Iowa·Educational Instruction and Library Occupations·SOC 25-1066

Best Psychology Teacher, Postsecondary programs in Iowa, ranked by enrollment

Teach courses in psychology, such as child, clinical, and developmental psychology, and psychological counseling.

40 schools in Iowa run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,633 people a year. The job pays a median of $78,450 in Iowa across about 320 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledProfessorInstructorPsychology ProfessorPsychology InstructorTeacherLecturerFaculty MemberAdjunct Professor
Graduates / yr
1,633
in Iowa
Median pay · Iowa
$78,450
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
320
people employed
Schools
40
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
55%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,533
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Iowa that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

17 programs in Iowa that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Iowa (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Iowa page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 42.0101In Iowa
1,018
62.3%
36$31,426$25,250
2
CIP 30.1701In Iowa
360
22.0%
1$36,206$29,240
3
CIP 42.2799In Iowa
64
3.9%
3$34,454$21,878
4
CIP 42.2803In Iowa
41
2.5%
3$33,805$27,000
5
CIP 42.2899In Iowa
40
2.4%
1$33,805$27,000
6
CIP 51.1505In Iowa
26
1.6%
1$37,335$22,861
7
CIP 42.2813In Iowa
17
1.0%
2$33,805$27,000
8
CIP 42.2812In Iowa
15
0.9%
1$33,805$27,000
9
CIP 42.2814In Iowa
12
0.7%
2$33,805$27,000
10
CIP 42.2805In Iowa
10
0.6%
2$33,805$27,000
11
CIP 42.2806In Iowa
9
0.6%
1$33,805$27,000
12
CIP 42.2706In Iowa
7
0.4%
1$34,454$21,878
13
CIP 42.2703In Iowa
5
0.3%
1$34,454$21,878
14
CIP 42.2815In Iowa
4
0.2%
1$33,805$27,000
15
CIP 30.1001In Iowa
2
0.1%
1$43,343$22,125
16
CIP 42.2801In Iowa
2
0.1%
1$33,805$27,000
17
CIP 42.2707In Iowa
1
0.1%
1$34,454$21,878

Top 25 schools in Iowa

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 12 of the 40 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA Public · 4 feeder programs
373Behavioral Sciences75%84%
2Iowa State University
Ames, IA Public · 1 feeder programs
218Psychology, General$34,15575%89%
3Upper Iowa University
Fayette, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
145Psychology, General$42,18334%$22,69796%
4University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA Public · 5 feeder programs
118Psychology, General$32,67368%93%
5Waldorf University
Forest City, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
80Psychology, General$41,19321%$22,32877%
6Saint Ambrose University
Davenport, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
53Psychology, General$32,62761%$21,68077%
7Buena Vista University
Storm Lake, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
47Counseling Psychology62%$17,60978%
8Des Moines Area Community College
Ankeny, IA Public · 1 feeder programs
46Psychology, General39%
9Drake University
Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
41Psychology, General74%$28,85564%
10Grinnell College
Grinnell, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
40Research and Experimental Psychology, Other$28,50788%$14,47015%
11Loras College
Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
35Psychology, General$23,56468%$19,227100%
12Mount Mercy University
Cedar Rapids, IA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
33Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling58%$23,05483%
13William Penn University
Oskaloosa, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
33Psychology, General$35,12233%$21,53352%
14Grand View University
Des Moines, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
32Psychology, General$34,70954%$20,84099%
15Iowa Western Community College
Council Bluffs, IA Public · 1 feeder programs
29Psychology, General40%
16Coe College
Cedar Rapids, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
27Psychology, General$37,07266%$18,15364%
17Cornell College
Mount Vernon, IA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
24Psychology, General62%$23,07380%
18Morningside University
Sioux City, IA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs
20Counseling Psychology50%$22,81671%
19Eastern Iowa Community College District
Davenport, IA Public · 1 feeder programs
19Psychology, General45%
20Indian Hills Community College
Ottumwa, IA Public · 1 feeder programs
19Psychology, General40%
21Luther College
Decorah, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
18Research and Experimental Psychology, Other71%$22,82772%
22Wartburg College
Waverly, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
17Psychology, General64%$20,22876%
23Central College
Pella, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
16Psychology, General$29,92366%$19,73286%
24University of Dubuque
Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
16Psychology, General40%$21,32489%
25Clarke University
Dubuque, IA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
14Psychology, General$26,71456%$21,41772%

All 40 schools in Iowa

Every school in Iowa with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Iowa that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of IowaIowa CityPublic3734
Iowa State UniversityAmesPublic2181
Upper Iowa UniversityFayettePrivate not-for-profit1452
University of Northern IowaCedar FallsPublic1185
Waldorf UniversityForest CityPrivate not-for-profit801
Saint Ambrose UniversityDavenportPrivate not-for-profit532
Buena Vista UniversityStorm LakePrivate not-for-profit472
Des Moines Area Community CollegeAnkenyPublic461
Drake UniversityDes MoinesPrivate not-for-profit411
Grinnell CollegeGrinnellPrivate not-for-profit401
Loras CollegeDubuquePrivate not-for-profit353
Mount Mercy UniversityCedar RapidsPrivate not-for-profit332
William Penn UniversityOskaloosaPrivate not-for-profit331
Grand View UniversityDes MoinesPrivate not-for-profit321
Iowa Western Community CollegeCouncil BluffsPublic291

What psychology teachers, postsecondary earn in Iowa

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Iowa
$78,450
Mean annual
$90,260
Jobs in state
320
What the range looks like
10th pct$44,730Median$78,45090th pct$161,960
Versus the national median
-2.4%

U.S. median $80,340. Iowa pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.76×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Iowa

Cedar Rapids, IA
$67,710median
40 jobs
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
$64,490median
40 jobs
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
$63,920median
40 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+3.6%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
4,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
1,900
52,500 → 54,400
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary page.

How to become a Psychology Teacher, Postsecondary

Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Top skills

Learning StrategiesSpeakingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningWritingActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Iowa

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 25 majors mapped to Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary24 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 13.1335Psychology Teacher Education
  • 30.1001Biopsychology
  • 30.1701Behavioral Sciences
  • 30.5301Thanatology
  • 42.0101Psychology, General
  • 42.2701Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics
  • 42.2702Comparative Psychology
  • 42.2703Developmental and Child Psychology
  • 42.2704Experimental Psychology
  • 42.2705Personality Psychology
  • 42.2706Behavioral Neuroscience
  • 42.2707Social Psychology
  • 42.2708Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology
  • 42.2710Developmental and Adolescent Psychology(no graduates reported)
  • 42.2799Research and Experimental Psychology, Other
  • 42.2801Clinical Psychology
  • 42.2802Community Psychology
  • 42.2803Counseling Psychology
  • 42.2804Industrial and Organizational Psychology
  • 42.2805School Psychology
  • 42.2806Educational Psychology
  • 42.2807Clinical Child Psychology
  • 42.2808Environmental Psychology
  • 42.2809Geropsychology
  • 42.2810Health/Medical Psychology

Common questions

Answers for people weighing psychology teachers, postsecondary programs in Iowa.

What degree do you need to become a Psychology Teacher, Postsecondary?+

Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Psychology, General, which awarded 1,018 degrees in Iowa in 2024-25, 62.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Psychology Teacher, Postsecondary?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 17 programs to this occupation. The largest are Psychology, Behavioral Sciences, Clinical, Research and Experimental Psychology, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 1,633 people a year in Iowa.

How much do psychology teachers, postsecondary earn in Iowa?+

The median is $78,450 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.4% below the U.S. median of $80,340. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for psychology teachers, postsecondary growing?+

BLS projects a +3.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 4,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Iowa?+

40 institutions in Iowa reported graduates from at least one of the 17 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do psychology teachers, postsecondary work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Instructor, Psychology Professor, Psychology Instructor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1066.

Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary in other statesCaliforniaNew YorkTexasFloridaArizonaVirginiaPennsylvaniaMinnesota

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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