University professor vs adjunct professor

The differences between university professors and adjunct professors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a university professor and an adjunct professor. Additionally, an adjunct professor has an average salary of $98,821, which is higher than the $64,567 average annual salary of a university professor.

The top three skills for a university professor include undergraduate courses, sociology and political science. The most important skills for an adjunct professor are course curriculum, syllabus, and semester.

University professor vs adjunct professor overview

	University Professor	Adjunct Professor
Yearly salary	$64,567	$98,821
Hourly rate	$31.04	$47.51
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	12,202	22,488
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	4	4

University professor vs adjunct professor salary

University professors and adjunct professors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	University Professor	Adjunct Professor
Average salary	$64,567	$98,821
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $111,000	Between $44,000 And $219,000
Highest paying City	-	Providence, RI
Highest paying state	-	Rhode Island
Best paying company	-	Rhode Island School of Design
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between university professor and adjunct professor education

There are a few differences between a university professor and an adjunct professor in terms of educational background:

	University Professor	Adjunct Professor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University professor vs adjunct professor demographics

Here are the differences between university professors' and adjunct professors' demographics:

	University Professor	Adjunct Professor
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 63.0% Female, 37.0%	Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 11.4% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 11.3% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between university professor and adjunct professor duties and responsibilities

University professor example responsibilities.

Used blackboard online to manage students tests, grade papers and assign materials.
Provide assistance in conducting literature reviews on obesity issues and data analysis of her surveys on obesity risk reduction behaviors
Develop syllabus, overall course structure, and administer all grades.
Design and teach courses in leadership, ethics, and professional writing at the collegiate level.
Develop course curriculum, syllabus, materials and instructional objectives in line with traditional and modern theological teaching and researching.
Develop contextually sensitive evidence aggregation methods from patient records that consider whole patients over time, rather than just linguistic correctness.

Adjunct professor example responsibilities.

Lead outreach to community and statewide stakeholders in the PPCC entrepreneurship program.
Develop and prepare class syllabus and teaching materials for strategic management, business and government ethics, and organizational behavior classes.
Provide instruction/guidance for nursing students; deliver didactic lectures on human anatomy and physiology.
Identify course objectives, design syllabus, develop all instructional activities and materials, including written exams.
Facilitate courses in communications, economics, leadership, management, corporate finances, strategic planning and organizational behavior.
Develop and teach course curriculum on the subject of exercise science and clinical pharmacology to athletic training students.

University professor vs adjunct professor skills

Common university professor skills

Undergraduate Courses, 11%
Sociology, 10%
Political Science, 9%
Literature, 8%
Economics, 5%
Ethics, 5%

Common adjunct professor skills

Course Curriculum, 11%
Syllabus, 8%
Semester, 6%
Blackboard, 4%
Student Learning, 4%
Course Materials, 4%

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University Professor
University Professor vs Adjunct Professor

Updated January 8, 2025

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