Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses pertaining to the culture and development of an area, an ethnic group, or any other group, such as Latin American studies, women's studies, or urban affairs. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Instructing
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Critical Thinking
Key knowledge
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Sociology and Anthropology
- History and Archeology
- Foreign Language
- Communications and Media
- Computers and Electronics
- Philosophy and Theology
What the work involves
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as race and ethnic relations, gender studies, and cross-cultural perspectives.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (60.5% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (42.5%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (23.3%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Higher on contact with others than 57% of occupations compared | 64% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 60% of occupations compared | 23% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 56% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 90% of occupations compared | 68% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 64% of occupations compared | 62% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 53% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 54% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 81% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 2.54%
- Contact with others about half the time: 11.71%
- Contact with others most of the time: 21.49%
- Constant contact with others: 64.26%
n = 41, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 16.52%
- Fairly important: 18.3%
- Important: 20.9%
- Very important: 21.25%
- Extremely important: 23.02%
n = 41, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 8.95%
- Important: 11.72%
- Very important: 31.12%
- Extremely important: 48.21%
n = 41, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 2.89%
- Some freedom: 29.14%
- A lot of freedom: 67.97%
n = 41, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 1.25%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 15.04%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 61.86%
- Every day: 21.84%
n = 40, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 4.91%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 31%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 44.11%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.98%
- Every day: 0%
n = 41, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 5.77%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 47.26%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 20.89%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 22.96%
- Every day: 3.13%
n = 41, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 24.67%
- Fairly serious: 46.88%
- Serious: 11.22%
- Very serious: 6.38%
- Extremely serious: 10.85%
n = 41, Incumbent 08/2019
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O*NET-SOC 25-1062.00 · SOC 25-1062 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8