In a college or university, faculty usually means the institution’s academic teaching staff as a group, while a professor is an individual academic title or job rank. A professor is generally a member of the faculty, but faculty members are not all professors, and the exact meanings vary by country and institution.
What “faculty” means at a university
In everyday college language, “faculty” most often refers collectively to instructors and other academic staff who teach, conduct research, or contribute to academic programs. A student might say, “The faculty approved the curriculum,” meaning the relevant group of academic staff, or “I’m meeting with a faculty member,” meaning an instructor or academic colleague.
The word can also name an academic division within a university. In some countries and institutions, a faculty is a broad unit comparable to a school or college, such as a faculty of arts or a faculty of science. That unit may contain departments, programs, and many individual faculty members. In other institutions, “faculty” is not the usual name for an academic division at all.
Context reveals which meaning applies. “Faculty office hours” usually concerns instructors; “the Faculty of Engineering” usually names an organizational unit. A university’s catalog or staff directory can clarify its local usage.
What “professor” means
“Professor” can refer broadly to a college instructor in casual conversation, but formally it often describes a particular academic rank. In systems that use a sequence of ranks, titles may include assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. The precise hierarchy, criteria, and employment conditions differ among institutions and countries.
A professor’s work may combine teaching, research, advising, and service to a department or university. The balance varies: one professor may teach several courses, while another may spend more time on research or administration. The title alone does not tell students how much someone teaches, what courses they offer, or how available they are outside class.
Not every person who teaches at a university has professor in their formal title. Instructors, lecturers, teaching assistants, research staff, and other academic employees may teach or support courses without holding a professorial rank. Their roles and titles depend on local rules.
Faculty is a group; professor is a person or rank
The simplest distinction is grammatical and practical: “faculty” often names a collective or an academic division, while “professor” usually identifies an individual or that person’s title. For example, a student can ask a professor a question, and that professor may belong to the faculty of a department.
- “The faculty discussed the new course.” This usually means a group of academic staff.
- “Professor Lee teaches the course.” This identifies an individual and uses a title. In a real setting, follow the person’s stated form of address.
- “She is a faculty member.” This identifies a person as part of the academic staff, without specifying a professorial rank.
- “He is a professor in the faculty of science.” This uses “professor” for the individual and “faculty” for the academic division.
These examples are generic; not every university organizes departments or titles in the same way. The core distinction remains useful even where local terminology differs.
Who may count as faculty?
Faculty membership is not always a simple synonym for “everyone who teaches.” A university might include professors, lecturers, instructors, or other academic employees in its faculty. Whether adjunct or part-time instructors, research-only staff, clinical teachers, librarians, or teaching assistants count can depend on the institution’s definitions and the context of a policy.
For example, an academic senate may have one definition of faculty membership, while a hiring policy or staff directory uses another. A student reading a rule about faculty advisers should not assume it covers every employee who appears in a course platform. If the distinction affects an advising, voting, or employment matter, consult the relevant university policy or ask the department.
“Faculty” also does not generally mean the entire university workforce. Administrative, facilities, and student-support employees may be essential to the institution without being classified as faculty. The word’s scope is academic and locally defined, rather than a universal label for all staff.
How academic titles and ranks differ
Where professor is a formal rank, it can signal a place in an academic career structure. A common rank sequence in some systems is assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. Other systems use different titles, organize progression differently, or do not use this sequence. Even within one country, institutional practices may vary.
Rank should not be confused with a guarantee about a person’s contract or duties. Some academic appointments are permanent or continuing; others are fixed-term, part-time, or tied to particular teaching or research needs. “Professor” by itself does not establish someone’s workload, job security, seniority in every sense, or authority over a student.
Titles can also be shaped by discipline and setting. A clinician who teaches in a professional program, a researcher with a university appointment, and a classroom instructor may have different formal titles. A course listing may use a title conversationally, while an employment record uses a more specific job classification.
Why the distinction matters to students
Students encounter both terms in course catalogs, campus announcements, advising information, and conversations about university governance. Knowing the difference helps interpret these references without assuming that every academic employee has the same responsibilities.
- For course questions: contact the instructor listed for the class, whether or not that person’s title is professor.
- For a group decision: “faculty” may refer to a department or a wider body of academic staff, so check the announcement for the group’s scope.
- For advising: a faculty adviser is an academic staff member assigned to guide students; the adviser may or may not hold a professorial rank.
- For formal requirements: use the catalog, registrar, department, or relevant policy rather than relying on a title alone.
For instance, a notice that “faculty will review the proposal” does not necessarily mean every professor at the university will take part. It may refer to a committee or the academic staff in one department. Similarly, a person described as an instructor can be the right person to ask about assignments even if students informally call many university teachers “professor.”
Common misconceptions and terminology differences
A frequent misconception is that “faculty” means senior professors only. In ordinary academic use, it can include a wider range of teaching and academic staff, though a particular institution may define membership narrowly for a specific purpose.
Another misconception is that “professor” always means a full professor. In formal rank systems, “assistant professor” and “associate professor” are distinct titles, while “professor” alone may refer to the senior rank. In casual speech, however, students may use “professor” as a courtesy or general term for a teacher. When accuracy matters, use the person’s listed title or preferred form of address.
Geography adds another wrinkle. In some places, “faculty” commonly names an academic division; elsewhere, “college,” “school,” or “department” is more familiar for that purpose. The same word can therefore refer to a group of people in one sentence and an organizational unit in another. These differences are not necessarily contradictions; they reflect local conventions.
How to use the terms accurately
Choose the word that matches what you mean. Use “professor” when referring to an individual who holds that title or when following a person’s preferred form of address. Use “faculty member” when referring more generally to someone in the academic staff. Use “the faculty” when you mean a collective group, and capitalize a named academic division only according to that institution’s style.
If you are writing to an instructor and are unsure of their title, check the course page or university directory. A neutral greeting using the person’s name is often appropriate when the title is unclear. For a policy question, look for the policy’s own definition of faculty rather than inferring it from everyday usage.
In short, the terms overlap but are not interchangeable: a professor is commonly one kind of faculty member, whereas faculty describes a broader group or, in some universities, an academic division.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a professor part of the faculty?
Usually, yes. A professor is generally an academic staff member and therefore part of the faculty in the broad sense. A university may define faculty membership more narrowly for a particular policy or committee.
Can someone be faculty without being a professor?
Yes. Depending on the institution, lecturers, instructors, and other academic staff may be faculty members without holding a professor rank. Check local definitions when the distinction affects a formal decision.
Is “faculty” singular or plural?
When “faculty” means a group, it is usually treated as a collective noun. American usage commonly pairs it with a singular verb when the group acts as one body, though plural agreement can occur when emphasizing individual members. Follow the style expected in your context.
Does faculty mean a college or a department?
Sometimes. In some universities, a faculty is a large academic division that may contain departments. In others, “faculty” mainly means academic staff, and “school,” “college,” or “department” names the organizational unit.
Should I call every college instructor professor?
Students often use “professor” informally, but not every instructor has that formal title. Check the syllabus or directory, or use the instructor’s name and stated preference.
Is an assistant professor a professor?
Yes, in institutions that use that rank, assistant professor is a professorial title. It is distinct from the rank titled simply professor, and the rank structure varies across institutions and countries.