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Education and Training - Careers

Education and Training

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 53 Provost job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 1735 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 $134,467.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $134,467.

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 $100,869.

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 LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree8.7%
Bachelor's Degree32.1%
Master's Degree36.95%
Doctoral Degree46.11%
Other3.34%

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 ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years9.95%
3 to 5 years51.34%
6 to 8 years17.11%
9+ years21.6%

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 (72.05%)
  • Communication (49.28%)
  • Research (47.26%)
  • Management (44.09%)
  • Planning (40.92%)
  • Strategic Planning (40.63%)
  • Teaching (36.48%)
  • Innovation (32.28%)
  • Operations (31.93%)
  • Coordinating (23.98%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Student Services (26.49%)
  • Academic Affairs (58.25%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Strategic Prioritization (8.76%)
  • Enrollment Management (19.85%)
  • Finance (12.46%)
  • Higher Education (17.66%)
  • Administrative Support (10.13%)
  • Program Development (16.43%)
  • Institutional Research (13.07%)
  • Faculty Development (12.53%)
  • Pedagogy (9.86%)
  • Policy Development (8.01%)
  • Curriculum Development (13.76%)
  • Marketing (9.92%)
  • Project Management (15.88%)
  • Data Analysis (10.95%)
  • Resource Allocation (5.2%)
  • Strategic Leadership (7.05%)

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
  • Vice Provost
  • Associate Provost
  • Associate Vice Provost
  • Assistant Provost
  • Executive Vice President/Provost
  • Assistant Vice 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.

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

  • California State University (44)
  • The University of Texas System (40)
  • Western Kentucky University (26)
  • Carnegie Mellon University (25)
  • Jobelephant.Com (20)
  • The University of Montana (17)
  • Emory Healthcare (16)
  • Northeastern University (16)
  • State University of New York (16)
  • University of Chicago (15)

North Carolina

  • Duke University (11)
  • University of North Carolina (9)
  • Wake Technical Community College (7)
  • North Carolina State University (7)
  • North Carolina A&T State University (5)
  • Catawba College (4)
  • Belmont Abbey College (3)
  • Appalachian State University (2)
  • East Carolina University (1)
  • Cape Fear Community College (1)

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!