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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 42 Provost job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 1455 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 $154,718.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $154,718.

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 $116,713.

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 Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree33.04%
Master's Degree39.29%
Doctoral Degree44.78%
Other2.95%

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 years9.1%
3 to 5 years49.88%
6 to 8 years18.7%
9+ years22.32%

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 (71.98%)
  • Communication (53.09%)
  • Research (52.47%)
  • Management (46.09%)
  • Planning (42.93%)
  • Strategic Planning (41%)
  • Teaching (40.04%)
  • Innovation (34.82%)
  • Operations (30.63%)
  • Coordinating (25.27%)

Defining Skills

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

  • Academic Affairs (57.56%)
  • Student Services (27.17%)

Necessary Skills

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

  • Administrative Support (9.32%)
  • Policy Development (9.81%)
  • Program Development (18.65%)
  • Strategic Prioritization (9.49%)
  • Curriculum Development (16.72%)
  • Faculty Development (12.62%)
  • Finance (12.06%)
  • Higher Education (19.94%)
  • Data Analysis (11.58%)
  • Institutional Research (13.99%)
  • Pedagogy (11.74%)
  • Marketing (11.66%)
  • Project Management (14.63%)
  • Enrollment Management (22.27%)

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
  • Assistant Vice Provost
  • Executive Vice President/Provost
  • Assistant Provost
  • Chief Academic Officer
  • Director of the Office

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

  • Carnegie Mellon University (63)
  • The University of Texas System (40)
  • Western Kentucky University (26)
  • California State University (23)
  • University of California (20)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (18)
  • CUNY (17)
  • University of Chicago (16)
  • University of Tennessee (15)
  • Tufts University (15)

North Carolina

  • Duke University (10)
  • University of North Carolina (8)
  • North Carolina Central University (4)
  • Wake Technical Community College (4)
  • Belmont Abbey College (3)
  • Wake Forest University (2)
  • Wingate University (2)
  • North Carolina State University (2)
  • Nc Central University , Durham, Nc (2)
  • East Carolina University (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!