# Can You Teach at a University With a Master‘s Degree? - Canonical: https://33rdsquare.com/can-you-teach-at-a-university-with-a-masters-degree/ - Published: 2024-04-06 - Author: Charlene Farwell - Categories: [School](https://33rdsquare.com/category/education/school/) --- The prospect of standing at that lectern and imparting your hard-won knowledge to eager students is an alluring one for many. However, the road to getting there is often long and winding. If you find yourself wondering if you can skip ahead and teach at a university with just a master‘s degree, here is what you need to know. ## Is a PhD Required to Teach at University? While a doctoral degree is considered the standard credential for full-time, tenure-track university faculty positions, the master‘s degree still opens some doors. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in fall 2020, **23% of full-time instructional faculty at degree-granting postsecondary institutions held a master‘s degree as their highest degree earned**. The remainder held doctoral degrees. Breaking this data down further: - At public research universities, only **15%** of full-time faculty held master‘s degrees - At public community colleges, **36%** of full-time faculty held master‘s degrees - At private nonprofit 4-year institutions, **19%** held master‘s degrees So while research universities set a high bar with 85% of faculty possessing PhDs, other institution types are much more attainable with just a master‘s credential. | Institution Type | % Faculty With Master‘s Degree | | --- | --- | | Public research universities | 15% | | Public community colleges | 36% | | Private nonprofit 4-year colleges | 19% | This means that while the majority of university educators hold PhDs, the master‘s degree is far from useless if you have ambitions of teaching. You may, however, face some limitations in the roles you can obtain. ## Teaching Opportunities with a Master‘s Degree As a master‘s degree holder trying to break into academia, you may be able to find work as: - **Adjunct or part-time faculty:** Adjunct positions are temporary, non-tenure track appointments that can serve as a stepping stone to full-time work. Many adjuncts teach only one or two classes per semester and get paid on a per-course basis, often with no benefits. In fall 2020, **69%** of part-time faculty held master‘s degrees as their top credential. - **Graduate teaching assistants:** These roles are generally reserved for master‘s or PhD students. GTAs support faculty by teaching discussion sections for large lectures or their own introductory-level courses. These positions provide a stipend and tuition remission to graduate students, but are fixed-term appointments. - **Full-time lecturers or instructors:** Some smaller colleges and universities are willing to hire master‘s prepared faculty into full-time, non-tenure track teaching roles. Lecturers focus purely on instruction rather than research, and their teaching loads are heavier than tenured faculty. The pay and resources provided vary widely. In one 2021 survey of non-tenure track faculty (NTTF), two-thirds of full-time NTTF respondents said they would have preferred a tenure-track position. Lack of job security was a top concern due to predominantly year-to-year contract renewals. Nevertheless, some NTTF managed to stay at their institutions for over a decade through repeated rehiring. The specific opportunities available to you as a master‘s degree holder seeking to teach will vary significantly by institution type. For example: - Large research universities typically require newly hired full-time faculty to hold PhDs, even in many master‘s degree granting programs. Tenure-track faculty conduct groundbreaking research in addition to teaching. - Small teaching-focused colleges may be more receptive to master‘s prepared candidates, even for tenure-track jobs with long-term contracts, good pay and benefits. The expectations around research are diminished. - Community colleges frequently hire faculty with master‘s degrees into full-time roles with decent pay and job security. Here the emphasis is on quality instruction rather than research output. So while the top research institutions set high bars for teaching faculty, less selective universities and two-year schools provide many more possibilities for you step into the classroom with "just" a master‘s degree. ## Which Fields Are Most Open to Master‘s Degree Holders? Your chances of getting hired can also improve dramatically if your master‘s degree aligns with an in-demand field lacking qualified faculty. Shortages of PhDs able to take on teaching jobs can motivate departments to loosen degree requirements. Some oft-cited disciplines more amenable to master‘s prepared college instructors compared to other subjects include: - Career-focused programs like business, engineering, computer science, public health, and nursing - Creative fields such as art, design, music, journalism, English, and communication - Interdisciplinary studies drawing in mid-career professionals as teachers, like healthcare administration, data science, and environmental policy Let‘s examine two of these high-demand areas a bit closer: ### Business Business fields like marketing, finance, accounting, and management often prefer candidates with substantial industry experience in addition to an MBA or other appropriate master‘s level credentials. For example, Ellen, a full-time faculty member profiled in _The Chronicle of Higher Education_ has an MBA and 25 years working in the banking and finance sector. She leveraged her extensive real-world credentials to land a lecturer role at a California State University campus teaching courses in economics, accounting, and financial management. In the article, Ellen notes that her deep industry connections and ability to expose students to current trends and practices gave her a clear advantage over PhDs with little private sector experience. ### Nursing Nursing programs are dealing with a massive shortage of faculty as student enrollment in RN programs swells. Per the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), U.S. nursing schools turned away over 80,000 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2019 due to insufficient numbers of faculty. The AACN projects this shortage will only worsen due to waves of retiring faculty. Many nursing schools have responded by hiring more instructors and assistant professors with master‘s of science in nursing (MSN) credentials. These schools emphasize applicants with extensive clinical expertise critical to educating the next generation of practicing nurses. So even in traditionally PhD-centric environments, applied experience coupled with a relevant master‘s degree can substitute for a doctorate in the right high-demand circumstances. ## Strategies to Improve Your Odds If teaching college with a master‘s degree is your ultimate career goal, here are some tips leveraged by current faculty to get your foot in the academia door: **Start small:** Seek part-time adjunct or contingent faculty roles at community colleges and less selective universities first. Success here, especially if you earn strong student reviews, publishes papers, or take on service roles, serves as a powerful launch pad for securing better opportunities down the road. Jasmine, an English adjunct professor in Virginia, says, "Getting solid teaching experience under my belt as an adjunct gave me the evidence I needed to convince administrators I deserved a full-time shot, even without a PhD." After three years of adjuncting, she managed to land a full-time lecturer role at a small private college. **Get relevant experience:** Apply for graduate teaching assistant roles during your master‘s program to gain classroom know-how. If unavailable, volunteer to guest lecture for professors or co-teach workshops to amass some tangible teaching evidence for your resume. The more exposure you have to genuine educational environments, the better. **Highlight transferable skills:** Emphasize any prior teaching, mentoring, communication, research, publishing, or real-world experiences from past jobs that demonstrate your aptitude for excelling as faculty. The wider range of relevant competencies you can illustrate, the more competitive your candidacy becomes. **Make connections:** Networking goes a long way, according to many non-PhD faculty. Seek informational interviews with department heads and faculty across institutions you may want to work at to learn more about their priorities. Quality referrals give candidates a major leg up in job searches. Marcus, a full-time business faculty member says, "I reached out early and often to managers and senior faculty at schools I was interested in. Getting face time and having an insider advocate for me when jobs opened up made all the difference." **Consider more education:** While not strictly necessary for teaching, earning a doctoral degree down the road opens significantly more faculty career doors in terms of tenure-track positions, advancement opportunities, and higher salaries. Some instructors start working at an institution part-time while enrolled in a local PhD program. With careful positioning and persistence, you can break into an academic career with just a master‘s degree. Just know that laying the groundwork and accumulating the right credentials and experiences takes significant effort. Prepare to make some tradeoffs in terms of career advancement and compensation as compared to faculty holding doctorates. But getting your foot in the door as an instructor is completely viable armed with the right strategy. ## Addressing the Qualifications Question The elephant in the room around increasing master‘s degree faculty hiring is whether graduate degree holders possess sufficient subject-matter expertise and teaching capacity relative to PhDs. Critics contend that master‘s prepared teachers have not reached the same level of scholarly depth or methodological sophistication attained in the course of writing a dissertation. There are also concerns about diluting education quality amidst charges that universities are relying onadjuncts and terminal degree-less instructors simply because they are cheaper hires. However, proponents argue that a PhD centered purely on theoretical research does not inherently make someone a better classroom instructor. In fact, they claim real-world seasoned professionals with relevant master‘s credentials can provide immense value, particularly in applied disciplines. Dr. Henry Morris, a professor and faculty developer, acknowledges both sides: _"I‘ve worked with brilliant faculty armed with nothing but master‘s degrees who connect wonderfully with students. I‘ve also seen mediocre PhDs who can‘t teach a lick."_ Finding the right balance is key from his perspective. Undoubtedly, more research around the efficacy of varied faculty preparation models is warranted. Most experts agree that the answer likely rests between the extremes—universities need BOTH deeply knowledgeable scholar-teachers AND professionally-seasoned career educators to deliver well-rounded education programs tailored to the needs of diverse student bodies. ## Towards Sustainable Master‘s-Level Teaching Careers As budget-constrained colleges rely more heavily on non-tenure track faculty appointments, leaders must also focus on enhancing working conditions and career development pathways for master‘s degree holders to attract and retain talented educators. Clear guidelines around job security, compensation standards, workload policies, and promotion opportunities for master‘s prepared instructors are paramount to ensuring this vital segment of the professoriate can thrive. Several professional organizations like the American Association for University Professors (AAUP) and the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor (COCAL), are advocating for better treatment of non-tenure track faculty regardless of degree held. Many of their reform platforms aim squarely at improving circumstances for the growing adjunct workforce made up disproportionately of master‘s holders. While debate continues around non-PhD instructor qualifications, one truth remains clear: Master‘s level faculty are taking on an increasingly critical role in university teaching. For their sake and the sake of students, institutions must provide cleaner paths to secure, fairly compensated, and satisfying academic careers for this large pool of graduate degree holders. They will only grow more central in fulfilling higher education‘s teaching mission in the years ahead. --- Source: [Can You Teach at a University With a Master‘s Degree?](https://33rdsquare.com/can-you-teach-at-a-university-with-a-masters-degree/)