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When I last read Harry Potter, I remember all of the teaching staff being professors.

Nothing in What are the requirements to teach at Hogwarts? implies there's any need to be qualified as a professor to join. Also (at least in the UK), "Professor" is a title granted by peers.

So, are all the teachers at Hogwarts professors, and if so...why?

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    "Professor" is a title, while "professor" is an honorific. Since Hogwarts is not university then there is a custom of calling any and all teachers "professors". And, by the way, different countries have different customs. Or laws. In mine, for example, you can become a "Professor" same way you became "Ph. D", and the diploma is signed and presented by the president of the state...
    – AcePL
    Jun 10, 2015 at 15:14

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Are all the teachers at Hogwarts professors?

Based on all the information available in the seven primary books, the answer seems to be that yes, all teachers at Hogwarts are professors.

Except in instances where teachers refer to each other by their first names, every teacher at Hogwarts is referred to as "Professor" by both students and their fellow teachers. In Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore corrects Harry when he refers to Severus as "Snape", saying that it's "Professor Snape".

Why?

To complete the circular logic: because they teach at Hogwarts. That seems to be the only requirement for being called "Professor". If there are others, they're definitely not explained in the books. That said, there's generally an assumption - Defence Against the Dark Arts aside - that if you're teaching at Hogwarts, you're probably an authority in your field (even if that's not backed up by being good at teaching); "Professor" strikes me as a suitable title to communicate that status.

I also think that talk of what it means or how it's used in the US or the UK just confuses the issue. We're not talking about the US or, even, the UK; we're talking about the Wizarding community. Just because they share a word doesn't mean that it has the exact same meaning or connotations as it does in the Muggle world.

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    Indeed. I have just a couple of 2 year degrees (AS and an AA) but I'm allowed to teach a very technical hands on class as a subject matter expert. I tell my students to just use my first name. I get Professor FirstName, Professor LastName, etc. Actual job title is "Adjunct Instructor".
    – ivanivan
    Mar 22, 2017 at 12:53
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    Hooch also teaches the kids and she is a Madame.
    – The Dark Lord
    Mar 23, 2017 at 1:00
  • @TheDarkLord scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/214883/…
    – AncientSwordRage ♦
    Jul 6, 2020 at 16:37
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They are professors in the old, pre-academic sense of the word. Quite literally, their job is to profess. Considering many concepts in the wizarding world are rather dated and progress moves slowly - adding to the fact that no further education beyond Hogwarts (or equivalent) exists - they are professors by virtue of teaching.

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It appears that all teachers at Hogwarts are considered professors. We know that no requirement other then being hired as a teacher is needed for this title, as hagrid was called professor once he assumed the job as the teacher for magical creatures teacher. In the US and as @pureferret states the UK, professor is a generic title given to teachers who do not have another specific title, for example in muggle schools your a professor until you receive a doctorate, they your a DR. . Unless Rowling has a specific interview on her usage of the word professor, its safe to assume shes using it in a typical English fashion with no extra meanings, since the books themselves shed no light on the title.

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    Himarm, what you write is inaccurate about the US (speaking from experience as an American who was a Dr. first, who then became a Professor). In the U.S. "professor" is generally a title that you are specifically hired/contracted under. It is usually given to individuals who hold doctorate degrees—and thus may use "Dr." in mode of address—but not always (for example, someone holding an Master of Fine Arts degree may be appointed as a professor). Not all American university faculty hold the title "professor" (e.g. some are "instructor").
    – Lexible
    Jun 10, 2015 at 14:45
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    @Lexible with my personal experience of attending 4 university's my teachers were all either called professors, adjunct professors, or dr.'s , never once did i have a teacher who was known simply as instructor. whether or not it was proper to call them professors, they, as pureferret stated, are simply called professors by all students, unless otherwise told not too. Since we dont know whats on the contract of Hogwarts teachers, but that all are referred to as professors, we can assume its generic, espeically since people like Snape actually have a title "Potions Master" while still being ---
    – Himarm
    Jun 10, 2015 at 14:49
  • called professor Snape.
    – Himarm
    Jun 10, 2015 at 14:53
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    Himarm, I have attended 2 two-year colleges, have degrees from three universities, completed a post-doctoral fellowship at another, have taught at three, am tenured at one, and am a member of the AAUP: sometimes faculty at university in the US hold the title "instructor," and sometimes "lecturer". Your own personal familiarity is irrelevant to the inaccuracy of your answer. (Although, I agree that college students will generally refer to all faculty as "professor," although not in the case where the course is taught by a graduate student in my experience.)
    – Lexible
    Jun 10, 2015 at 14:54
  • @Lexible your last sentence supports my answer... i literally said professor is a generic name of teachers who do not specify another title, and you just agreed and most college students generally refer to all faculty as a professor. I'm not arguing in my answer the technicalities of job titles I'm stating a fact that professor is a generic title for teachers.
    – Himarm
    Jun 10, 2015 at 14:59

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