As a Media Arts Professor, you teach the craft and theory of digital and visual media at the college level — guiding students through technique, critique, and their own voice, while pursuing your own work. You shape emerging artists and makers.
Teaching studios and lectures, critiquing student work, advising, and pursuing your own creative or scholarly projects fill the calendar, set to the academic calendar's rhythm. You balance instruction with the demands of academia. Critique is much of the craft — helping students see their work clearly without crushing it.
The squeeze is balancing teaching, service, and your own creative output while keeping pace with fast-changing media tools. Academic jobs are competitive and often carry administrative load. Programs and resources vary widely, so the role depends on where you land.
It fits someone creative, generous, and energized by mentoring. If you resent time away from your own art or dislike institutional demands, the role can strain. But if developing artists and engaging with ideas appeals, the work tends to be rewarding, cohort after cohort.
Still figuring out what you want to become
when you grow up?
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Remember “your permanent record”?
This time it works for you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
As a Media Arts Professor, you teach the craft and theory of digital and visual media at the college level — guiding students through technique, critique, and their own voice, while pursuing your own work. You shape emerging artists and makers.
Median pay for a Media Arts Professor is about $79K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $47K to $195K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Speaking, Instructing, Active Listening, Speaking, and Instructing.
Most people in this role hold a master's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 1.9% through 2034, with roughly 127,150 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Art Educator, Art Instructor, and Music Educator.
Turn your career record
into a springboard for growth.