Careers in Educational Psychology

Education and training

A person may be considered an educational psychologist if he or she has completed a graduate degree in educational psychology or a closely related field. Universities establish educational psychology graduate programs in either psychology departments or, more commonly, faculties of education. Psychologists who work in a k-12 school setting are usually trained at either the masters or doctoral (PhD or EdD) level. In addition to conducting assessments, school psychologists provide services such as academic and behavioral intervention, counseling, teacher consultation, and crisis intervention.

Employment outlook

Employment or psychologist is expected to grow faster than average (18-26%) for all occupations through the year 2014. One in four psychologist are employed in educational settings. In the United States, the median salary for psychologists in primary and secondary schools is $58,360 as of May 2004.

In recent decades the participation of women as professional researchers in North American educational psychology has risen dramatically. The percentage of female authors of peer-reviewed journal articles doubled from 1976 (24%) to 1995 (51%), and has since remained constant. Female membership on educational psychology journal editorial boards increased from 17% in 1976 to 47% in 2004. Over the same period, the proportion of chief editor positions held by women increased from 22% to 70%.