# List of fictional professors

This is a list of professors appearing throughout fiction.

## Literature

| Novel or literary work | Author | Fictional professor | Study |
| Altered States | Paddy Chayefsky | Professor Eddie Jessup | psychology/parapsychology |
| At the Mountains of Madness | H. P. Lovecraft | Professor William Dyer | geology |
| Bourne series | multiple | Professor Jason Bourne Professor Dominic Specter | linguistics unknown |
| Captain Underpants | Dav Pilkey | Professor Pippy Peepee Poopypants | science |
| The Case of the Gilded Fly | Edmund Crispin | Professor Gervase Fen | English language and literature |
| The Chronicles of Narnia | C. S. Lewis | Professor Digory Kirke | history |
| Discworld | Terry Pratchett | Professor Rincewind | |
| Doomsday Book | Connie Willis | Professor James Dunworthy | history |
| Dracula | Bram Stoker | Professor Abraham Van Helsing | many |
| Exit to Eden | Anne Rice | Professor Collins | |
| Foundation series | Isaac Asimov | Professor Hari Seldon Professor Dors Venabili Professor Yugo Amaryl | mathematics and psychohistory history mathematics and psychohistory |
| Frankenstein | Mary Shelley | Professor Krempe Professor Waldman | natural philosophy, science chemistry |
| Goosebumps series | R. L. Stine | Professor Eric Crane Professor Greenwell Professor Krupnik Professor Leo Matz Professor Shock Professor Y | |
| Harry Potter series | J. K. Rowling | Professor Cuthbert Binns Professor Charity Burbage Professor Alecto Carrow Professor Amycus Carrow Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore Professor Filius Flitwick Professor Firenze Professor Gilderoy Lockhart Professor Neville Longbottom Professor Remus Lupin Professor Minerva McGonagall "Professor Alastor Moody" Professor Quirinus Quirrell Professor Aurora Sinistra Professor Horace Slughorn Professor Severus Snape Professor Pomona Sprout Professor Sybill Trelawney Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge Professor Septima Vector | History of Magic Muggle studies Muggle studies Dark Arts Transfiguration, later Headmaster Charms Divination Defense Against the Dark Arts Herbology Defense Against the Dark Arts Transfiguration, later Headmistress Defense Against the Dark Arts Muggle studies, later Defense Against the Dark Arts Astronomy Potions Potions, later Defense Against the Dark Arts, later Headmaster Herbology Divination Defense Against the Dark Arts, later Headmistress Arithmancy |
| Journey to the Center of the Earth | Jules Verne | Professor Otto Liedenbrock | geology |
| The Paper Chase | John Jay Osborn, Jr. | Professor Charles Kingsfield | law |
| Pnin | Vladimir Nabokov | Professor Timofey Pavlovich Pnin | linguistics |
| Professor Branestawm Series | Norman Hunter | Professor Theophilus Branestawm | many |
| Professor Challenger Series | Arthur Conan Doyle | Professor George Edward Challenger | zoology |
| Professor Shonku Series | Satyajit Ray | Professor Shonku | physics |
| Ravelstein | Saul Bellow | Professor Abe Ravelstein Professor Felix Davarr Professor Radu Grielescu Professor Rakhmiel Kogon Professor Morris Herbst | political philosophy, literary translation, classics political philosophy, philosophy of history, classics history of religion, philosophy of religion, political history |
| Robert Langdon series | Dan Brown | Professor Robert Langdon | symbology |
| A Series of Unfortunate Events | Lemony Snicket | Professor Fletcher | |
| Sherlock Holmes Series | Arthur Conan Doyle | Professor James Moriarty | mathematics |
| Superstitious | R. L. Stine | Professor Liam O'Connor | folklore |
| The Space Trilogy | C.S. Lewis | Professor Elwin Ransom | philology |
| Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas | Jules Verne | Professor Pierre Aronnax | natural history |
| Wicked | Gregory Maguire | Doctor Dillamond | |

## Film

| Film | Portrayer | Fictional professor | Study |
| The Absent-Minded Professor (Flubber) | Fred MacMurray/Robin Williams | Professor Philip/Ned Brainard | physical chemistry |
| Accepted (2006) | Lewis Black | Dr. Ben Lewis | philosophy |
| Admission (2013) | Michael Sheen Sonya Walger Christopher Evan Welch | Dr. Mark Nathan Helen Brandt | English literature English literature, with a focus on Modernism and Virginia Woolf English literature |
| Austenland | JJ Feild | Henry Nobly | history |
| Arlington Road | Jeff Bridges | Professor Michael Faraday | history |
| Charly | Leon Janney | Professor Richard Nemur | psychology |
| Cheers for Miss Bishop | Martha Scott | Professor Ella Bishop | English |
| Clue | Christopher Lloyd | Professor Plum | psychiatry |
| Creepshow | Hal Holbrook Fritz Weaver | Professor Henry Northrup Professor Dexter Stanley | English zoology |
| Creepshow 3 | Emmet McGuire | Professor Dayton | |
| The Da Vinci Code Angels & Demons Inferno | Tom Hanks | Professor Robert Langdon | symbology |
| The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) | Sam Jaffe | Professor Jacob Barnhardt | biological altruism |
| Dead Poets Society | Robin Williams | Professor John Keating | English literature |
| Diamonds Are Forever | Joseph Furst | Professor Metz | laser science |
| Exit to Eden | John Schneider | Professor Collins | |
| The Fearless Vampire Killers | Jack MacGowran | Professor Abronsius | vampirology |
| Ghostbusters | Harold Ramis Dan Aykroyd Bill Murray | Dr. Egon Spengler Dr. Ray Stantz Dr. Peter Venkman | parapsychology parapsychology psychology and parapsychology |
| Goosebumps (2015) | John Deifer | Professor Shock | |
| The Great Mouse Detective | Vincent Price (voice) | Professor Padraic Ratigan | |
| Harry Potter series | Richard Harris / Michael Gambon Warwick Davis Kenneth Branagh David Thewlis Maggie Smith Brendan Gleeson Ian Hart Alan Rickman Jim Broadbent Miriam Margolyes Emma Thompson Imelda Staunton | Professor Albus Dumbledore Professor Filius Flitwick Professor Gilderoy Lockhart Professor Remus Lupin Professor Minerva McGonagall "Professor Alastor Moody" Professor Quirinus Quirrell Professor Severus Snape Professor Horace E.F. Slughorn Professor Pomona Sprout Professor Sybill Trelawney Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge | Transfiguration, later Headmaster Charms Defense Against the Dark Arts Defense Against the Dark Arts Transfiguration Defense Against the Dark Arts Defense Against the Dark Arts Potions, later Defense Against the Dark Arts Potions Herbology Divination Defense Against the Dark Arts, later Headmistress |
| Higher Learning | Laurence Fishburne | Professor Maurice Phipps | political science |
| Indiana Jones series | Harrison Ford Sean Connery | Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. Professor Henry Jones, Sr. | archaeology Medieval literature |
| Jumanji series | Jack Black Bobby Cannavale | Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon Professor Van Pelt | archaeology, cartography, geometry, paleontology archaeology |
| Knowing | Nicolas Cage | Professor Jonathan "John" Koestler | astrophysics |
| The Ladykillers | Tom Hanks | Professor Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr | Latin, philology, and classics |
| Liberal Arts (2012) | Richard Jenkins Allison Janney | Dr. Peter Hoberg Dr. Judith Fairfield | American literature Romantic literature |
| The Life of David Gale | Kevin Spacey | Professor David Gale | philosophy |
| Maggie's Plan (2015) | Ethan Hawke Julianne Moore | Dr. John Harding Dr. Georgette Harding | anthropology |
| Mary Shelley's Frankenstein | John Cleese | Professor Waldman | medicine |
| The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) | Barbra Streisand | Professor Rose Morgan | English literature |
| My Fair Lady | Rex Harrison | Professor Henry Higgins | phonetics |
| The Nutty Professor | Eddie Murphy | Professor Sherman Klump | biology |
| The Paper Chase | John Houseman | Professor Charles Kingsfield | law |
| The Savages (2007) | Philip Seymour Hoffman | Professor Jon Savage | theatre |
| A Serious Man (2009) | Michael Stuhlbarg | Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Gopnik | physics |
| A Single Man | Colin Firth | Professor George Falconer | English literature |
| Some Kind of Beautiful (2014) | Pierce Brosnan | Dr. Richard Haig | English literature |
| Spider-Man 2 | Dylan Baker | Dr. Curtis Connors | physics |
| Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Kathryn Hahn | Dr. Olivia Octavius | physics |
| Still Alice (2014) | Julianne Moore | Professor Alice Howland | linguistics |
| Tarzan (1999) | Nigel Hawthorne | Professor Archimedes Q. Porter | naturalist |
| The Visitor (2007) | Richard Jenkins | Professor Walter Vale | economics |
| The Whale (2022) | Brendan Fraser | Charlie | literature |
| Wit (2001) | Emma Thompson | Professor Vivian Bearing | English literature |
| The Wizard of Oz | Frank Morgan | Professor Marvel | none (fraudulent) |
| Wonder Boys (2000) | Michael Douglas | Professor Grady Tripp | creative writing |
| X-Men series | Patrick Stewart | Professor Charles Xavier | many |

## Television

| Television show | Portrayer | Fictional professor | Study |
| 3rd Rock from the Sun | Jane Curtin John Lithgow | Dr. Mary Margaret Albright, Ph.D Dr. Richard "Dick" Solomon | anthropology physics |
| The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron | Tim Curry (voice) | Professor Finbarr Calamitous | science |
| The Aquabats! Super Show! / The Aquabats | Parker Jacobs | Professor Monty Corndog | science |
| Bagpuss | Oliver Postgate (voice) | Professor Yaffle (Augustus Barclay Yaffle) | unknown |
| Being Human | Lyndsey Marshal | Professor Lucy Jaggat | science |
| BoJack Horseman | Will Arnett (voice) | Professor BoJack Horseman | theater |
| Boy Meets World | William Daniels | Mr. George Hamilton Feeny | archaeology/physics |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Lindsay Crouse | Professor Maggie Walsh | psychology |
| Californication | David Duchovny | Professor Hank Moody | creative writing |
| Community | Betty White Malcolm McDowell John Oliver Kevin Corrigan Jonathan Banks Michael K. Williams Lauren Stamile John Michael Higgins Joel McHale | Professor June Bauer Professor Noel Cornwallis Dr. Ian Duncan Professor Sean Garrity Professor Buzz Hickey Dr. Marshall Kane Professor Michelle Slater Professor Eustice Whitman Professor Jeff Winger | anthropology history psychology theater criminology biology statistics accounting law |
| Cory in the House | Mary Chris Wall Paul Rogan Amy Tolsky | Professor Suzane Bushwick Professor Uriah Dobbs Dr. Vanderslyce | psychology science unknown |
| Deutschland 83 | Alexander Beyer | Professor Tobias Tischbier | law |
| Doctor Who | Denis Carey Derek Jacobi Alex Kingston Trevor Baxter Jack Watling | Professor Urban Chronotis Professor Yana Professor River Song Professor George Litefoot Professor Edward Travers | chronology endtime gravity mechanics archaeology forensic pathology anthropology |
| Falling Skies | Noah Wyle | Professor Tom Mason | history |
| Felix the Cat | Jack Mercer (voice) | The Professor | science |
| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Janet Hubert-Whitten / Daphne Maxwell Reid | Professor Vivian Banks | African-American history |
| Friends | David Schwimmer | Ross Eustace Geller, Ph.D | paleontology |
| Futurama | Billy West (voice) | Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth | science |
| Galileo | Masaharu Fukuyama | Professor Manabu Yukawa | physics |
| Game On | George Hu | Professor Bu | physics |
| Ghost Whisperer | Jay Mohr Jamie Kennedy Bruce Davison | Professor Rick Payne Professor Eli James Professor Josh Bedford | paranormal studies psychology unknown |
| Gilligan's Island | Russell Johnson | Professor Roy Hinkley, Ph.D. | science |
| Gilmore Girls | Michael York Edward Herrmann | Professor Asher Fleming Mr. Richard Gilmore | unknown economics |
| The Good Place | William Jackson Harper | Professor Chidi Anagonye | ethics |
| Heroes | Sendhil Ramamurthy | Professor Mohinder Suresh | genetics |
| How I Met Your Mother | Josh Radnor | Professor Ted Mosby | architecture |
| Kim Possible | Patton Oswalt (voice) John DiMaggio (voice) | Professor Dementor Dr. Drakken | science |
| Law & Order | Dianne Wiest | Nora Lewin | law |
| The Lost Symbol | Ashley Zukerman | Professor Robert Langdon | symbology |
| The Magic School Bus Rides Again | Lily Tomlin (voice) | Professor Valerie Felicity Frizzle, PhD | science |
| Nanny and the Professor | Richard Long | Professor Harold Everett | mathematics |
| Neighbours | Andrew Clarke | Professor Alexandr Isiovich "Alex" Kinski | unknown |
| Numb3rs | David Krumholtz Peter MacNicol Navi Rawat | Dr. Charles Edward "Charlie" Eppes Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Fleinhardt Dr. Amita Ramanujan | mathematics physics mathematics |
| One Life to Live | unknown | Dr. Stephen Haver | unknown |
| The Order | Sam Trammell | Eric Clarke | ethics |
| The Paper Chase | John Houseman | Professor Charles Kingsfield | law |
| Perception | Eric McCormack | Dr. Daniel Pierce | neuroscience |
| Phineas and Ferb | Jennifer Grey (voice) | Dr. Gevaarlijk | Evil Science |
| Pokémon | Dan Green unknown Kayzie Rogers Stan Hart and Billy Beach Jimmy Zoppi | Professor Birch Professor Elm Professor Felina Ivy Professor Samuel Oak Professor Rowan Professor Juniper Professor Sycamore Professor Kukui | Pokémon habitats Pokémon breeding Pokémon Pokémon behavior Pokémon evolution |
| The Powerpuff Girls | Tom Kane (voice) | Professor Utonium | science |
| Primeval | Douglas Henshall | Professor Nick Cutter | unknown |
| Professor Balthazar | N/A | Professor Balthazar | unknown |
| Quatermass (various) | (various) | Professor Bernard Quatermass | space exploration |
| Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Beth Broderick | Professor Zelda Spellman | quantum physics |
| Science Court | H. Jon Benjamin (voice) | Professor Nick Parsons | science |
| The Secret Show | Rob Rackstraw (voice) | Professor Professor | science |
| The Simpsons | Hank Azaria (voice) | Professor John Frink Jr. | science |
| Sliders | John Rhys-Davies | Professor Maximillian P. Arturo | cosmology and ontology |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | Brent Spiner | Lucasian Professor Data | physics |
| The Twilight Zone (1959) | Robert Emhardt John McIntire Malcolm Atterbury Oscar Beregi, Jr. Donald Pleasence Richard Long Milton Parsons Kevin McCarthy Edgar Stehli Russell Johnson Robert Boon Oscar Beregi, Jr. | Professor Ackerman Professor A. Daemon Professor Eliot Professor Farwell Professor Ellis Fowler Professor Sigmund Friend Professor Gilbert Professor Walter Jameson Professor Samuel Kittridge Professor Manion Professor Holger Nielsen Professor Karl Werner | unknown potions none chemistry and physics English literature psychiatry time travel history chemistry time travel unknown unknown |
| The Twilight Zone (1985) | Sherman Hemsley John Carradine | Professor Sam Professor Alex Stottel | mathematics unknown |
| Veronica Mars | Patrick Fabian | Professor Hank Landry | criminology |
| A Very Peculiar Practice | Timothy West | Professor Furie | |
| The West Wing | Martin Sheen | President Josiah Bartlet | economics |
| WordGirl | unknown Tom Kenny (voice) unknown | Professor Steven Boxleitner, Ph.D., MOMA, M&A, LMNOP Dr. Two-Brains Professor James Doohickey | science science technology |

## Comics

| Comic | Fictional professor | Study |
| The Adventures of Tintin | Professor Cuthbert Calculus | nuclear and theoretical physics, planetary astronomy, calculus |
| DC Comics | Dr Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow Professor Ray Palmer/Atom Professor Martin Stein/Firestorm Abin Sur | psychiatry psychiatry physics physics history |
| Jommeke | Professor Jeremias Gobelijn | self-declared "professor in everything" |
| Marvel Comics | Dr. Curtis Connors Dr. John Grey Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy/The Beast Professor Piotr Phobos Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym Dr. Reed Richards Professor Miles Warren/Jackal Professor Charles Francis Xavier | herpetology history biochemistry/genetics unknown entomology, theoretical physics, and chemistry many biology genetics |
| The Adventures of Nero | Adhemar | philology, trigonometry, nuclear physics, dynamics, philosophy, biology, ornithology and botany |
| Spike and Suzy | Professor Barabas | time travel, inventions |
| Doctor Who | Professor Bernice Summerfield | archaeology |

## Other

| Creator | Fictional professor | Study |
| Akihiro Hino | Professor Hershel Layton | Archeology |
| John William Spaeth, Jr. | Professor Josiah S. Carberry | Psychoceramics |
| Unknown | Professor Bernard Weiss | Linguistics |
| BethAnn McLaughlin | @Sciencing_Bi | Anthropology |
| Max Wall | Professor Wallofski | Music hall comedian |