Essay Professor: Meaning, What You Need & More + Examples
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Professors are highly experienced academicians with doctoral degrees. They lecture students in institutions of higher learning either full-time or part-time. Professors command a high level of intelligence in academic writing and other scholarly reviews. Their essays are exemplary and flawless with all the required academic parameters.
But what does it take to write essays like a professor? What do you need to become an excellent professor?
Read on to find out more information:
How to Be a Professor
Becoming a professor is a dream come true for many academicians. While the journey might not be easy, you must be willing to sacrifice and work towards the goal. Commitment, discipline, and hard work will get you there. However, you must have a passion for teaching and imparting knowledge. It is vital to be 100% sure that it is a path you want to take.
There are a few steps you must take to be a professor:
- Get an Undergraduate Degree
The first step you need to take is to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Having an undergraduate degree is a requirement to enroll in graduate school. You may know the subject of specialization when joining the university, or you may decide later on in your undergrad program.
- Specialize in a Subject Discipline
Choosing what you are passionate about is imperative to smooth your teaching career. If you want to become a professor, specializing in a specific subject is mandatory. Apart from studying, you must also participate in an internship program before graduating from undergraduate school. Such programs allow you to implement your knowledge and skills in a practical work environment.
- Pursue a Graduate Degree
After graduating, you need to enroll in a graduate school to pursue a master’s degree. It is another prerequisite in your journey to becoming a professor. If you want to tutor in a community college, you will have to provide a master’s certificate. But, if you want to tutor universities, you must get a doctoral degree. Though it usually depends on the institution, some colleges hire professors with a doctorate.
- Assistantship Program
Universities offering graduate degrees usually have an assistantship program. If your dream is to become a professor, you should apply to become an assistant tutor to gain experience. Besides, the program also acts as financial aid for students who can’t afford to pay their tuition fees. The program waives full or partial tuition fees and offers students a salary for the teaching assistant position. It is a competitive program with many benefits, including earning credit hours for your degree.
- Get Ph.D. Degree
Another qualification you need for a professor’s job is to earn a Ph.D. degree. Also known as a doctoral degree, it is an essential certification to jumpstart your career as a professor. It is advantageous to have a Ph.D. degree because you will not sit for competitive examinations for the professor position. Instead, you can apply directly to secure the job.
- Get Post-doctoral Experience
Getting your doctoral degree is not the final step. You must at least get post-doctoral work experience to gain a competitive edge. It allows you to write an original research paper and collect peer-reviewed publications from other scholars.
What Makes a Great Professor?
Apart from writing well-articulated research papers, other essential qualities make a great professor. Here are some of the skills you need to pursue your career as a professor:
- Communication
Professors must have effective communication skills since they are in the teaching business. They must demonstrate clarity when lecturing for learners to comprehend the lessons. Moreover, they must have exceptional writing skills to assess students’ academic work.
- Critical and Analytical
To become a successful professor, you must have critical and analytical skills. These skills are vital in reasoning and problem-solving. When writing academic papers, you must analyze the main ideas and incorporate logic to derive solutions. So, you must have a high reasoning capacity to develop arguments and draw constructive conclusions.
- Management
Time management is also an essential skill as a professor. A great professor should plan ahead and schedule all vital priorities in their weekly workloads. They should also manage themselves and other people.
- People’s Person
Great professors must work with people. So, they have to be patient and understanding in imparting knowledge. In addition, they need to have several teaching methods because students are not the same. At the same time, they should be self-aware of their surroundings and act as per the current environment to relate more to the people.
Professor Article Example
Design, by all means, may be viewed in various perspectives for the society’s benefit whether looked at on the basis of psychological, political, sociological, scientific, mathematical or philosophical, and most of all through aesthetic terms. Most of the design arguments have helped enrich the discussion about the role, significance, and impact such field brought in understanding this very open yet delicate subject, however. Some, however, appear contradictory and others lead to the extent of being detached from real life, practical applicability.
One of the most influential of these theoreticians, whose work is regarded contributory in expanding the need to closely consider design as a very significant field, is Romanian-born scholar Mihai Nadin. His seminal book, The Civilization of Illiteracy, addresses the undeniable relationship between human creativity and computers, which, not surprisingly, also kicks off the premise of his theses that he briefly discussed in the essay, “We are what we do.”
His wide experience in the field of computer control and management systems may have helped inspire Nadin to explore the more philosophical aspect of design, which includes, as an example, his design-centered investigation of universe which he assumed as a place or area where no information could be obtained, contending that we, humans, are what we do. This, he elegantly and lengthily discussed only after providing a walk through or synthesis of many existing classical scientific theories that include the Gestalt law, Entwerfen and other design models.
Nadin observes that design is often misunderstood as a field that concerns only any creative person’s fancy fascination for anything that captures the eye. He believes there is far better way to understand design than for what it is often regarded to as a means to solve problems (e.g., translating the abstract concepts to concrete actualities). The essay then attempts at inspiring people to look at design through a philosophical, pragmatist level or what he described as design’s “anticipatory” systems. His approach and goal is logical and understandable considering that the audience of theories about design emerges not only from the academia, but also practitioners and serious researchers of this field.
His Anticipation concepts expound on the idea that: a) there are current system that is defined by a future state; and, b) as a system, there are certain predictive model of itself and/or of its environment that allows for change to occur. The Anticipatory models do not subscribe to the Aristotelian vision of cause and effect yet Nadin considers anticipation as a set of system that may be expressed by “what we do”, “how we do” and “why we do”. This reflects the perception that actions must be taken based on its sequence and how to evaluate these actions.
In the final analysis, compared with most of the classical theories he used to contrast against his theories, Nadin’s Anticipation model then perceives that any forthcoming state is determined by the prior state. He notes that an explicit or implicit prediction, expresses the boundaries of our own understanding of what it wished to predict. His model, therefore, contributes in advancing our way of exploring new meanings of expressions or new approaches of interaction through design.
What Do You Need to Be a College Professor?
As mentioned above, you must acquire university certifications in your quest to be a college professor. Here is an overview of the qualifications you need:
- Bachelor’s Degree
You should study a broader subject if you intend to work in an institution of higher learning.
- Master’s Degree
Here, you must specialize in a specific field of academia. It will be the subject you will teach after clearing your studies. You might land a job as a professor in a community college in this stage. Otherwise, you have to further your studies to the next academic level.
- D. Degree
This is also known as the doctoral level. You will gain more knowledge and skills in your specialized academic area.
- Publications and Doctoral Experience
Getting your work published is a plus for your career. After your doctorate program, you will write original research publications as part of the work experience. You can also try to intern in different universities to gain the necessary experience.
Characteristics of a Good Professor
Let us explore the characteristics:
- Eloquent communicator with clear explanations and teaching directions.
- Establishes a critical learning environment.
- Resourceful information dissemination.
- Passionate about teaching.
- Encourages student participation.
- Offers mentorship programs.
- Delivers organized and structured lessons.
- Non-judgmental and allows room for failure and growth.
- Follows academic objectives.
- Gives honest, constructive feedback.
- Exemplary research and writing skills.
What the Best College Professors Do
The best college professors create an objective ground where students can apply their critical thinking skills without second-guessing their perspective. The professors are not judgmental in a negative way, making learners study well in a logical environment. What’s more, students can present their papers and are confident they will receive fair and honest feedback. They don’t reprimand you harshly for failing; instead, they encourage you to try again.
Moreover, the most sought-after college professors are decent, respectful, and friendly. You can approach them for consultation or mentorship, and they will gladly help you.
