Seedling
March 13th, 2008, 10:45 AM
I haven’t been active here lately, but I’ve been doing some research into what it takes to teach art at a college level, and I thought I would share here what I’ve learned.
There are two types of professorship: tenured (full-time) and adjunct (part-time). Tenured positions are highly sought-after and become available rarely. Adjunct positions are much easier to get, and can potentially lead to tenureship – but not necessarily so. Because of the rarity of tenured position, those hoping for such a career should be prepared to move to take such a job.
At the particular college I have been looking into, pay for adjunct professors is per class. Adjunct professors teach about four classes per year, and make about $3800 per class. Which makes for an unfortunately measly living, but does allow for artists to split their time between teaching and making a living through freelancing or production of gallery work. Some people hoping for tenureship get their MFA while teaching as an adjunct.
An MFA is not required for either tenure or adjunct art positions, but professional experience in its place would be a Really Good Thing.
For anyone looking for tenureship, it helps to be solidly knowledgeable in a wide array of subjects, because each of those subjects is a class that you could potentially teach - or fill in for, when another professor has a sick day.
If you are a professional who is considering teaching, personally I recommend getting in touch with your local colleges. Offer to do a lecture on your particular field. Not only can this give you a taste of what it is like to be in front of a classroom, it occasionally pays (but don’t expect much), and most importantly, it will help you make connections with professors and other faculty who can help you along should you decide to make a career of college-level teaching.
There are two types of professorship: tenured (full-time) and adjunct (part-time). Tenured positions are highly sought-after and become available rarely. Adjunct positions are much easier to get, and can potentially lead to tenureship – but not necessarily so. Because of the rarity of tenured position, those hoping for such a career should be prepared to move to take such a job.
At the particular college I have been looking into, pay for adjunct professors is per class. Adjunct professors teach about four classes per year, and make about $3800 per class. Which makes for an unfortunately measly living, but does allow for artists to split their time between teaching and making a living through freelancing or production of gallery work. Some people hoping for tenureship get their MFA while teaching as an adjunct.
An MFA is not required for either tenure or adjunct art positions, but professional experience in its place would be a Really Good Thing.
For anyone looking for tenureship, it helps to be solidly knowledgeable in a wide array of subjects, because each of those subjects is a class that you could potentially teach - or fill in for, when another professor has a sick day.
If you are a professional who is considering teaching, personally I recommend getting in touch with your local colleges. Offer to do a lecture on your particular field. Not only can this give you a taste of what it is like to be in front of a classroom, it occasionally pays (but don’t expect much), and most importantly, it will help you make connections with professors and other faculty who can help you along should you decide to make a career of college-level teaching.