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
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 Median Mean SD N
0 - 1 year
Men 50,500 50,550 11,752 40
Women 45,000 46,367 13,505 90
Total 47,000 47 ,654 13,090 130
2 - 4 years
Men 53,000 60 ,060 35,177 267
Women 51,000 53 ,211 15,124 521
Total 52,000 55 ,532 24,081 788
15 - 19 years
Men 77,000 84 ,474 33,242 454
Women 71,000 76 ,616 31,232 393
Total 75,000 80 ,828 32,543 847
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
Rankings of top Clinical PhD programs in the U.S.
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 SUMMARYYear / # 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 / 1999 / 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004Number of Applicants / 90 / 52 / 46 / 55 / 69 / 71
Number Accepted for Admission / 20 / 15 / 15 / 16 / 14 / 13
Actual Size of Incoming Class / 7 / 9 / 7 / 8 / 7 / 8
Number of Incoming Students Receiving Financial Aid / 7 / 7 / 9 / 9 / 7 / 8
OF THOSE ACCEPTED FOR ADMISSION IN / 1999 / 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004
GRE-Verbal Mean Score / 517 / 488 / 499 / 484 / 509 / 520
GRE-Verbal Median Score / 510 / 490 / 490 / 440 / 550 / 520
GRE-Quantitative Mean Score / 596 / 589 / 584 / 532 / 561 / 623
GRE-Quantitative Median Score / 580 / 550 / 600 / 605 / 560 / 600
GRE-Advanced Mean Score / 613 / 598 / 627 / 552 / 582 / 643
GRE-Advanced Median Score / 630 / 590 / 620 / 525 / 605 / 625
Average Undergraduate GPA / 3.76 / 3.76 / 3.45 / 3.59 / 3.57 / 3.65