in 1987, loprieno was appointed associate professor of afroasiatic linguistics at the university of perugia. in 1989, he became full professor of egyptology at the university of california los angeles (ucla), where he headed the department of near eastern languages and cultures from 1991 to 2000. during this time, he was also a visiting professor at the hebrew university of jerusalem, at the école pratique des hautes études in paris and at heidelberg university.