EDUCATION REPORT - Assistant Professor, Associate Professor,

EDUCATION REPORT - Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Lecturer... What's the Difference?
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, April 21, 2005

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Education Report.

 
 
A listener at Hefei University of Technology in Anhui Province, China, has a question for our Foreign Student Series. The question involves the system of job names in American higher education. Zhang Xiang wants to know the difference between positions like professor, associate professor and lecturer.

In the United States, a person who wants to do research and teach at a college or university usually has a doctorate¹, the highest degree. But sometimes a school may offer positions to people who have not yet finished their doctorate.

Such a person would be called an instructor² until the degree has been completed. After that, the instructor could become an assistant professor. Assistant professors do not have tenure³.

A person with tenure cannot be easily dismissed⁴. Such appointments are permanent. University teachers and researchers who are hired with the understanding that they will seek tenure are said to be on a tenure track. Assistant professor is the first job on this path.

Assistant professors generally have five to seven years to gain tenure. During this time, other faculty⁵ members study the person's work. If tenure is denied, then the assistant professor usually has a year to find another job.

An assistant professor who receives tenure becomes an associate professor. An associate professor may later be appointed a full professor.

Assistant, associate and full professors at American universities perform many duties. They teach classes. They advise students. And they carry out research that is published. They also serve on university committees and take part in other activities.

Other faculty members at American universities are not expected to do all those jobs. They are not on a tenure track. Instead, they might be in adjunct or visiting positions. A visiting professor has a job at one school but works⁶ at another for a period of time. An adjunct professor is also a limited or part-time position, to do research or teach classes. Adjunct professors have a doctorate.

Another position is that of lecturer. Lecturers teach classes, but they may or may not have a doctorate.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

2 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

3 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

4 dismissed   

v.解雇( dismiss的过去式和过去分词 )；（使击球员或球队）退场；使退去；驳回

参考例句：

• Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。

5 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

6 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。