associate professor

American  

noun

1. a teacher in a college or university who ranks above an assistant professor and below a professor.

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associate professor British  

noun

1. (in the US and Canada) a university teacher lower in rank than a full professor but higher than an assistant professor

2. (in New Zealand) a senior lecturer holding the rank below professor

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• associate professorship
  noun

Etymology

Origin of associate professor

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Michael Robbins, 78, a Bradley client, is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Maine who is planning to retire later this year.

From Barron's • Jun. 13, 2026

“There seems to be a Goldilocks effect with remote work and happiness,” says Adolfo Cuevas, associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at New York University.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026

To pursue that work, Michaelson and Kristi Hendrickson, PhD, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders, have submitted a grant proposal to support the next phase of the research.

From Science Daily • Jun. 12, 2026

“There was nothing going for him for a long, long time,” said Jason McDaniel, associate professor of political science at San Francisco State University.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026

Panofsky, who had risen precociously in his two years at Berkeley to the rank of associate professor, detested the very idea of the oath, but signed— “reluctantly,” as he put it later.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik