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

What is a visiting professor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Cheyrl Ensley

A visiting professor is an educational professional who teaches for a short period of time at a college or university. These individuals hold professorships at their own institutions but may opt for a change of scenery by taking a visiting professor position for a year or so. A visiting professor has the duties of any regular professor, such as instructing students in a subject, holding special lectures and seminars, examining coursework, and evaluating student progress by giving exams and assigning papers. They also work with college and university staff and administration and follow their instructional guidelines.

Most visiting professors hold a master's or doctoral degree in the area in which they teach and possess a broad knowledge of their subject and in-depth teaching experience. As instructors, they should possess excellent verbal, communication, and organizational skills.

A visiting professor can make up to $98,000 a year, depending on the subject, the college, and years of teaching experience. If you are looking for a career in teaching at the college level, this could be a rewarding career, and job growth for visiting professors is expected to grow 11% in the next ten years.

What general advice would you give to a visiting professor?

Dr. Cheyrl Ensley

Interim Head, Associate Professor, Grambling State University

Flexibility is important. The graduate must be prepared and flexible! The graduate must be prepared to teach effectively and efficiently, regardless of the delivery method and flexibility regarding reporting to the school or working from home. Be prepared and accepting of the fact that what is required of you may change unexpectedly. In this age of uncertainty, the graduate must be flexible enough to perform as needed and remain focused on student growth.

ScoreVisiting ProfessorUS Average

Salary

8.0

Avg. Salary $116,217

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.8

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 13.92%

Black or African American 6.84%

Hispanic or Latino 9.77%

Unknown 4.88%

White 64.31%

Gender

female 39.73%

male 60.27%

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

4.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.9

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a visiting professor

Explore visiting professor education requirements

Most common visiting professor degrees

Bachelor's

42.1 %

Master's

29.9 %

Doctorate

23.1 %

Start to develop specific visiting professor skills

Skills	Percentages
Course Content	10.96%
Student Learning	10.00%
Professional Development	8.07%
Philosophy	6.85%
Health Assessments	5.43%

Research visiting professor duties and responsibilities

Used blackboard online to manage students tests, grade papers and assign materials.
Teach various humanities, sociology, communications and ethics courses.
Design and teach a graduate seminar.
Graduate seminar in post-1945 art theory and criticism

Get visiting professor experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a visiting professor. The most common roles before becoming a visiting professor include adjunct professor, assistant professor team lead and instructor.

Prepare your visiting professor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your visiting professor resume.

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