.5

Avg. Salary $83,688

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.70%

Asian 4.29%

Black or African American 11.61%

Hispanic or Latino 13.85%

Unknown 3.99%

White 65.57%

Gender

female 52.33%

male 47.67%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an assistant dean

Explore assistant dean education requirements

Most common assistant dean degrees

Bachelor's

57.5 %

Master's

24.8 %

Doctorate

10.4 %

Start to develop specific assistant dean skills

Skills	Percentages
Oversight	9.61%
Alumni	7.46%
Professional Development	6.50%
Academic Affairs	4.99%
Human Resources	4.37%

Complete relevant assistant dean training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New assistant deans learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an assistant dean based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real assistant dean resumes.

Research assistant dean duties and responsibilities

Oversee student activities by providing leadership and oversight to student lead organizations.
Provide oversight and ensure risks and contractual obligations are managed for student programs.
Produce, manage and evaluate all budgetary and programmatic aspects of a comprehensive career service program for students and alumni.
Implement new strategies for discipline, including restorative justice, PBIS and RtI models, and progressive discipline.

Prepare your assistant dean resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your assistant dean resume.

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