Educational Instruction and Library Occupations·SOC 25-1066

Best degree programs for Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary, ranked by enrollment

33 college programs and 1,803 schools train Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $80,340 median wage, 41,530 U.S. jobs. Federal data.

33 college programs at 1,803 schools train psychology teachers, postsecondary, graduating 226,538 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Psychology, General. The job pays a median of $80,340 (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Graduates / yr
226,538
from every feeder program
Median annual wage
$80,340
BLS OEWS May 2025
Projected growth
+3.6%
About as fast as average
Openings / yr
4,000
new plus replacement
Schools
1,803
with a feeder program
States with jobs
50
BLS reports wages

About psychology teachers, postsecondary

Teach courses in psychology, such as child, clinical, and developmental psychology, and psychological counseling. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Also calledProfessorInstructorPsychology ProfessorPsychology InstructorTeacherLecturerFaculty MemberAdjunct ProfessorCollege ProfessorAdjunct InstructorAssistant ProfessorAssociate Professor

Fields of study that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.

33 degree programs that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 42.0101
146,449
64.6%
1,567$31,426$25,250
2
CIP 42.2799
14,082
6.2%
152$34,454$21,878
3
CIP 42.2803
12,264
5.4%
277$33,805$27,000
4
CIP 42.2814
7,215
3.2%
143$33,805$27,000
5
CIP 30.1701
6,635
2.9%
123$36,206$29,240
6
CIP 42.2801
6,396
2.8%
205$33,805$27,000
7
CIP 42.2704
4,599
2.0%
74$34,454$21,878
8
CIP 51.1505
4,547
2.0%
138$37,335$22,861
9
CIP 42.2805
3,734
1.6%
205$33,805$27,000
10
CIP 42.2804
3,169
1.4%
127$33,805$27,000
11
CIP 42.2813
2,999
1.3%
96$33,805$27,000
12
CIP 42.2812
2,718
1.2%
59$33,805$27,000
13
CIP 42.9999
2,686
1.2%
67$36,890$18,200
14
CIP 42.2806
1,874
0.8%
84$33,805$27,000
15
CIP 42.2703
1,771
0.8%
63$34,454$21,878
16
CIP 42.2706
1,391
0.6%
32$34,454$21,878
17
CIP 42.2899
711
0.3%
46$33,805$27,000
18
CIP 42.2811
630
0.3%
6$33,805$27,000
19
CIP 42.2802
464
0.2%
34$33,805$27,000
20
CIP 42.2707
455
0.2%
33$34,454$21,878
21
CIP 42.2810
428
0.2%
25$33,805$27,000
22
CIP 42.2701
382
0.2%
22$34,454$21,878
23
CIP 42.2815
318
0.1%
18$33,805$27,000
24
CIP 42.2708
210
0.1%
16$34,454$21,878
25
CIP 30.1001
183
0.1%
22$43,343$22,125
26
CIP 42.2807
101
0.0%
9$33,805$27,000
27
CIP 42.2817
40
0.0%
1$33,805$27,000
28
CIP 42.2705
23
0.0%
2$34,454$21,878
29
CIP 42.2808
22
0.0%
3$33,805$27,000
30
CIP 30.5301
19
0.0%
2
31
CIP 42.2702
16
0.0%
2$34,454$21,878
32
CIP 13.1335
5
0.0%
4$43,033$26,044
33
CIP 42.2809
2
0.0%
1$33,805$27,000

Top 50 schools by graduates into this job

Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Southern New Hampshire University
Manchester, NH Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
5,063Psychology, General43%$34,565100%
2Capella University
Minneapolis, MN Private for-profit · 11 feeder programs
3,992Applied Behavior Analysis20%$19,369
3Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs
3,829Counseling Psychology65%$28,91199%
4Arizona State University Digital Immersion
Scottsdale, AZ Public · 4 feeder programs
2,367Psychology, General0%67%
5Purdue University Global
West Lafayette, IN Public · 4 feeder programs
2,194Behavioral Sciences50%
6Florida International University
Miami, FL Public · 4 feeder programs
1,763Psychology, General74%55%
7University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL Public · 5 feeder programs
1,671Psychology, General78%40%
8University of Phoenix - Arizona
Phoenix, AZ Private for-profit · 5 feeder programs
1,630Industrial and Organizational Psychology21%$15,478
9National University
San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs
1,605Applied Behavior Analysis43%$31,817
10Florida Institute of Technology
Melbourne, FL Private not-for-profit · 6 feeder programs
1,281Applied Behavior Analysis64%$33,58558%
11Walden University
Minneapolis, MN Private for-profit · 7 feeder programs
1,174Psychology, General
12Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs
1,163Clinical Psychology83%$41,98663%
13Grand Canyon University
Phoenix, AZ Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs
1,143Psychology, Other43%$21,53579%
14University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA Public · 2 feeder programs
1,139Psychology, General93%9%
15California State University - Northridge
Northridge, CA Public · 5 feeder programs
1,098Psychology, General57%93%
16University of California - Irvine
Irvine, CA Public · 5 feeder programs
1,084Research and Experimental Psychology, Other87%29%
17Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ Public · 6 feeder programs
1,066Psychology, General68%90%
18California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
1,015Psychology, General70%91%
19University of South Florida
Tampa, FL Public · 5 feeder programs
1,006Psychology, General77%43%
20University of California - San Diego
La Jolla, CA Public · 9 feeder programs
936Psychology, General86%27%
21New York University
New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 6 feeder programs
927Research and Experimental Psychology, Other88%$29,0239%
22University of California - Davis
Davis, CA Public · 2 feeder programs
924Research and Experimental Psychology, Other86%42%
23University of Maryland Global Campus
Adelphi, MD Public · 1 feeder programs
917Psychology, General33%
24The University of Arizona Global Campus
Chandler, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs
886Psychology, General11%$26,445
25San Diego State University
San Diego, CA Public · 6 feeder programs
861Psychology, General76%36%
26Texas A&M University - College Station
College Station, TX Public · 10 feeder programs
852Psychology, General84%57%
27Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL Public · 3 feeder programs
850Psychology, General86%24%
28University of Houston
Houston, TX Public · 7 feeder programs
844Psychology, General65%74%
29The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX Public · 5 feeder programs
821Psychology, General89%27%
30University of Georgia
Athens, GA Public · 7 feeder programs
819Psychology, General90%38%
31University of California - Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA Public · 4 feeder programs
813Experimental Psychology83%33%
32University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI Public · 4 feeder programs
803Experimental Psychology93%16%
33University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN Public · 4 feeder programs
798Psychology, General85%80%
34University of North Texas
Denton, TX Public · 6 feeder programs
789Psychology, General61%72%
35Rutgers University - New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ Public · 6 feeder programs
786Psychology, General84%58%
36California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA Public · 3 feeder programs
784Psychology, General69%46%
37Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale, FL Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs
777Counseling Psychology63%$31,67273%
38Brigham Young University - Idaho
Rexburg, ID Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
757Family Psychology55%$6,76096%
39University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ Public · 6 feeder programs
754Psychology, General68%86%
40University of Florida
Gainesville, FL Public · 4 feeder programs
732Psychology, General91%24%
41The Chicago School at Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 9 feeder programs
728Applied Behavior Analysis0%46%
42Teachers College at Columbia University
New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 10 feeder programs
712Behavioral Sciences
43CUNY Hunter College
New York, NY Public · 5 feeder programs
694Psychology, General57%54%
44Northcentral University
San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 9 feeder programs
681Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling
45Alliant International University - San Diego
San Diego, CA Private for-profit · 7 feeder programs
674Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling0%
46George Mason University
Fairfax, VA Public · 6 feeder programs
673Psychology, General68%87%
47Texas State University
San Marcos, TX Public · 4 feeder programs
670Psychology, General55%89%
48University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus
Pittsburgh, PA Public · 5 feeder programs
668Research and Experimental Psychology, Other85%58%
49Ohio State University - Main Campus
Columbus, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
642Experimental Psychology88%61%
50CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
New York, NY Public · 1 feeder programs
638Forensic Psychology56%57%

What psychology teachers, postsecondary earn

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

Median annual wage
$80,340
Mean annual
$93,860
People employed
41,530
What the range looks like
10th pct$49,050Median$80,34090th pct$153,600

Top-paying metro areas

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
$137,810median
400 jobs
Ann Arbor, MI
$142,840median
140 jobs
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA
$133,880median
230 jobs
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
$129,610median
330 jobs
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
$109,140median
60 jobs
Fresno, CA
$133,490median
150 jobs
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
$126,690median
360 jobs
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
$97,580median
360 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

Where the jobs are, state by state

Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.

This occupation state by state: pay, jobs, and schools
StateMedian payJobsConcentrationSchoolsGraduates / yr
California$107,3404,4100.91×21344,048
New York$100,7204,0701.57×11116,162
Texas$77,0603,3800.90×9914,435
Florida$69,0501,1200.42×4812,210
Arizona$78,6109401.08×299,487
Virginia$77,9501,0500.95×438,352
Pennsylvania$75,9602,1201.31×1228,192
Minnesota$82,6407600.96×347,879
Illinois$77,8602,2601.39×546,478
Massachusetts$82,9302,6402.72×606,214
New Hampshire$95,0301100.63×155,735
Indiana$77,8207600.89×485,724
New Jersey$80,7901,6301.42×325,079
Ohio$78,5301,5001.02×725,034
Georgia$79,4408200.63×504,812
North Carolina$75,2601,1000.83×514,790
Michigan$99,9009200.78×474,265
Colorado$76,8109601.25×314,182
Maryland$101,4306400.87×263,219
Washington$78,3308400.88×263,109
Missouri$79,2405900.76×433,102
Connecticut$84,5009202.04×212,855
Wisconsin$77,5806300.80×312,827
Kentucky$74,5205901.10×272,784
Tennessee$76,0107900.90×352,628
Oregon$80,0606601.25×222,517
Oklahoma$61,7204100.90×332,428
Utah$93,0902000.43×102,348
South Carolina$74,8903900.63×312,190
Louisiana$91,3401400.27×242,165
Alabama$75,3406101.08×262,105
Kansas$79,7302300.61×281,694
Iowa$78,4503200.76×401,633
Idaho$83,0101800.77×111,434
Mississippi$62,5902600.84×201,294
Nevada$81,3001400.34×51,247
Arkansas$60,7301900.53×221,235
West Virginia$74,2801500.77×151,077
New Mexico$83,6001000.42×12976
Rhode Island$94,3601801.35×9937
Nebraska$77,3401700.61×20927
District of Columbia$101,2503401.80×10912
Maine$81,6601100.64×14626
Delawaremoderate$102,3404454
Montana$77,120900.69×10444
North Dakota$97,110600.50×8439
Vermont$81,1001001.19×8439
Wyoming$65,050801.02×8389
South Dakota$65,020700.54×10377
Alaskamoderate$79,040700.81×3153

Skills and tools

From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.

What they do day to day

  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as abnormal psychology, cognitive processes, and work motivation.
  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
  • Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
  • Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  • Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  • Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
  • Recruit and hire new faculty.

Skills

  • Learning Strategies4.3
  • Speaking4.1
  • Reading Comprehension4.1
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Writing4.0
  • Active Learning3.9
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Monitoring3.5

Knowledge areas

  • Psychology5.0
  • English Language4.8
  • Education and Training4.3
  • Sociology and Anthropology3.9
  • Mathematics3.8
  • Therapy and Counseling3.8

Abilities

  • Oral Expression4.5
  • Written Comprehension4.1
  • Written Expression4.1
  • Oral Comprehension4.0
  • Speech Clarity4.0
  • Inductive Reasoning3.9

Core activities

  • Training and Teaching Others5.0
  • Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others4.9
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.5
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.5
  • Working with Computers4.3
  • Coaching and Developing Others4.3

Tools and technology

hotmarks an O*NET hot technology
Google DocshotIBM SPSS StatisticshotMicrosoft ExcelhotMicrosoft Office softwarehotMicrosoft OutlookhotMicrosoft PowerPointhotMicrosoft WordhotRhotSAShotThe MathWorks MATLABhot

How to get in

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.

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

Related careers

Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.

Common questions

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 146,449 degrees in 2024-25, 64.6% 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 33 programs to this occupation. The largest are Psychology, Clinical, Research and Experimental Psychology, Behavioral Sciences, plus 5 more. Together they graduate about 226,538 people a year.

How much do psychology teachers, postsecondary earn?+

The median is $80,340 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $49,050 at the 10th percentile to $153,600 at the 90th. 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?+

1,803 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 33 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.

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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