How To Become A Political Science Professor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a political science professor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Louise Antony,

Johnny Green Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a political science professor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $40.68 an hour? That's $84,611 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 159,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a political science professor?

Louise Antony

Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst

As for advice to graduates, I'll pass on some of the things that have come up in the Mentoring Workshops I have been involved with. There are two categories of things to keep in mind: professional advancement and teaching/research.

Professional advancement: 1) get to know your chair. Schedule a meeting with them sometime during your first year to go over things like the schedule for reappointment and tenure, the department's expectations for tenure, and the procedure for tenure review. 2) If your department offers any kind of formal mentoring program, take advantage of it. If no such program is offered, try to identify a colleague or two who might be able and willing to advise you on teaching and research matters that might come up. 3) If your faculty has a union, join it. Attend any receptions held for new faculty and any general membership meetings. They may offer an orientation for new faculty as well. Learn your rights.

Research: 1) Focus on your main research interest -- work on what you love, not on what you think will "sell." 2) At the same time, when you have decisions to make about publication, consider your department's expectations: book or articles? Refereed journal articles or prestigious invited volumes? 3) Make connections with more senior scholars in your area of interest through conferences, discussion boards, webinars, etc. If you are in the audience at a scholarly talk, ask a question, and follow up, if possible, either in person or later, in writing.

Teaching: Be organized. Be respectful of your students. Be accessible, but set limits. Build on the teaching experience you've gained as a graduate student. Keep your goals realistic -- for example, don't construct a syllabus that is inappropriate for your student population or for the level of the class. If you are in a research-intensive department, try to connect your teaching assignments and your research as much as possible -- for example, if you are offered the opportunity to teach an advanced course, choose a topic that connects with your research interests.

ScorePolitical Science ProfessorUS Average

Salary

6.6

Avg. Salary $84,611

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.5

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 13.26%

Black or African American 7.15%

Hispanic or Latino 10.19%

Unknown 4.93%

White 64.19%

Gender

female 27.59%

male 72.41%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

4.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a political science professor

Explore political science professor education requirements

Most common political science professor degrees

Bachelor's

43.9 %

Master's

39.8 %

Doctorate

13.3 %

Start to develop specific political science professor skills

Skills	Percentages
International Relations	25.49%
Criminal Justice	22.27%
Social Science	17.90%
Course Materials	9.98%
Public Administration	7.75%

Research political science professor duties and responsibilities

Lead outreach to community and statewide stakeholders in the PPCC entrepreneurship program.
Wrote/Edite and develop all organizational literature & educational materials.
Facilitate instruction for developing the thesis topic statement, qualitative and quantitative research design, and conducting a review of literature.
Have developed professional presentations using PowerPoint and other programs vital to learning and supporting teaching plans.

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