Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary
Education and TrainingO*NET 25-1066.00United States
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.
- Median annual earnings
- $84,440
- Projected change
- +9.1%
- Typical education
- Doctoral degree or more
- Employment
- 1.78M jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
85.3% of the workforce
Growing to 1.94M by 2035
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The work
What psychology teachers, postsecondary do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as abnormal psychology, cognitive processes, and work motivation.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- 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.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Develop and use multimedia course materials and other current technology, such as online courses.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
- Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
- Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.
- Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
- Write grant proposals to procure external research funding.
- Write letters of recommendation for students.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
- Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
- Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $49,147
- 25th percentile
- $62,814
- 50th percentile
- $84,440
- 75th percentile
- $118,952
- 90th percentile
- $175,749
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $84,440 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+9.1%faster than average
20251,782,325 jobs
2035 projected1,944,527 jobs
162,202 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Doctoral degree or more
- 85.3%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 14.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Psychology Adjunct Faculties579 postings
- 02Assistant Professors of Psychology541 postings
- 03Psychology Faculties370 postings
- 04Lecturers in Psychology263 postings
- 05Associate Professors of Psychology167 postings
- 06Assistant Professors of Clinical Psychology166 postings
- 07Professors of Psychology81 postings
- 08Adjunct Professors of Psychology70 postings
- 09Psychology Teachers67 postings
- 10Adjunct Faculties42 postings
- 11Counseling Psychologists33 postings
- 12Psychology Instructors31 postings
- 13School Psychology Specialists28 postings
- 14High School Psychologists22 postings
- 15Non-Tenure Track Faculties22 postings
- 16Industrial/Organizational Psychologists17 postings
- 17Adjunct Lecturers16 postings
- 18Educational Psychologists15 postings
- 19Applied Behavior Analysts14 postings
- 20Open Rank Faculties14 postings
Top employers
- 01Herc63 postings
- 02William James College30 postings
- 03State University Of New York Albany29 postings
- 04Tennessee Board of Regents29 postings
- 05California State University-Chancellors Office25 postings
- 06The Chicago School Of Professional Psychology23 postings
- 07Northeastern University21 postings
- 08Saint Mary's College of California21 postings
- 09Lone Star College System20 postings
- 10Rutgers University20 postings
- 11Sam Houston State University17 postings
- 12California State University-Long Beach16 postings
- 13University of California16 postings
- 14University of Miami16 postings
- 15Texas A&M University15 postings
- 16Chaminade University of Honolulu13 postings
- 17Herzing University13 postings
- 18Loyola University Chicago13 postings
- 19Western Kentucky University13 postings
- 20College of DuPage12 postings
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