A few days ago
Anonymous

Teaching College Without Ph.D.?

What state(s) allow teachers to teach at the college level WITHOUT having earned a Ph.D?

Is a Master’s Degree sufficient to teach in college?

I know in NYC, every college professor needs a Ph.D. or must be on the road to earning one.

Top 3 Answers
A few days ago
Buying is Voting

Favorite Answer

It depends on the subject, the school and the type of teaching job, not the state.

If you want to teach college as a career at an accredited university, you’ll almost certainly need a doctorate. You need that research background and will need to work toward tenure. If you want to teach temporarily, you might not need doctoral work behind you.

In some fields, master’s degrees are terminal degrees, meaning you can do virtually anything in the field with a master’s. With enough experience behind you and proven success, you can then be hired as adjunct or assistant faculty and teach courses. Some of the faculty in engineering, social work and occasionally business do not have Ph.D.s.

In other fields, however, or at really good schools, a Ph.D. is essential. Sciences, math, and liberal arts seem to require doctoral work almost across the board.

2

A few days ago
Jason D
I would think a few things factor into this question. Such as what standards board accredits the university, location and availability personnel with PhD.D degrees, and what classes would be taught by this professor w/only a Master’s.

I know in FL you can teach w/o a Ph.D.

Some classes such as remedial and learning assistance only require a B.A. degree in the subject you are teaching

1

A few days ago
Jeƒƒ Lebowski
You can teach community college without a PhD. Most require masters degrees.

Also if you are a graduate student, earning your PhD, you can get an assistantship teaching some lower level college courses.

1