been thinking about teaching for some time now and wonder what sort of bucks do those folks in the funny robes make?
the position available announcements never state how much an associate professor (tenure track) or assistant professor can make. So any clues on what various schools pay their profs?
east coast, west coast, private, public, land grant, undergrad, graduate, and all those other permutations of the world of higher ed...
(and is there much difference between architecture, landscape, & planning?)
I went to a public school in the Dirty South. Our school newspaper has a yearly salary report of the entire faculty, much to the dismay of many. I was actually somewhat suprised at their salaries. They made more than what I expected.
Many of the young adjunct professors (a year or two out of Columbia and Yale) were making about 62k. Most of the tenured professors were making around 80-95k.
The majority of architecture professors at my school taught one studio and one lecture. I think probably two or three of them taught summer studios. I would say that salary is fairly indicative of a fall, spring semester professor at my university.
I read long long time ago in Newsweek (maybe) that the average salary of a tenured professor in the Ivy Leagues was around $100,000. This was an across the board figure, but I'd think if you are a tenured professor at an Ivy League school, then you've got it together at some level - and the school needs to pay you to hold on to you.
most adjuncts are paid by the contact hour. Some schools will not pay much more than $40 an hour, others pay better. I'm sure a name-brand architect is paid fairly well, although I cannot imagine it is any higher than their billing rate in most cases.
If you brng in grant money, most times you can't spend the money on yourself. If you do,you can spend a long time in jail (missapropriation of federal funds anyone?)
Last time I looked, the average starting salary for a full-time professor was about 50k, with PhD in hand; perhaps as much as 58 in a place like NYC. For each decade in, salaries would creep something like 15-20k. If you are lucky enough to get a named chair at an elite school, you'd be pushing an average of 150k plus. I happen to know that the University of Chicago pays every named chair the same; it should be about 187k this year.
adjuncts making 62k ?! I sincerely doubt that unless they were including their other jobs in the salary as well.
most tenure-track jobs will start at around 1-1/4 times what an entry level architect would start at in the same market. Thus for a market paying out 32k for an Intern Architect, an Assistant Prof would pull down 40k. Of course, this varies widely based on the school (state school vs ivy for example)
And while that seems like a pretty good deal, keep in mind that the next pay raise might not come until tenure is granted, which is 5-7 years down the road. And then not another pay increase until the next promotion to Full Prof, which could be a really long time in some cases.
For architecture, most schools would prefer even full-time academics to be practicing as well, so it's never quite the cushy job that English, Philosophy, etc profs have.
An old co-worker now teaches AutoCad at a local technical college. He's pulling in around $70k for teaching three classes three days/week. I once filled in for him while he was ill. That's an easy $70k.
these numbers seem much higher than i was expecting... db's post sounds the most realistic to me... of course it would be great if the higher numbers are true since i'm hoping to head back for a phd next year with the intention of teaching afterward...
Yes, the adjuncts were making 62k. Two of them had graduated within years of completing grad school at a big name Ivy. The cost of living in the small town was relatively low so they were able to significantly tackle their student loans.
these figures being thrown around are completely over-inflated. at two good major midwestern universities, starting adjunct salary was between $35,000-45,000; tenure track was $50,000-$60,000; and tenured was $65,000+ up to $100,000+ for full professors with 20+ years experience. i would say the salary for college professors isn't that far off from typical architects salaries with comparable experience, but the benefits - health care, time off, 401k - are much much better.
I teach for a mid-western, land grant university. I did not get my M-Arch from an Ivy or big-name school. i am a bit of a hybrid, working in an office that releases me to teach the one class (for now).
Full-time adjuncts at my school make about 48k, tenure track are in the 50+k rannge, and I think that tenured profs can make 70-80k (speculation). Given local salaries for interns and recently-minted architects, the figure for adjuncts is at least a 10k improvement. Add in the benefits of health insurance, retirement, vacation and other leave, it's probably the best gig in town. Of course, if you chase the tenure track, you will be expected to research, publish or compete to earn that extra money and you most likely will not have your summers off.
I am also under the impression that salaries at this school are sigificantly lower than those at private or larger institutions.
i think in most states (i know for certain in alabama), all salaries paid to state funded university professors (or possibly all employees) are published somewhere.
I have a relative that teaches a graduate level night course at a local private university. Just talked to her and got some insight into salaries, although not architecture.
She's paid $40/hour w/out benefits for her part-time adjunct gig. This rate was based on her education and professional experience level, and she noted is considerably lower than her day job in the private sector.
Full time tenured professors there earn the equivalent of that $40/hour + benefits, while adjuncts are $50k-65 range. However, she also noted that they would never take on a full time adjunct professor "right out of grad school" and most people are there because they want to teach, and not for the money.
This is all relative to graduate level business courses. Across town the public university has a quite highly regarded graduate business program and she did say professors there are paid substantially better. Note that the same public university also has an MArch program.
In my own and my husband's experience, if you can actually get a full-time adjunct position, the benefits are good and salary reasonable.
But keep in mind that many, many schools are really only offering the part-time adjunct jobs - which means hourly or semester rate, no benefits, no security. These full-time benefited jobs are not easily found!
the michigan daily publishes the salaries of all university employees on an annual basis.
a spreadsheet can be downloaded at this link, http://apps.michigandaily.com/salary/200607.xls. it includes all university employees so you'll need to use the search/find function to wad through some of the info. this is the only public university in michigan with a school of architecture. i'd imagine that with some web research other similar information would be available for additional public universities
let's start by agreeing on how a few terms are being used here:
'adjunct' can be either full time or part time. at our school, all full time professors that are not tenure-track are 'visiting' positions, your rank usually being determined by your past experience. 'adjunct' is pretty much reserved for part time staff.
usually, someone making $40/hr is making it for the credit hour (not actual hours), so if a studio is 15 hrs/wk, and a semester 13 weeks long, they'll make roughly 8,000 for the semester. and, you'll spend 20-25 hrs/wk. on the class.
tenure track usually makes more than a visiting, although a first year tenure track may make less than a visiting professor.
how much you make starting out depends wholly on your institution, their regulations, etc. a full time visiting at our school (ga tech) may start at 45-50K and go up from there.
us lowly part-time adjuncts, though, are pretty much on a fixed rate - it was 6-7k per semester. the department has no flexibility in setting that rate - it's set by the institute and they don't treat 'lab' courses (which a studio is classified as) differently than a lecture course. so, our 5 hour studio 'lab', which requires 15 class hours, receives the same funding as a 3 hour lecture course. (sigh).
'name' architects who come in can make a pretty good bit of money - when eisenman taught at uark 8-9 years ago, he was making roughly 40-50k for that one semester.
full professor numbers being quoted seem reasonable - again, a lot depends on the institution. harvard, yale, etc. pay more than ball state. just how it is.
that said, it's probably extremely difficult to get a full time position without a masters and it's getting to the point where you need a masters from one of the 'elite' institutions in the country/world. a phd is also becoming more prevelant, even for more 'regular' positions.
any state school will have the salaries published - it may not always have names attached, but the position and range.
Looking at that Michigan spreadsheet I don't think the professors there are hurting much. Looks like the low end of the pay for any professor is north of $60K and high end nears $200k. Of course the arch professor are probably closer to the 60 figure.
The variables are many: tenure-track, adjunct, or 'visiting'; phd-holder or only master's; from high-ranked school or not; AT high-ranked school or not; ability to teach a range of courses or just studio; published or not; funded research or not; planning or architecture. This is just a partial list of the big items.
Salaries at public colleges and universities will be published somewhere, by law. Try the 'Chronicle of Higher Education' Almanac issue if you can't find your state's listing.
FWIW, a mentor of mine told me that a newly-minted PhD, hired as a tenure-track assistant prof in planning (at USC) would command about $60k.
the numbers i quoted in my above post are taken specifically from the list that puddles posted for positions in the architecture school at um. there are technically no or very few "adjuncts" at michigan; they are called lecturers and are full-time positions. the $35,000-$45,000 number i gave above is actually HIGHER than what's posted on the spreadsheet.
i think there's an awful lot of grass-is-greener-itis going here.
I'm starting teaching as an architecture lecturer at a university, three hours a week. For lecturers, they pay $8000 per quarter. So the equivalent of about $36,000 a year. But I don't really get the perks of a professor: no yearly salary, no benefits, etc.
One course. Two lectures a week, each an hour and a half long. But eight hours of prep for each lecture (it's a very slide and image intensive course.)
So the actual amount of time per week is about 20 hours/week. On top of a forty hour workweek.
I did the very same setup a year ago... only I ended up spending about 12-16 hours a week on prep---too many. I made a bit less than you report, and was told by those who should know that it was a pretty good deal. So yours is really good, I guess.
i hope to be practicing and with phd in not so distant future.
at my uni in tokyo most of the profs are phd, and almost all of them practice (few do not have a licence; even the historians tend to have licences here) my feeling is that a prof here with a march will have to be well connected to get a gig, and i think is expected or encouraged to get phd if they want any kind of advancement towards full professorship.
this was very different from profs back in canada where many had (much) less work experience than me, and only a few had phds...
i can't say the education is any better but the amount of trust a student can put in the prof's credentials and experience is reassuring.
the profs that are exclusively academic tend to be historians or theorists rather than studio based teachers. i think however that the profs with practices have to endure a very tough schedule. which may be why it is not so common back in north america?
my exgirlfriend/future wife sent me a list of english professor jobs off the mla site. these are jobs she's considering applying for. they are tenure track and require a phd in hand. they pay between 50 and 60 grand depending on region.
The matching question that goes along with this is, "How does one go about getting a teaching position?"
I'm living in a university town with a large arch program, but I didn't attend that school. I assume that they are a lot more likely to be looking for faculty from among their own alumni, rather than from an out-of-state school.
I know someone who teaches part-time in architecture, and they get this too "$1k per credit hour (3k for a 3cr class per semester)." db originally posted that.
In general, schools (if they're doing their job) are interested in hiring instructors from a range of institutions. It won't look good if every studio instructor's bio includes the name of said school. A few, fine, but students will want exposure to other ideas and attitudes.
i agree with citizen... generally i think that schools try not to inbreed too much... at least at the good schools... my local arch. school (which i did not attend) seems to prefer to hire graduates from their program and as with all cases of inbreeding you can definitely spot the problems...
what do profe$$or$ earn?
been thinking about teaching for some time now and wonder what sort of bucks do those folks in the funny robes make?
the position available announcements never state how much an associate professor (tenure track) or assistant professor can make. So any clues on what various schools pay their profs?
east coast, west coast, private, public, land grant, undergrad, graduate, and all those other permutations of the world of higher ed...
(and is there much difference between architecture, landscape, & planning?)
I went to a public school in the Dirty South. Our school newspaper has a yearly salary report of the entire faculty, much to the dismay of many. I was actually somewhat suprised at their salaries. They made more than what I expected.
Many of the young adjunct professors (a year or two out of Columbia and Yale) were making about 62k. Most of the tenured professors were making around 80-95k.
doesn't it have to do with the number of classes you teach?
The majority of architecture professors at my school taught one studio and one lecture. I think probably two or three of them taught summer studios. I would say that salary is fairly indicative of a fall, spring semester professor at my university.
they earn free/heavily discounted tuition for their kids.
How much $$$ in research grants can you bring in?
i wanna teach...but due to politics i need to get my masters
b
I read long long time ago in Newsweek (maybe) that the average salary of a tenured professor in the Ivy Leagues was around $100,000. This was an across the board figure, but I'd think if you are a tenured professor at an Ivy League school, then you've got it together at some level - and the school needs to pay you to hold on to you.
wow, no wonder people bitch her about money.
most adjuncts are paid by the contact hour. Some schools will not pay much more than $40 an hour, others pay better. I'm sure a name-brand architect is paid fairly well, although I cannot imagine it is any higher than their billing rate in most cases.
If you brng in grant money, most times you can't spend the money on yourself. If you do,you can spend a long time in jail (missapropriation of federal funds anyone?)
Last time I looked, the average starting salary for a full-time professor was about 50k, with PhD in hand; perhaps as much as 58 in a place like NYC. For each decade in, salaries would creep something like 15-20k. If you are lucky enough to get a named chair at an elite school, you'd be pushing an average of 150k plus. I happen to know that the University of Chicago pays every named chair the same; it should be about 187k this year.
The benefits are nice.
adjuncts making 62k ?! I sincerely doubt that unless they were including their other jobs in the salary as well.
most tenure-track jobs will start at around 1-1/4 times what an entry level architect would start at in the same market. Thus for a market paying out 32k for an Intern Architect, an Assistant Prof would pull down 40k. Of course, this varies widely based on the school (state school vs ivy for example)
And while that seems like a pretty good deal, keep in mind that the next pay raise might not come until tenure is granted, which is 5-7 years down the road. And then not another pay increase until the next promotion to Full Prof, which could be a really long time in some cases.
For architecture, most schools would prefer even full-time academics to be practicing as well, so it's never quite the cushy job that English, Philosophy, etc profs have.
An old co-worker now teaches AutoCad at a local technical college. He's pulling in around $70k for teaching three classes three days/week. I once filled in for him while he was ill. That's an easy $70k.
these numbers seem much higher than i was expecting... db's post sounds the most realistic to me... of course it would be great if the higher numbers are true since i'm hoping to head back for a phd next year with the intention of teaching afterward...
Yes, the adjuncts were making 62k. Two of them had graduated within years of completing grad school at a big name Ivy. The cost of living in the small town was relatively low so they were able to significantly tackle their student loans.
these figures being thrown around are completely over-inflated. at two good major midwestern universities, starting adjunct salary was between $35,000-45,000; tenure track was $50,000-$60,000; and tenured was $65,000+ up to $100,000+ for full professors with 20+ years experience. i would say the salary for college professors isn't that far off from typical architects salaries with comparable experience, but the benefits - health care, time off, 401k - are much much better.
I teach for a mid-western, land grant university. I did not get my M-Arch from an Ivy or big-name school. i am a bit of a hybrid, working in an office that releases me to teach the one class (for now).
Full-time adjuncts at my school make about 48k, tenure track are in the 50+k rannge, and I think that tenured profs can make 70-80k (speculation). Given local salaries for interns and recently-minted architects, the figure for adjuncts is at least a 10k improvement. Add in the benefits of health insurance, retirement, vacation and other leave, it's probably the best gig in town. Of course, if you chase the tenure track, you will be expected to research, publish or compete to earn that extra money and you most likely will not have your summers off.
I am also under the impression that salaries at this school are sigificantly lower than those at private or larger institutions.
i think in most states (i know for certain in alabama), all salaries paid to state funded university professors (or possibly all employees) are published somewhere.
I have a relative that teaches a graduate level night course at a local private university. Just talked to her and got some insight into salaries, although not architecture.
She's paid $40/hour w/out benefits for her part-time adjunct gig. This rate was based on her education and professional experience level, and she noted is considerably lower than her day job in the private sector.
Full time tenured professors there earn the equivalent of that $40/hour + benefits, while adjuncts are $50k-65 range. However, she also noted that they would never take on a full time adjunct professor "right out of grad school" and most people are there because they want to teach, and not for the money.
This is all relative to graduate level business courses. Across town the public university has a quite highly regarded graduate business program and she did say professors there are paid substantially better. Note that the same public university also has an MArch program.
it helps if you know something worth teaching...
In my own and my husband's experience, if you can actually get a full-time adjunct position, the benefits are good and salary reasonable.
But keep in mind that many, many schools are really only offering the part-time adjunct jobs - which means hourly or semester rate, no benefits, no security. These full-time benefited jobs are not easily found!
Would anyone know about the salaries at the University of Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Sci-Arc?
Landscape Architecture? Urban Planning Departments?
the michigan daily publishes the salaries of all university employees on an annual basis.
a spreadsheet can be downloaded at this link, http://apps.michigandaily.com/salary/200607.xls. it includes all university employees so you'll need to use the search/find function to wad through some of the info. this is the only public university in michigan with a school of architecture. i'd imagine that with some web research other similar information would be available for additional public universities
I heard somewhere that tenured professors make the most $$$ per hour worked of any profession
people -
let's start by agreeing on how a few terms are being used here:
'adjunct' can be either full time or part time. at our school, all full time professors that are not tenure-track are 'visiting' positions, your rank usually being determined by your past experience. 'adjunct' is pretty much reserved for part time staff.
usually, someone making $40/hr is making it for the credit hour (not actual hours), so if a studio is 15 hrs/wk, and a semester 13 weeks long, they'll make roughly 8,000 for the semester. and, you'll spend 20-25 hrs/wk. on the class.
tenure track usually makes more than a visiting, although a first year tenure track may make less than a visiting professor.
how much you make starting out depends wholly on your institution, their regulations, etc. a full time visiting at our school (ga tech) may start at 45-50K and go up from there.
us lowly part-time adjuncts, though, are pretty much on a fixed rate - it was 6-7k per semester. the department has no flexibility in setting that rate - it's set by the institute and they don't treat 'lab' courses (which a studio is classified as) differently than a lecture course. so, our 5 hour studio 'lab', which requires 15 class hours, receives the same funding as a 3 hour lecture course. (sigh).
'name' architects who come in can make a pretty good bit of money - when eisenman taught at uark 8-9 years ago, he was making roughly 40-50k for that one semester.
full professor numbers being quoted seem reasonable - again, a lot depends on the institution. harvard, yale, etc. pay more than ball state. just how it is.
that said, it's probably extremely difficult to get a full time position without a masters and it's getting to the point where you need a masters from one of the 'elite' institutions in the country/world. a phd is also becoming more prevelant, even for more 'regular' positions.
any state school will have the salaries published - it may not always have names attached, but the position and range.
hope all that helps.
Looking at that Michigan spreadsheet I don't think the professors there are hurting much. Looks like the low end of the pay for any professor is north of $60K and high end nears $200k. Of course the arch professor are probably closer to the 60 figure.
Thanks, Laru, for some clarity.
The variables are many: tenure-track, adjunct, or 'visiting'; phd-holder or only master's; from high-ranked school or not; AT high-ranked school or not; ability to teach a range of courses or just studio; published or not; funded research or not; planning or architecture. This is just a partial list of the big items.
Salaries at public colleges and universities will be published somewhere, by law. Try the 'Chronicle of Higher Education' Almanac issue if you can't find your state's listing.
FWIW, a mentor of mine told me that a newly-minted PhD, hired as a tenure-track assistant prof in planning (at USC) would command about $60k.
the numbers i quoted in my above post are taken specifically from the list that puddles posted for positions in the architecture school at um. there are technically no or very few "adjuncts" at michigan; they are called lecturers and are full-time positions. the $35,000-$45,000 number i gave above is actually HIGHER than what's posted on the spreadsheet.
i think there's an awful lot of grass-is-greener-itis going here.
I'm starting teaching as an architecture lecturer at a university, three hours a week. For lecturers, they pay $8000 per quarter. So the equivalent of about $36,000 a year. But I don't really get the perks of a professor: no yearly salary, no benefits, etc.
wow! this discussion is more detailed and interesting then what I expected. Thank you for all the excellent posts & keep them coming!
Farwest1,
This is for one course, then? A three-hour lecture or seminar? If so, that sounds pretty good.
One course. Two lectures a week, each an hour and a half long. But eight hours of prep for each lecture (it's a very slide and image intensive course.)
So the actual amount of time per week is about 20 hours/week. On top of a forty hour workweek.
I did the very same setup a year ago... only I ended up spending about 12-16 hours a week on prep---too many. I made a bit less than you report, and was told by those who should know that it was a pretty good deal. So yours is really good, I guess.
What's the class?
That should give you some idea what you're looking at.
Are there any practitioners with Ph.Ds, or do most PhDs go into academia exclusively?
Practitioner PhD here, though most docs go the all-academic route.
i hope to be practicing and with phd in not so distant future.
at my uni in tokyo most of the profs are phd, and almost all of them practice (few do not have a licence; even the historians tend to have licences here) my feeling is that a prof here with a march will have to be well connected to get a gig, and i think is expected or encouraged to get phd if they want any kind of advancement towards full professorship.
this was very different from profs back in canada where many had (much) less work experience than me, and only a few had phds...
i can't say the education is any better but the amount of trust a student can put in the prof's credentials and experience is reassuring.
the profs that are exclusively academic tend to be historians or theorists rather than studio based teachers. i think however that the profs with practices have to endure a very tough schedule. which may be why it is not so common back in north america?
I think n_ needs to disclose where it is that adjuncts are making 62k
This is EXTREMELY apart from the norm (even for the white-speckled-breasted-rare full-time adjuncts that LB mentions)
I'm part-time adjunct at a mid-level midwestern university and make $1k per credit hour (3k for a 3cr class per semester).
and YES I am underpaid for what I do there --
I know....
(sigh)
db i'm the equivalent of a a part-time adjunct i guess, but down in south america. feel better about your salary. really.
[and before someone says life if cheaper here, well yes somewhat but not as much as you'd think- some things cheaper, some pricier]
my exgirlfriend/future wife sent me a list of english professor jobs off the mla site. these are jobs she's considering applying for. they are tenure track and require a phd in hand. they pay between 50 and 60 grand depending on region.
The matching question that goes along with this is, "How does one go about getting a teaching position?"
I'm living in a university town with a large arch program, but I didn't attend that school. I assume that they are a lot more likely to be looking for faculty from among their own alumni, rather than from an out-of-state school.
I know someone who teaches part-time in architecture, and they get this too "$1k per credit hour (3k for a 3cr class per semester)." db originally posted that.
Cornellbox,
In general, schools (if they're doing their job) are interested in hiring instructors from a range of institutions. It won't look good if every studio instructor's bio includes the name of said school. A few, fine, but students will want exposure to other ideas and attitudes.
i agree with citizen... generally i think that schools try not to inbreed too much... at least at the good schools... my local arch. school (which i did not attend) seems to prefer to hire graduates from their program and as with all cases of inbreeding you can definitely spot the problems...
At CA state schools the arch salary range is close to the numbers n_ mentioned early on, there are also very good benefits.
-around 20K per year for part-timers teaching one studio per term.
-55-65K for tenure track assistant profs.
-around 85k for full profs.
For those with practices this can be a comfortable living, for those who don't have other moneys coming in not so much.
my experience is pretty much along the lines of what strawbeary said, for part-timers, though maybe closer to $1.5k/credit.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.