Academic salaries can vary widely depending on rank, country, and institution. Here’s what professors make in Europe and North America. All salaries are reported in the local currency and are pre tax.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the average salary for a lecturer is £40,760 while the average salary for a senior lecturer is £51,590. The average associate professor salary is £64,356 while a full professor earns £91,891 on average.
Germany
German professors are civil servants so national legislation fixes their salaries according to state. Junior professors (Juniordozent) make €4,713 to €5,301 per month. Associate professors (dozent) make €5,365 to €6,676 per month, and full professors (Professur) make €5,343 to €7,578 per month.
Sweden
SACO, the Swedish Academics Central Organization (Sveriges akademikers centralorganisation), lists the median salary in 2020 for a lecturer (adjunkt) as 41,181 SEK per month. Assistant professors (biträdande lector) make a median of 49,586 SEK per month. An associate professor (lektor) earns a median of 44,500 SEK per month, while a professor makes a median of 67,550 SEK per month. Taxes in Sweden are approximately 45%.
Switzerland
Swiss academic are the highest in Europe. They are by each canton (province) and by law. At the Université de Lausanne, associate professor salaries range from 125,250 to 158,783 CHF per year. Full professors make 149,728 to 171,380 CHF per year. Full Professors with chair appointment make 163,564 to 210,793 CHF annually. At ETH Zurich, the range for assistant professors is 148,682 to 214,767 CHF per year and is 178,996 to 245,080 CFH per year for associate professors. Full professors make 209,247 to 275,359 CHF annually.
Denmark
In Denmark, faculty salaries are determined by contracts negotiated between academic unions and the government. An academic’s salary is determined by a combination of seniority (years since the completion of PhD) and job rank. Assistant professors earn an average of 38,344 DKR per month. Associate professors earn 44,4204 DKR per month on average, while professors earn an average of 58,236 DKR per month. Taxes in Denmark are relatively high at 40-50% depending on income.
The Netherlands
Similar to Denmark, the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) provides the pay scale for faculty salaries. Assistant professors (universitaire docent) earn €3,821 to €5,943 per month. Associate professors (universitair hoofddocent) earn €5,294 to €7,097 per month. Full professors (Hoogleraar) earn from €5,864 to €10,309 per month. Taxes in the Netherlands are around 40%.
France
Since French universities are public and state run, academics who hold permanent positions are civil servants. The government sets their salaries, which do not vary from institution and discipline. The salary levels are broken down by class and seniority. The salary for a tenured assistant/associate professor (maître de conférence) can range from €25,225 to €53,828 per year depending on the class and seniority of the academic. Tenured full Professors (professeur des universités) can expect to make between €36,560 and €73,343 a year according to their class and seniority.
Belgium
Belgian academic salaries are based on seniority (time from completion of PhD). Entry-level assistant professors make €29,914 per year, while those with 24 years of experience top the pay scale at €47,443 per year. Associate professors start at €34,255 per year can earn €58,403 per year with 24 years of experience. Professors start at €40,109 per year and after 18 years earn €61,224 per year. Full professors start at €44,925 and make €68,633 after 15 years. Belgium has a relatively high tax rate of 45-52%
Norway
Norwegian academic salaries are determined according to collective agreements between unions and state authorities. Within the salary scale, academic rank and seniority determines compensation. The average salary for assistant professors (universitetslektor) is 629,247 NOK per year and 703,110 NOK per year for associate professors (førsteamanuensis). The average annual salary for a professor is 897,936 NOK. Taxes in Norway are around 40%
Finland
Academic salaries in Finland are set under a collective agreement. An academic’s place on the salary scale is determined by two things: the job requirements and their individual performance. An assistant/associate professor makes €3,709 to €6,051 per month, while a professor makes between €5,170 and €9,326 per month. Taxes in Finland are 25-32%.
United States
The American Association of University Professors tracks academic salaries in the United States. Based on their 2016/2017 report, the average salary for a full professor is $102,402 USD. Associate professors earn an average of $79,654 and assistant professors average $69,206. The Chronicle of Higher Education also has a database of individual faculty salaries for more than 4,700 institutions based on information collected by the U.S. Education Department.
Canada
According to Statistics Canada, the average salary for full-time academic teaching staff (all ranks) in Canada was $135,451 for the 2020/2021 academic year. In 2017/2018, full professors were the highest earners with average salaries of $160,183, while associate professors made an average of $125,358 and assistant professors made$103,023 on average.
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