The average salary of full professors at MIT this year is $93,100, the eighth highest in the nation among doctorate-granting institutions.
The top 10 doctoral institutions in average salaries for full professors are Harvard, $104,200; California Institute of Technology, $100,700; Stanford, $99,900; Princeton, $98,200; Yale, $96,500; Rutgers, $93,600; University of Pennsylvania, $93,200; MIT, $93,100; Rockefeller University, $93,100; and New York University, $93,000.
According to figures compiled by MIT Tech Talk from the national salary survey of the American Association of University Professors, the 95th percentile average salary is $92,940 for professors, $61,120 for associate professors and $51,840 for assistant professors at doctoral institutions. The average salaries are $71,290 for professors, $50,240 for associate professors, and $42,500 for assistant professors. The survey was published in the April 21 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The average pay for associate professors at MIT (both tenured and non-tenured) is $66,000, ranking them fifth for that category. The average pay for assistant professors at MIT is $52,500, ranking them eighth in that category. In comparison, in 1987, MIT professors ranked 10th, associate professors 12th and assistant professors 14th. In 1988, MIT professors ranked seventh, and associate and assistant professors both ranked fifth.
Provost Mark S. Wrighton, commenting on the 1995 figures, said, "In an era of constraints, we have been able to sustain a strong position among outstanding institutions."
A total of 30 doctorate-granting universities paid their full professors an average salary of $80,000 or more. (The 80th percentile among doctoral institutions is $78,050). The AAUP study, compiled by Maryse Eymonerie Associates, reports the salaries in thousands of dollars, rounded to the nearest $100, and adjusted for a nine-month year. The study doesn't include salaries of professors in medical schools.
In addition, six non-doctoral institutions paid their full professors an average salary of $80,000 or more. This group included the Rutgers campus at Newark ($99,300), Southwestern University in California ($97,200), the Rutgers campus at Camden ($93,500), Babson College ($81,700), Wellesley College ($80,100) and Harvey Mudd College ($80,100).
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on April 26, 1995.
