Private colleges outpaced publics in size of salary increases, but both lagged inflation, study of four-year institutions finds.
The median salary of full-time faculty members in 2011-12 is 1.9 percent higher than it was a year ago, according to a study by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.
Continuing a pattern from recent years, the median increase was greater at private institutions (2.3 percent) than at publics (1.1 percent). With a gain in the Consumer Price Index of 3.2 percent, the typical faculty member -- whether at a private or public institution -- lost spending power in the last year.
CUPA-HR does a series of salary surveys around this time of year. Last month, the association reported that the average salary for top administrators increased by 2 percent in the last year (again with greater gains at private than at public institutions).
Two organizations -- CUPA-HR and the American Association of University Professors -- release annual reports on the state of faculty salaries. The CUPA-HR study features analysis by discipline, while the AAUP report features salaries by institution. The AAUP study is due out next month. John W. Curtis, director of research and public policy at the AAUP, said that preliminary analysis at that association suggests an "overall finding very similar to the CUPA number, and also with private colleges and universities continuing to increase salaries more rapidly on average."
The CUPA-HR survey shows -- this year, as in past years -- the extent to which professors' salaries vary widely by discipline. The disciplines with the highest salaries, across rank, are the same this year as they have been for the last four years: law, engineering and business.
A new assistant professor in computer science can expect a salary in the range of $74,000. A counterpart in the foreign languages would be looking at salaries $20,000 smaller. The average for a full professor of engineering is nearly $118,000. For history, the average is about $83,000.
Discipline and Rank | Unweighted Average | |
AGRICULTURE | ||
Professor | 93,595 | |
Associate Professor | 72,360 | |
Assistant Professor | 62,200 | |
New Assistant Prof | 68,999 | |
Instructor | 46,053 | |
NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION | ||
Professor | 92,921 | |
Associate Professor | 71,376 | |
Assistant Professor | 61,660 | |
New Assistant Prof | 62,926 | |
Instructor | 47,433 | |
ARCHITECTURE AND RELATED SERVICES | ||
Professor | 101,034 | |
Associate Professor | 76,188 | |
Assistant Professor | 62,764 | |
New Assistant Prof | 63,386 | |
Instructor | 49,344 | |
AREA, ETHNIC, CULTURAL, GENDER AND GROUP STUDIES | ||
Professor | 98,663 | |
Associate Professor | 73,686 | |
Assistant Professor | 58,924 | |
New Assistant Prof | 61,310 | |
Instructor | 42,221 | |
COMMUNICATION, JOURNALISM AND RELATED PROGRAMS | ||
Professor | 86,231 | |
Associate Professor | 66,642 | |
Assistant Professor | 55,071 | |
New Assistant Prof | 54,415 | |
Instructor | 45,426 | |
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES/TECHNICIANS AND SUPPORT SERVICES | ||
Professor | 85,878 | |
Associate Professor | 63,939 | |
Assistant Professor | 56,115 | |
New Assistant Prof | 61,064 | |
Instructor | 51,571 | |
COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCES AND SUPPORT SERVICES | ||
Professor | 103,536 | |
Associate Professor | 85,280 | |
Assistant Professor | 72,381 | |
New Assistant Prof | 74,563 | |
Instructor | 54,237 | |
EDUCATION | ||
Professor | 85,165 | |
Associate Professor | 66,964 | |
Assistant Professor | 56,589 | |
New Assistant Prof | 55,618 | |
Instructor | 46,581 | |
ENGINEERING | ||
Professor | 117,911 | |
Associate Professor | 89,754 | |
Assistant Professor | 76,938 | |
New Assistant Prof | 78,650 | |
Instructor | 60,950 | |
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES AND ENGINEERING RELATED FIELDS | ||
Professor | 89,214 | |
Associate Professor | 73,507 | |
Assistant Professor | 62,922 | |
New Assistant Prof | 63,926 | |
Instructor | 52,183 | |
FOREIGN LANGUAGES, LITERATURES, AND LINGUISTICS | ||
Professor | 87,104 | |
Associate Professor | 66,824 | |
Assistant Professor | 54,941 | |
New Assistant Prof | 53,457 | |
Instructor | 43,688 | |
FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES/HUMAN SCIENCES | ||
Professor | 91,006 | |
Associate Professor | 68,283 | |
Assistant Professor | 58,934 | |
New Assistant Prof | 61,198 | |
Instructor | 46,083 | |
LEGAL PROFESSIONS AND STUDIES | ||
Professor | 135,187 | |
Associate Professor | 103,109 | |
Assistant Professor | 86,451 | |
New Assistant Prof | 96,955 | |
Instructor | 67,605 | |
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS | ||
Professor | 81,537 | |
Associate Professor | 63,054 | |
Assistant Professor | 53,036 | |
New Assistant Prof | 52,405 | |
Instructor | 41,655 | |
LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES, GENERAL STUDIES AND HUMANITIES | ||
Professor | 82,860 | |
Associate Professor | 64,058 | |
Assistant Professor | 54,451 | |
New Assistant Prof | 52,981 | |
Instructor | 44,677 | |
LIBRARY SCIENCE | ||
Professor | 90,937 | |
Associate Professor | 70,602 | |
Assistant Professor | 56,239 | |
New Assistant Prof | 56,551 | |
Instructor | 46,505 | |
BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES | ||
Professor | 95,118 | |
Associate Professor | 70,938 | |
Assistant Professor | 59,907 | |
New Assistant Prof | 57,249 | |
Instructor | 45,219 | |
MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS | ||
Professor | 86,744 | |
Associate Professor | 67,525 | |
Assistant Professor | 57,234 | |
New Assistant Prof | 58,266 | |
Instructor | 42,938 | |
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES | ||
Professor | 93,778 | |
Associate Professor | 71,194 | |
Assistant Professor | 58,214 | |
New Assistant Prof | 58,903 | |
Instructor | 45,473 | |
PARKS, RECREATION, LEISURE AND FITNESS STUDIES | ||
Professor | 82,695 | |
Associate Professor | 66,462 | |
Assistant Professor | 54,997 | |
New Assistant Prof | 55,497 | |
Instructor | 44,455 | |
PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES | ||
Professor | 86,301 | |
Associate Professor | 65,372 | |
Assistant Professor | 54,602 | |
New Assistant Prof | 54,340 | |
Instructor | 43,522 | |
THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS | ||
Professor | 74,393 | |
Associate Professor | 61,996 | |
Assistant Professor | 53,813 | |
New Assistant Prof | 52,996 | |
Instructor | 45,754 | |
PHYSICAL SCIENCES | ||
Professor | 90,937 | |
Associate Professor | 69,071 | |
Assistant Professor | 58,771 | |
New Assistant Prof | 58,786 | |
Instructor | 44,952 | |
PSYCHOLOGY | ||
Professor | 86,117 | |
Associate Professor | 66,324 | |
Assistant Professor | 56,565 | |
New Assistant Prof | 56,195 | |
Instructor | 44,682 | |
HOMELAND SECURITY, LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIREFIGHTING AND RELATED PROTECTIVE SERVICES | ||
Professor | 85,558 | |
Associate Professor | 66,912 | |
Assistant Professor | 55,897 | |
New Assistant Prof | 54,588 | |
Instructor | 45,496 | |
|
||
Professor | 92,287 | |
Associate Professor | 70,995 | |
Assistant Professor | 58,533 | |
New Assistant Prof | 57,945 | |
Instructor | 47,184 | |
SOCIAL SCIENCES | ||
Professor | 91,350 | |
Associate Professor | 70,839 | |
Assistant Professor | 59,614 | |
New Assistant Prof | 60,240 | |
Instructor | 46,398 | |
AIR TRANSPORTATION | ||
Professor | 94,219 | |
Associate Professor | 73,710 | |
Assistant Professor | 61,685 | |
New Assistant Prof | 73,236 | |
Instructor | 46,132 | |
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS | ||
Professor | 81,257 | |
Associate Professor | 63,372 | |
Assistant Professor | 52,835 | |
New Assistant Prof | 52,241 | |
Instructor | 44,002 | |
HEALTH PROFESSIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS | ||
Professor | 98,415 | |
Associate Professor | 77,032 | |
Assistant Professor | 65,165 | |
New Assistant Prof | 66,049 | |
Instructor | 54,199 | |
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES | ||
Professor | 114,847 | |
Associate Professor | 96,844 | |
Assistant Professor | 90,094 | |
New Assistant Prof | 98,212 | |
Instructor | 58,926 | |
HISTORY GENERAL | ||
Professor | 82,944 | |
Associate Professor | 64,106 | |
Assistant Professor | 53,394 | |
New Assistant Prof | 53,425 | |
Instructor | 42,065 |
Read more by
Topics
College Pages
Inside Higher Ed Careers
Browse Faculty Jobs
Browse Administrative Jobs
Browse Executive Administration Jobs
You may also be interested in...
Today’s News from Inside Higher Ed
Inside Higher Ed’s Quick Takes
Popular Right Now
NYU social work school admits to institutional racism in wake of student email
Study documents economic gains from liberal arts education
Judge says that U of Texas at Austin can't revoke former student's Ph.D. on its own, outside court o
College completion rates vary by race and ethnicity, report finds
Advice for students so they don't sound silly in emails (essay)
How to write an effective diversity statement (essay)
The far-reaching effects of how campuses treat senior faculty of color (opinion)
Opposition hardens against one college seeking to merge and another planning to close
Sign Up / Sign In
With your existing account from...
{* loginWidget *}With a traditional account...
{* #signInForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *} {* currentPassword *} {* /signInForm *}Newsletter enrollment
Existing account found
We have found an existing account for the email address.
Please sign in to update your newsletter preferences.
{* /signInForm *}Newsletter opt-out
Edit your newsletter preferences
Account Info
Sign In
Welcome back, {* welcomeName *}!
{* loginWidget *}Sign In
Welcome Back
Account Deactivated
Your account has been deactivated.
Account Reactivation Failed
Sorry, we could not verify that email address.
Email Verification Required
You must verify your email address before signing in. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email.
{* #resendVerificationForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Almost Done
Please confirm the information below before signing in.
{* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* displayName *} {* emailAddress *} {* optInIHE *} {* optIn3rdParty *} {* agreeToTerms *}Almost Done
Please confirm the information below before signing in. Already have an account? Sign In.
{* #registrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* displayName *} {* emailAddress *} {* newPassword *} {* newPasswordConfirm *} {* optInIHE *} {* optIn3rdParty *} {* agreeToTerms *}Thank You for Registering
We have sent a confirmation email to {* emailAddressData *}. Please check your email and click on the link to verify your email address.
Create New Password
We'll send you a link to create a new password.
{* #forgotPasswordForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Create New Password
We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
Create New Password
This email address was registered with a social account. We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password, which can be used in addition to your linked social providers.
{| current_emailAddress |}
{| foundExistingAccountText |} {| current_emailAddress |}.
{| existing_displayName |} - {| existing_provider |} : {| existing_siteName |} {| existing_createdDate |}
{| existing_provider_emailAddress |}
Sign In to Complete Account Merge
Resend Verification Email
Sorry, we could not verify that email address. Enter your email below, and we'll send you another email.
{* #resendVerificationForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Change Password
Create New Password
We didn't recognize that password reset code. Enter your email below, and we'll send you another email.
{* #resetPasswordForm *} {* signInEmailAddress *}Create New Password
We've sent you an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
Edit Your Account
Profile Photo
Linked Accounts
Link Your Accounts
This allows you to sign in to your account using that provider in the future.
Password
Deactivate Account
Change Password
Deactivate Your Account
Are you sure you want to deactivate your account? You will no longer have access to your profile.
{* deactivateAccountForm *} {* /deactivateAccountForm *}
Expand commentsHide comments — Join the conversation!