Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy rank at university and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors are usually in their field and teachers of the highest rank.
In most systems of academic ranks, "professor" as an unqualified title refers only to the most senior academic position, sometimes informally known as " full professor". In some countries and institutions, the word professor is also used in titles of lower ranks such as associate professor and assistant professor; this is particularly the case in the United States, where the unqualified word is also used colloquially to refer to associate and assistant professors as well, and often to instructors or lecturers.
Professors often conduct original research and commonly teach undergraduate, postgraduate, or professional courses in their fields of expertise. In universities with , professors may mentor and supervise graduate students conducting research for a thesis. In many universities, full professors take on senior managerial roles such as leading departments, research teams and institutes, and filling roles such as president, principal or vice-chancellor. The role of professor may be more public-facing than that of more junior staff, and professors are expected to be national or international leaders in their field of expertise.
The term professor is also used in the titles assistant professor and associate professor, which are not considered professor-level positions in all European countries. In Australia, the title associate professor is used in place of the term reader as used in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries; ranking above senior lecturer and below full professor.
Beyond holding the proper academic title, universities in many countries also give notable artists, athletes and foreign dignitaries the title honorary professor, even if these persons do not have the academic qualifications typically necessary for professorship and they do not take up professorial duties. However, such "professors" usually do not undertake academic work for the granting institution. In general, the title of professor is strictly used for academic positions rather than for those holding it on honorary basis.
As of 2025 in the Italian universities there are: 16,574 Full Professors 26,472 Associate Professors with salary and 33,535 "Professori a contratto" without salary.
The importance of these as a Reputation factor in the university was enhanced by legislation in 2001 (LOU). Some indicative numbers can be interesting, in spite of the variance in the data. We report net monthly payments (after taxes and social security fees), without bonuses: Ayudante, €1,200; Ayudante Doctor, €1,400; Contratado Doctor; €1,800; Profesor Titular, €2,000; Catedrático, €2,400. There are a total of 14 payments per year, including 2 extra payments in July and December (but for less than a normal monthly payment).
The table below shows the final reference wages (per year) expressed in net amounts of Dutch euros in 2014 (i.e., converted into Dutch purchasing power).
+ NL comparison, 2014, net salaries, in NL purchasing power | |||
United States | €46,475 | €52,367 | €77,061 |
United States – top universities | €59,310 | €68,429 | €103,666 |
United Kingdom | €36,436 | €44,952 | €60,478 |
United Kingdom – top universities | €39,855 | €45,235 | €84,894 |
Germany | €33,182 | €42,124 | €47,894 |
France | €24,686 | €30,088 | €38,247 |
Netherlands | €34,671 | €42,062 | €50,847 |
Switzerland | €78,396 | €89,951 | €101,493 |
Belgium | €32,540 | €37,429 | €42,535 |
Sweden | €30,005 | €35,783 | €42,357 |
Norway | €34,947 | €37,500 | €45,113 |
Vladimir Nabokov, author and professor of English studies at Cornell, frequently used professors as the in his novels. Professor Henry Higgins is a main character in George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion. In the Harry Potter series, set at the wizard school Hogwarts, the teachers are known as professors, many of whom play important roles, notably Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Severus Snape. In the board game Cluedo, Professor Plum has been depicted as an absent-minded academic. Christopher Lloyd played Plum's film counterpart, a psychologist who had an affair with one of his patients.
Since the 1980s and 1990s, various stereotypes were re-evaluated, including professors. Writers began to depict professors as just normal human beings and might be quite well-rounded in abilities, excelling both in intelligence and in physical skills. An example of a fictional professor not depicted as shy or absent-minded is Indiana Jones, a professor as well as an archeologist-adventurer, who is skilled at both scholarship and fighting. The popularity of the Indiana Jones movie franchise had a significant impact on the previous stereotype, and created a new archetype which is both deeply knowledgeable and physically capable. The character generally referred to simply as the Professor on the television sitcom series, Gilligan's Island, although described alternatively as a high-school science teacher or research scientist, is depicted as a sensible advisor, a clever inventor, and a helpful friend to his fellow . John Houseman's portrayal of law school professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr., in The Paper Chase (1973) remains the epitome of the strict, authoritarian professor who demands perfection from students. Annalise Keating (played by Viola Davis) from the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) legal drama mystery television series How to Get Away with Murder is a law professor at the fictional Middleton University. Early in the series, Annalise is a self-sufficient and confident woman, respected for being a great law professor and a great lawyer, feared and admired by her students, whose image breaks down as the series progresses. Sandra Oh stars as an English professor, Ji-Yoon Kim, recently promoted to the role of department chair in the 2021 Netflix series The Chair. The series includes her character's negotiation of liberal arts campus politics, in particular issues of racism, sexism, and social mores.
Mysterious, older men with magical powers (and unclear academic standing) are sometimes given the title of "Professor" in literature and theater. Notable examples include Professor X in the X-Men franchise, Professor Marvel in The Wizard of Oz and Professor Drosselmeyer (as he is sometimes known) from the ballet The Nutcracker. Also, the magician played by Christian Bale in the film The Prestige adopts 'The Professor' as his stage name. A variation of this type of non-academic professor is the "crackpot inventor", as portrayed by Professor Potts in the film version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or the Jerry Lewis-inspired Professor Frink character on The Simpsons. Other professors of this type are the thoughtful and kind Professor Digory Kirke of C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.
Aside from such examples in the performing arts, one apparently novel example is known where the title of professor has latterly been applied to a college appointee with an explicitly "non-academic role", which seems to be primarily linked to claims of "strategic importance".
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