How to Become an Associate Professor: Career Guide, Courses, After 12th, Jobs, Scope, Salary

How to Become an Associate Professor: Quick Facts

What does an Associate Professor Do

Associate Professors typically share their research at conferences and have their work published in peer-reviewed publications. Some of the key responsibilities of an Associate Professor are listed below for your reference,

• Creating and distributing course content, curricula, and syllabi.
• Working with the recruitment and training of new lecturers, teaching assistants, and Professors.
• Researching, publishing papers, and attending conferences
• Participating in academic events and networking with other scholars and subject matter experts.
• Supervising, advising, and guiding graduates and education personnel.
• Attending faculty and departmental meetings.
• Shortlisting, interviewing, and choosing graduate students.
• Hosting guest lectures and faculty gatherings so that students may meet with experienced industry professionals.
• Visiting other higher education institutions to get experience and broaden networks.
• Creating bids for research funding.

PhD Courses

In India, students can pursue any specialisation in bachelors and masters to become an Associate Professor. However, it must be followed up with a doctorate degree in the same specialisation. One can start with a masters degree as an Assistant Professor but will need work experience to become an Associate Professor. Some courses candidates can pursue are as follows.

PhD Science 

PhD Science is a three to five-year doctorate-level programme that individuals with an MSc or MTech background can pursue. It entails researching any of the Science specialisations such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and so on. To achieve the PhD Science degree, the student must submit a research thesis at the end of the course.

Eligibility criteria 

• Students must graduate with a minimum of 55 percent aggregate grades. However, some prestigious universities need a minimum of 60% overall.
• No backlog should exist in any subject.
• Candidates must pass an admission exam before being interviewed by colleges or institutions.

• PhD Science courses are open to students with an MSc, MTech, or other comparable degree.

PhD Arts

PhD Arts is a three-year doctoral programme that allows you to specialise in either Humanities courses like Psychology, History, Journalism, or Performing Arts like Music, or Visual Arts like Video, Animation, and Filmmaking.

Admission Process 

The following is the general admissions procedure:

• Most universities accept individuals who have performed well in UGC-recognized admission examinations or National Level examinations such as UGC-NET, UGC-CSIR-NET, DBT (JRF), ICMR, and others.
• In the event of merit-based admission, the outcome is normally declared based on the marks obtained in the qualifying examinations after the application has been processed.
• The candidate's performance in the entrance exam determines admission.

• For final selection, there will be a round of personal interviews. The candidate will have to describe his research idea to the panel at this stage. If the panel is satisfied, the candidate will be admitted to the course.

Eligibility criteria 

• The candidate must hold a master's degree or equivalent in the appropriate discipline from a recognised college or institution.
• The candidate must have graduated with a minimum of a 55 percent overall grade point average.
• To be eligible for the course, the candidate must pass national or university level admission examinations.

PhD Commerce 

PhD in Commerce and Management is a three-year doctoral programme in commerce and business management. To be eligible for admission to the programme, you must have finished a postgraduate degree in commerce or possess an M.Phil. degree with a minimum aggregate of 55 percent marks or higher from a recognised institution listed under UGC/AIU.

Admission Process 

• Applicants must have a Master's degree in Commerce or an M.Phil. with a minimum aggregate of 55 percent and above
• The shortlisted applicants would have to go through Group Discussion and Personal Interview sessions organised by the individual institutions to get credibility into the candidate's strengths and qualities.
• To compute the merit list %, the overall marks obtained in the entrance examination, GD/PI, and marks obtained at the degree level are added together.

Eligibility criteria 

The following are the qualifying requirements for admission to the PhD programme in Commerce and Management:

1. Candidates who have completed their post-graduate degree in Commerce or M.Phil. degree with a minimum aggregate of 55% marks or higher from a recognised university listed under UGC/AIU are eligible for admission to the programme.
2. Applicants must pass the UGC-NET examination offered at the program's admission level.
3. Some prestigious institutions and institutions will also conduct group discussions and personal interviews.
4. Having 4 years of relevant professional experience in either Teaching/Administration is advantageous to the programme.