Will ethnic studies professors be replaced by AI?
Updated
Ethnic studies professors score 44 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 52%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 14% outright, and 34% stays with people.
- 14% AI can do it
- 52% AI helps
- 34% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 60% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 23 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 3 of them today, speeds up 12 and leaves 8 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. Attendance and grade records are routine data entry in LMS. | 75% AI can do it |
| Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. AI drafts syllabi, assignments, and handouts well; instructor edits. | 70% AI can do it |
| Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. AI compiles reading lists well; citations need checking for accuracy. | 60% AI can do it |
| Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers. AI can draft feedback and score work; instructor verifies quality. | 55% AI helps |
| Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. AI drafts and scores exam items; proctoring stays human. | 50% AI helps |
| Write grant proposals to procure external research funding. AI drafts proposal sections; funder strategy and relationships stay human. | 50% AI helps |
| Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media. AI aids literature review and drafting; original analysis remains scholarly work. | 45% AI helps |
| Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as race and ethnic relations, gender studies, and cross-cultural perspectives. AI helps prepare content; delivering live lectures stays human. | 40% AI helps |
| Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction. AI can propose curriculum revisions; faculty judgement drives decisions. | 40% AI helps |
| Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences. AI summarizes papers fast, but reading and networking stay personal. | 35% AI helps |
Show the other 13 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks. AI compares options and drafts requests; approvals stay human. | 35% AI helps |
| Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities. Recruitment events are in person, but AI handles admin and outreach drafts. | 35% AI helps |
| Advise students on academic and vocational curricula, and on career issues. AI supplies program info; personal career counsel stays human. | 30% AI helps |
| Provide professional consulting services to government or industry. AI aids research synthesis; consulting relies on expert judgement and trust. | 30% AI helps |
| Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head. AI eases paperwork; people leadership and decisions stay human. | 25% AI helps |
| Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. Mentoring students in research and internships needs personal guidance. | 18% Needs a person |
| Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. Collegial collaboration depends on interpersonal trust and shared judgement. | 15% Needs a person |
| Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. Committee debate and consensus are live human processes; AI aids minutes. | 15% Needs a person |
| Act as advisers to student organizations. Advising student groups needs in-person trust and situational judgement. | 15% Needs a person |
| Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. Face-to-face student advising needs human empathy and presence. | 12% Needs a person |
| Participate in campus and community events, such as giving public lectures about research. Public lectures and events require live presence and audience engagement. | 12% Needs a person |
| Incorporate experiential or site visit components into courses. Site visits are physical; AI can only help plan logistics. | 12% Needs a person |
| Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. Live discussion needs people present and reading the room. | 10% Needs a person |
How ethnic studies professors compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $85,020 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 11,300 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +2.7% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Verify AI-compiled citations against library databases and catalogs
- Lead live seminar discussions and moderate student debate in person
- Write grant proposals to win external research funding
- Grade student papers against a written rubric and verify AI feedback
- Design site visits and experiential components for courses
Safer roles nearby
3 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about ethnic studies professors and AI
Will AI replace ethnic studies professors?
Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly maintaining attendance and grade records and preparing course materials. Leading discussions, advising students in office hours, and speaking at public events stay with people because they need a person in the room.
Which tasks is AI taking over for ethnic studies professors?
Record keeping and course preparation go first. Maintaining attendance and grades scores 75 on exposure, and drafting syllabi, handouts, and homework scores 70. Compiling reading bibliographies scores 60, though each citation still needs checking for accuracy.
Which tasks stay with ethnic studies professors?
Classroom discussion scores 10 on exposure, the lowest in this job, because it depends on people present and reading the room. Office hours advising and public lectures score 12 each, since empathy, presence, and audience engagement happen face to face.
How can ethnic studies professors stay valuable?
Verify every AI-compiled reading list against library catalogs before assigning it. Lead live seminars and design site visits, since those need physical presence. Use Microsoft Excel to track grade distributions, check AI-drafted feedback against your rubric, and keep the funder relationships behind grant proposals.
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