Patterns that emerged from reviewing syllabi for courses on faculty issues are discussed, and four sample syllabi are presented. Few doctoral programs in higher education administration were identified that devote an entire course to the subject of American college and university faculty. For four courses that did devote an entire course to the academic profession, there was great similarity/overlap in the principles of organization of the course material. The basic pattern is as follows: the historical antecedents of the modern academic role as well as the current status of the profession; an examination of the academic career, including recruitment and the career ladder; the core academic work activity/role components; faculty/academic culture; the role that members of academia play in the larger society; American professors in comparison to professors in other countries; and subgroups of faculty, such as women, minorities, and part-timers. Information on assignments/course requirements for four courses is presented, along with a list of the most frequently used texts. Syllabi are presented from the State University of New York at Buffalo, University of Pittsburgh, the University of Michigan, and Seton Hall University. A list of members of the course syllabi network is included. (SW)