Doctoral-level Psychologists
Salaries and Positions
Direct Human Services - Clinical (licensed)
Eleven hundred-four doctoral-level respondents were licensed, claimed clinical
psychology as their major field, and were involved in the direct delivery of health and
mental health services to clients in 2001.
The majority of these respondents was employed in independent practices (65%),
comprising 46% in individual private practices and 19% in group private practices.
Approximately 14% and 5% of these licensed, doctoral-level respondents reported
that they worked in hospitals and clinics (e.g., CMHCs, HMOs, outpatient clinics),
respectively. Three percent of the respondents reported elementary/secondary
schools, while 2% or less of the remaining respondents claimed other settings such
as university student counseling centers, criminal justice system, rehabilitation
facilities or other human services settings.
The overall 11-12-month median salary for licensed doctoral-level clinical
psychologists was $72,000 in 2001. Figure 5 and Table 5 contain frequency
distributions and summary statistics, respectively.
Direct Human Services - Counseling (licensed)
Three hundred forty-three respondents were licensed and indicated that they were
involved in the delivery of human services at the doctoral level in counseling
psychology.
The majority of respondents were located in a private practice setting (50%),
comprising individual private practitioners at 30% and group practitioners at 20%.
Twenty-seven percent of the responding psychologists in this category were located
in clinics, community mental health centers (CMHCs), and various other human
service settings (e.g., university/college counseling centers, rehabilitation facilities,
specialized health services). Eleven percent could be found in hospital settings. Four
percent were employed in an academic setting, and 3% claimed government
agencies and criminal justice system, as their primary employment settings.
The overall 11-12-month median salary in 2001 for licensed doctoral-level counseling
psychologists was $66,500. Frequency distributions and summary statistics can be
found in Figure 6 and Table 6, respectively.
Faculty Positions
As is typically the case, doctoral-level respondents in faculty positions comprised one
of the largest groups of respondents to this survey (N=1,939). Incumbents in these
positions primarily were involved in university settings (68%), specifically university
psychology departments (44%), university education departments (12%), university
business departments (4%), and other academic departments in universities (8%).
Thirteen percent were employed in four-year college settings, while eleven percent
were employed in medical school settings. Two-year colleges and professional
schools (free standing and other professional schools) were represented at 2% each.
The largest single proportion of doctoral faculty in 2001 was in clinical psychology
(19%), followed by social psychology and developmental psychology, each at 12%.
These were followed by counseling psychology at 11%. Six percent claimed
industrial/organizational, while 5% each claimed experimental psychology, cognitive
psychology or school psychology as their sub-field in psychology, respectfully. Four
percent claimed educational psychology. Health psychology was represented at 3%,
while two percent or less of the remaining doctoral faculty reported other subfields
such as neuroscience, physiology/ psychobiology, and community psychology.
Frequency distributions and summary statistics are presented for doctoral-level
faculty in Figure 1. The data are reported by academic rank: full professor, associate
professor, assistant professor, lecturer/instructor, and other faculty positions.
Table 1 contains salary information in specific employment settings by rank. Faculty
salaries typically are reported on a 9-10-month basis and the salaries reported in
Table 1 reflect this academic schedule. Conversely, faculty in research centers or
institutes or medical and professional schools are often paid on an 11-12-month
basis. The 9-10-month salaries can be converted to their 11-12-month equivalents
by multiplying the reported salaries by 11/9.
The overall median 9-10-month faculty salary was $55,000 in 2001. Graduate faculty
salaries are examined in more detail in the report, 2001-2002 Faculty Salaries in
Graduate Departments of Psychology (Wicherski, Randall, and Kohout, 2002). In
addition, medical school faculty salaries are described at length in the report, 1997
Employment Characteristics and Salaries of Medical School Psychologists (Williams,
Wicherski, and Kohout, 1998). Both reports include salary breakdowns by years of
experience, academic rank, geographic region, and other categories, and can be
found at APA’s Research Office website http://research.apa.org.
Master's-level Respondents
Direct Human Services
Clinical. Two hundred five respondents indicated that they were providing services in
clinical psychology at the master’s level. The largest single proportion of respondents
indicated that they were employed in individual or group practices (37%). Fourteen
percent each were employed in hospitals and clinics. Specifically, individuals
employed in hospital settings were most often employed in public psychiatric
hospitals (7%), while the majority of respondents within clinics worked at community
mental health centers (8%). Twelve percent of the respondents were employed with
the government, of which the largest proportion claimed they worked within the
criminal justice system (10%). Twenty-two percent of master’s-level clinical
psychologists were employed in positions related to education, such as
university/college counseling centers and school system districts, with the largest
proportion indicating positions at the elementary and secondary school level (4%).
Slightly more than 8% of the respondents worked in other human service settings
such as nursing homes, non-university affiliated guidance centers, and rehabilitation
facilities.
The overall median 11-12-month salary was $46,000 for direct human service
providers at the master’s level who indicated clinical psychology as a major subfield.
Counseling. There were 107 respondents employed in counseling psychology
positions at the master’s level in 2001. Thirty-one percent were employed in
individual or group practices. Sixteen percent of respondents were employed by
clinics, followed by 12% employed in hospital settings. Eleven percent of
respondents in this category were located in other human service settings, such as
nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities. Eight percent indicated employment in
government settings, with the majority in the criminal justice system (4%), and
another 8% were employed in elementary and secondary school settings. Finally, 4%
percent of the respondents in this category were in business related settings, such as
consulting.
The overall median 11-12-month salary for a master’s-level position within
counseling psychology was $42,000.
School. Not surprisingly, the majority of the 88 respondents in this category were
employed in educational settings (96%), including 59% in elementary/secondary
school settings, 24% in school system district offices, and 11% in other educational
settings (e.g. special, or vocational education). The remaining master’s-level
respondents indicated employment in individual private practice (3%) and clinic
settings (1%).
The overall median 11-12-month salary for master’s-level individuals providing
school psychology services was $61,000.
Applied Psychology Positions (Industrial/Organizational Psychology)
Seventy respondents were located in applied psychology and identified
industrial/organizational psychology as their major subfield. The majority of these
respondents were employed outside educational and human service provider
settings. More specifically, 44% percent were employed in business/industry settings
and 27% were employed in consulting firms. Sixteen percent could be found in
government settings, with the greatest proportion of these respondents at the local
level of government (10%), and 4% claimed to be employed as independent
consultants.
The overall median 11-12-month salary for master’s-level respondents in applied
(I/O) positions was $63,000. Salaries of master’s-level respondents (particularly
industrial/organizational psychologists) involved in applied psychology may also be
found in the salary report by SIOP entitled, Income and Employment of SIOP
Members in 2000 (Katkowski and Medsker, 2001).
SUMMARY
The overall median annual earned income for all doctoral-level respondents in 2001
was $72,000. For all master’s-level respondents, the overall median annual earned
income was $55,000 in 2001.
Years
0 - 1 year
Men
Women
Total
Median
Mean
SD
N
50,500
45,000
47,000
50,550
46,367
47 ,654
11,752
13,505
13,090
40
90
130
2 - 4 years
Men
Women
Total
53,000
51,000
52,000
60 ,060
53 ,211
55 ,532
35,177
15,124
24,081
267
521
788
15 - 19 years
Men
Women
Total
77,000
71,000
75,000
84 ,474
76 ,616
80 ,828
33,242
31,232
32,543
454
393
847
Source: 2001 Salaries in Psychology. Research Office, American Psychological Association. 2003.
Experience
TABLE 15.A
Full-time Salaries of Doctoral-Level Respondents Across All Settings
by Years of Work Experience and Gender: 2001
Forensic Psychology links
http://www.wcupa.edu/_ACADEMICS/sch_cas.psy/Career_Paths/Forensic/Career08.
htm
Rankings of top Clinical PhD programs in the U.S.
http://www.socialpsychology.org/clinrank.htm
Samples:
University of Virginia
What is the average GRE score for admission?
General required, not Subject test.
Scores (V + Q):
Most areas 1300+
Clinical 1400+
1200- (slim chance of admittance but other materials within application will be
considered)
What is the average GPA for admission?
Between 3.6 and 3.7.
ADMISSIONS SUMMARY
Year
# of Applicants
# Accepted
# Accepted our offer
2002-2003
Clinical
Cognitive
Community
Developmental
Sensory and Systems Neuroscience
Quantitative
Social
Total
234
19
26
53
19
7
82
440
7
7
4
7
5
3
8
41
4
1
0
5
2
1
2
15
University of South Carolina
The Clinical-Community Program receives up to 300 requests for application materials each year, and of
these approximately 50% complete the application procedures. Only about 6-8 new students are admitted
each year. In the past we have accepted 12-14 new students in a given year. We have made a conscious
effort over the past 5 years to reduce the number of students in our incoming classes in order to invest more
faculty and financial resources into each student. The mean GRE Verbal + Quantitative scores of students
offered admission have consistently exceeded 1200 with grade point ratios ranging from 3.4 to 4.0. Students
who are made offers for admission often have research or applied experiences in addition to their
undergraduate degree.
University of North Dakota
Clinical Program Summary Statistics
APPLICANT DATA
Number of Applicants
Number Accepted for Admission
Actual Size of Incoming Class
1999
90
20
7
2000
52
15
9
2001
46
15
7
2002
55
16
8
2003 2004
69 71
14 13
7
8
Number of Incoming Students
Receiving Financial Aid
7
OF THOSE ACCEPTED FOR ADMISSION
IN
GRE-Verbal Mean Score
GRE-Verbal Median Score
GRE-Quantitative Mean Score
GRE-Quantitative Median Score
GRE-Advanced Mean Score
GRE-Advanced Median Score
Average Undergraduate GPA
7
9
9
7
8
1999 2000 2001 2002
2003 2004
517
510
596
580
613
630
3.76
509
550
561
560
582
605
3.57
488
490
589
550
598
590
3.76
499
490
584
600
627
620
3.45
484
440
532
605
552
525
3.59
520
520
623
600
643
625
3.65