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

• associate professorship noun

Etymology

Origin of associate professor

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Susan Enguidanos, an associate professor of gerontology at USC, researches and teaches end-of-life care.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026

“Wars are fought in two spaces,” said Narges Bajoghli, associate professor of Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University, in a recent Quincy Institute briefing.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Food-inspired fashion has filtered down from luxury designers like Dolce & Gabbana which embraced it late last decade, says Lorynn Divita, an associate professor of apparel design and merchandising at Baylor University in Texas.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

The research team also included Matthew J. Baker, associate professor of linguistics at Brigham Young University, and Jordan Smith, assistant professor of English at the University of Northern Colorado.

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2026

Helmholtz was an associate professor at the Prussian University of Konigsberg and one of the leading scientists of his day.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel