Provost
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Provost serves as chief academic officer at a college or university. Directly oversees the academic deans of various schools within a university system, as well as the heads of various interdisciplinary units and academic support functions, such as libraries, student services, the registrar, admissions, and IT. Reports in turn to the institution's chief executive officer or president. Responsible for oversight of all educational affairs and activities, including research and academic personnel.
Job Outlook
There were 48 Provost job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 1545 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the College / University Administrator industry, which includes the Provost career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Provost jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $139,033.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $148,180.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Provost postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $105,955.
Education and Experience
Posted Provost jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 32.49% |
| Master's Degree | 37.48% |
| Doctoral Degree | 44.92% |
| Other | 3.3% |
Posted Provost jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 10.06% |
| 3 to 5 years | 48.64% |
| 6 to 8 years | 17.63% |
| 9+ years | 23.67% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Provost positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Leadership (73.01%)
- Communication (51.91%)
- Research (51.39%)
- Management (45.89%)
- Planning (43.43%)
- Strategic Planning (40.58%)
- Teaching (39.81%)
- Innovation (34.37%)
- Operations (30.87%)
- Coordinating (26.08%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Academic Affairs (58.22%)
- Student Services (26.79%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Administrative Support (8.9%)
- Policy Development (9.74%)
- Program Development (18.34%)
- Strategic Prioritization (9.89%)
- Curriculum Development (16.82%)
- Faculty Development (13.17%)
- Finance (12.4%)
- Higher Education (19.63%)
- Data Analysis (11.04%)
- Institutional Research (13.39%)
- Pedagogy (11.49%)
- Marketing (10.73%)
- Project Management (14.69%)
- Enrollment Management (21.16%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Provost skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost
- Associate Provost
- Vice Provost
- Associate Vice Provost
- Executive Vice President/Provost
- Assistant Vice Provost
- Assistant Provost
- Director of the Office
- Chief Academic Officer
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Dean of Academic Affairs
- Higher Education Associate Dean
- Dean (General)
- Higher Education Administrator
- Higher Education Program Director
- Campus Director
- Higher Education Program Coordinator
- Director of Student Affairs
- Elementary and Secondary School Administrator (General)
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Provost jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Carnegie Mellon University (50)
- The University of Texas System (40)
- California State University (32)
- Western Kentucky University (26)
- University of Tennessee (20)
- University of Wisconsin System (15)
- University of Chicago (15)
- University of South Carolina (15)
- Indiana University (14)
- University of Missouri (14)
North Carolina
- Duke University (10)
- University of North Carolina (7)
- North Carolina State University (6)
- Wake Technical Community College (5)
- Catawba College (4)
- Belmont Abbey College (3)
- North Carolina Central University (3)
- North Carolina A&T State University (2)
- Wake Forest University (2)
- Wingate University (2)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.