adjunct professor

noun

1. a professor employed by a college or university for a specific purpose or length of time and often part-time.

Word History and Origins

Origin of adjunct professor¹

First recorded in 1820–30

When To Use

What does adjunct professor mean?

An adjunct professor is a college or university professor whose employment is temporary or part-time.Adjunct professor (often shortened to simply adjunct)  is typically used to indicate that a professor does not have tenure or is not eligible for tenure. Tenure is a status granted to some professors (after they reach a certain amount of experience) that makes their position essentially permanent. Due to the temporary or part-time status of adjunct professors, this title sometimes carries a connotation that associates it with the difficulties of being in such a position, such as job insecurity and lack of benefits.Example: My math professor is an adjunct professor so he might not be here next semester.