How to Negotiate a Faculty Job Offer

Short answer: negotiate once you have the offer in writing and before you accept. Ask for a few specific things, give a reason for each, and get every agreement into the final letter. Assistant professors averaged $97,232 in 2025-26, according to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), and average faculty pay runs from $68,170 in Arkansas to $126,502 in Massachusetts. Start-up funds, teaching load and the tenure clock can matter as much as salary.

By the AcademicCareers.com editorial team · Updated October 14, 2026 · 11-minute read

When to negotiate

Negotiation starts when the chair or dean calls with an offer. Thank them, say you are excited, and ask when the written offer will arrive and when they need an answer. You do not have to negotiate on the spot.

Make your requests once you have the written offer and before you accept. After you say yes, your leverage is mostly gone, and anything left out of the letter is hard to add later. Negotiate with the person who made the offer, usually the chair, who often takes your requests to a dean.

Departments expect new faculty to ask for something, and a reasonable, polite request is a normal part of hiring. What damages the relationship is a hostile tone, a long list of demands or reopening terms after you have agreed. Still searching? Browse assistant professor jobs and prepare with our faculty interview questions.

Research the numbers first

A request backed by data is easier for a chair to take to the dean. Gather three kinds of figures:

• National averages by rank and type of college. AAUP's annual survey is the standard source. In 2025-26, assistant professors averaged $95,577 at public institutions, $109,769 at private-independent ones and $87,260 at religiously affiliated ones. See professor salaries by rank for more.
• State averages. U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS) data show what full-time faculty earn at every college in your state. Use the calculator below.
• The department's own salaries. Salaries at many public universities are public records, often in searchable databases; look up recent hires at your rank. In the 14 states and the District of Columbia that require pay ranges in job ads, the ad should show the range.

Compare like with like. The state figures are nine-month salaries, so a twelve-month offer should be higher; they are also two years older than AAUP's and mix all fields.

Worked example (fictional names, real averages). Dana Brooks is offered $74,000 as an assistant professor of biology at Example State University, a regional public university in Ohio. The Ohio average for assistant professors is $75,320, AAUP's average at master's universities is $84,212, and the department's two most recent hires earn $77,500 and $78,000, according to the state salary database. Dana asks for $78,000, citing those figures, plus a first-year course release.

What is negotiable, and what usually is not

Salary is only one line of the offer. You can often discuss:

• Salary, or your placement on the scale at a unionized campus
• Start-up funds for equipment, research assistants, travel and materials
• Teaching: a course release or fewer new preparations
• Summer salary for your first summers
• Space: a laboratory, studio or office
• Moving expenses and your start date
• Tenure clock: credit for earlier faculty years
• Partner employment, where the institution can help

Health insurance and retirement contributions are generally the same for everyone in a job class. At unionized campuses and in many state systems, salary scales are set by contract, though your placement, start-up funds and course releases may still be open.

Start-up packages and summer salary

In laboratory sciences and engineering, the start-up package can be worth more than a year's salary, and it matters more for tenure than a few thousand dollars of pay. Ask what it covers, how long you have to spend it and whether unspent money carries over. An itemized list of the equipment and people you need, with prices, makes the strongest case. In fields without labs, ask for a research fund for travel, archives or software.

Most faculty are paid for nine months, and summer salary is counted in ninths: a summer month pays one-ninth of the academic-year salary, and universities such as the University of Colorado Boulder cap summer pay at three-ninths. Grants often pay it later, but the National Science Foundation generally limits each senior researcher to two months of salary a year across all its awards. Before you have grants, ask the department for one or two summer months in your first two summers. On a $90,000 salary, two-ninths is $20,000.

Teaching load and the tenure clock

A lighter start gives you time to set up research and prepare courses. Ask for a course release in your first year or two, repeat sections of the same course or fewer new preparations. At teaching-focused colleges, where releases are rare, ask about your schedule, class sizes and first courses.

If you have taught full time elsewhere, ask whether those years count toward tenure. AAUP's 1940 Statement says the probationary period should not exceed seven years, including full-time service at other institutions, and that someone with more than three years elsewhere may agree in writing to a new probationary period of up to four years. Credit shortens the clock, so decline it if you need time to build your record. Ask too about extending the clock after the birth or adoption of a child.

Partner hires and moving costs

If your partner also needs a job, raise it once you have the offer, not during interviews. Some universities have formal dual-career programs; others help informally by sharing openings or making introductions. A faculty position for a partner depends on another department's needs and budget, so ask early, expect it to take time and keep it separate from your own terms.

For moving costs, ask whether the college pays a fixed amount or reimburses receipts, what counts (movers, travel, a house-hunting trip) and whether the payment is taxed as income.

How to ask: a sample email and phone script

Rank your priorities and ask for the few things that matter most, with a reason for each. A phone call followed by an email works well: the call keeps the tone warm, and the email puts the list in writing. Both samples use fictional names and figures.

Sample email

Dear Professor Morgan,

Thank you again for the offer to join the Department of Biology as an assistant professor. I am excited about the position and about working with you and your colleagues.

Having reviewed the offer, I would like to ask about three points:
1. Salary: given the averages for assistant professors at comparable universities and the salaries of recent hires in the department, would $78,000 be possible?
2. Start-up: the attached equipment list comes to $160,000 over three years. Could the package rise from $120,000 to cover it?
3. Teaching: would a one-course release in my first year be possible while I set up the lab?

With these changes, I would be ready to accept. I am happy to talk by phone if that is easier.

Best regards,
Dana Brooks

Phone script

"Thank you again for the offer; I'm excited about the position. There are three things I'd like to discuss: salary, start-up and first-year teaching. Assistant professors at master's universities average about $84,000, and recent hires here earn around $78,000. Could you offer $78,000? I'll follow up by email with the full list. When do you need my answer?"

If the answer is no, thank them and ask whether anything else is possible, such as a course release. Mention a competing offer only if you have it in writing and would seriously consider it, and never threaten to walk away unless you will.

Exploding offers and extensions

An exploding offer is one with a short deadline. Departments set deadlines because their second choice may take another job while they wait. You can still ask for more time: explain that you expect to hear from another institution, propose a specific date and keep the chair informed. A short, definite extension is easier to grant than an open-ended one.

If you are waiting on another search, tell that institution about your deadline; it may speed up its decision. If the deadline cannot move, decide on the offer in hand, not on a job you have not been offered.

Lecturer, instructor and adjunct offers

Teaching positions usually leave less room on pay. For full-time lecturer and instructor positions, ask instead about a multi-year contract, your courses and schedule, the number of preparations, professional development funds and the path to promotion. AAUP's 2025-26 averages were $84,292 for lecturers and $74,087 for instructors.

Adjunct faculty are paid by the course: $4,093 per three-credit course on average in AAUP's latest data. Many colleges pay by a published scale, so check your placement. At Carroll Community College in Maryland, a new adjunct with a terminal degree and experience earns $1,053 per credit hour, against $993 with a master's; at UMass Lowell, a terminal degree adds 10 percent. See adjunct professor pay for more.

Get it in writing, and mistakes to avoid

AAUP's 1940 Statement says the precise terms of every appointment should be stated in writing before it is finalized. Check that the final letter includes:

• Rank, title and whether the position is on the tenure track
• Salary, and whether the appointment is for nine or twelve months
• Start date, and any credit toward tenure
• Teaching load and course releases
• Start-up funds: the amount, what they cover and the spending period
• Summer salary, moving expenses and space
• If your doctorate is unfinished, your title until it is and when the full salary starts

Mistakes to avoid: accepting first and negotiating later; adding requests after you have agreed; bluffing about a competing offer; comparing a nine-month offer with twelve-month salaries; haggling over a small salary gap while ignoring start-up and teaching load; and relying on a verbal promise that never reaches the letter.

Frequently asked questions

Can negotiating cost me a faculty job offer?

It is unusual when the request is reasonable and polite; departments expect it. The risk rises with ultimatums, long lists of demands or new requests after you have agreed.

How much more salary should I ask for?

There is no standard percentage. Base your request on the AAUP average for your rank and type of college, the state average and recent hires in the department, and name a specific figure.

Should I negotiate by email or by phone?

Both. Talk by phone or video so your tone comes through, then confirm what was agreed in a short email.

How long do I have to respond to a faculty offer?

The department sets the deadline, and it varies. If you need more time, ask for a specific extension and explain why.

Can you negotiate an adjunct or lecturer offer?

Yes, though pay is often set by a scale. Ask about your placement on it, your courses and schedule, the length of the contract and professional development funds.

What is a start-up package?

Money a university gives a new faculty member to set up research, such as equipment, research assistants and travel, usually spent over the first few years. It is most common in the sciences and engineering.