Can You Teach Multiple Subjects as a Professor with Different Degrees?

[MathWarrior]

I was wondering can you become a professor that teaches both mathematics and computer science assuming you have your bachelors in applied math and masters in computer science. Or do you have to have a masters in the area you wish to teach?

 

[Pengwuino]

In the US, a Professor is someone who is at a University and has a PhD and is classified as one of the various levels of professorships (associated, adjunct, tenure track, etc). Do you mean a lecturer? Possibly someone at a city college?

 

[MathWarrior]

yeah city college i guess, or lecturer, I should of clarified this, the plan would be to get a phd during that time

 

[Bloodthunder]

Anyway, I think even if you have phds in both, you will be hired for only 1 subject to lecture.

 

[TylerH]

Most (all?) want at least a Master's in the field you'll be teaching. That's community colleges; if you want to teach at a university, you'll have to get a PhD.

I can't speak for most on this part (for lack of experience), but at the community college I'm attending now, they are pretty flexible on letting teachers teach what they want to, if they can get students to take them. It may be possible to get hired as a comp sci teacher while you complete a Master's in math.

 

[MathWarrior]

yeah but math and computer science is pretty similar in a generalized way, which is why I wondered if you had a bachlores in math, and a masters in computer science what would you end up teaching?

 

[TylerH]

It's all about qualifications and titles. What you know means nothing to your employer, a college, unless you have a piece of paper saying you know it.

Also, the argument could be made that they aren't that similar, either. Comp sci, at the most abstract level, is very advanced discrete math; the type of stuff you'll never see in a Bachelor's in applied math. Applied math is used in comp sci a lot, especially the numerical analysis part, but the relation there is backwards. It's comp sci using math, not math abstracting comp sci.

 

[zif.]

the plan would be to get a phd during that time

I think you need to look at what getting a PhD actually entails.

You won't have time for a job because getting the PhD will be your full time job.

A PhD isn't just taking more classes for x amount of years.

 

[twofish-quant]

I was wondering can you become a professor that teaches both mathematics and computer science assuming you have your bachelors in applied math and masters in computer science. Or do you have to have a masters in the area you wish to teach?

You need a masters. Some of the accrediting committees make it a firm requirement, whereas in others it's an informal requirement.

 

[maverick280857]

What happens if you get a bachelors in X, a PhD in Y (X [itex]\neq[/itex] Y)? Does your education in X count for anything when you apply for a job after grad school?

Re the OP's question, given that many PhDs in Math have gone on to teach in CS departments (esp in theory), I guess the switch wouldn't be that hard? On the other hand, I don't know if someone with a PhD in CS is teaching in a (non-Applied) Math dept..

 

[twofish-quant]

What happens if you get a bachelors in X, a PhD in Y (X [itex]\neq[/itex] Y)? Does your education in X count for anything when you apply for a job after grad school?

Depends.

Re the OP's question, given that many PhDs in Math have gone on to teach in CS departments (esp in theory), I guess the switch wouldn't be that hard? On the other hand, I don't know if someone with a PhD in CS is teaching in a (non-Applied) Math dept..

A lot of it involves supply and demand. CS departments have grown a lot over the last few decades, whereas math departments haven't. Also I know someone that has a physics Ph.D. that is currently an adjunct lecturer in finance at a major university.

Something that tends to be true is that the job market is a lot more chaotic than academic admissions.

 

[Geezer]

yeah but math and computer science is pretty similar in a generalized way, which is why I wondered if you had a bachlores in math, and a masters in computer science what would you end up teaching?

At the college/university level, including community college, a bachelor's degree is insufficient. Community colleges would want at least a master's; a University would require a PhD.

With so many unemployed PhDs around the country, having just a bachelor's or master's degree probably won't get you a job at a community college.

As far as teaching in two departments: it's sometimes done. Some professors have "joint appointments" in two departments, allowing them to teach both subjects.

 

[twofish-quant]

With so many unemployed PhDs around the country, having just a bachelor's or master's degree probably won't get you a job at a community college.

Someone with a master degree with some work experience wouldn't find it too difficult to get *a* job at a community college. Community colleges are always looking for adjunct instructors.

It's not going to be a good job, but it is a job.

Some professors have "joint appointments" in two departments, allowing them to teach both subjects.

Also you have weird bits of academic politics in which two departments teach basically the same course (or sometimes even the same degree).

 

[MathWarrior]

I won't be looking for this job anytime soon so the unemployment thing is less of an issue. There is a professor at my school who has his bachelors and masters in computer scinece and his PhD in math. But he teaches a bunch of the math classes. So can the opposite be true I guess, is a good question here.

 

[twofish-quant]

I won't be looking for this job anytime soon so the unemployment thing is less of an issue.

It likely will be. There has been a mismatch between Ph.D.'s and faculty positions since the early *1970's*, and for structural reasons that's likely to continue indefinitely.

 

[eri]

I have a PhD in physics, and looked into adjuncting at a local community college while I was finishing up the PhD. They told me I could teach remedial math with a masters degree in a math-related subject (since that included physics, I assume that would also include comp sci) but if I wanted to teach college-level math, I would need at least 16 credits of math courses at the graduate level (a couple of my physics courses, math methods, would count for that) as well as a masters degree in something. Not sure how much of that was specific to the college itself. I didn't take them up on the offer, since I wasn't interested in teaching math.

 

[Geezer]

Also you have weird bits of academic politics in which two departments teach basically the same course (or sometimes even the same degree).

At my undergrad institution, there were several classes that were cross-listed. So a scientific computing course could show up in the catalog as a CS course, an Astro course, a Physics course, or a Math course. It was the same exact course.