How much do adjunct psychology professors make per course?

Across 87 psychology adjunct postings that disclose pay, the median is $3,513 per course; the middle half of listings fall between $2,611 and $6,387.

Do online adjunct psychology jobs pay less?

Online psychology listings show a median of $2,850 per course against $3,513 overall (from 6 online postings with disclosed pay). Institutions usually pay online and in-person sections at the same rate; the gap reflects which institutions hire online.

What would that be per year?

At the $3,513 median, three courses a term over two terms is about $21,078 before tax, with no benefits. Loads are usually capped below the level that would trigger benefits eligibility.

Adjunct psychology professor pay per course

From real psychology adjunct and lecturer postings across U.S. colleges and universities, refreshed daily. Live and recently closed listings both count.

Median per course · psychology: $3,513
Middle half of listings (25th–75th): $2,611 – $6,387
Typical range (5th–95th): $945 – $9,796
Institutions disclosing pay: 65

Based on 87 listings that disclose per-course pay.

Highest-paying institutions

Median per course among institutions with at least three disclosed-pay psychology listings.

Augsburg University$6,975n=3
Edmonds College$6,387n=4
Governors State University$3,300n=6
Truckee Meadows Community College$1,150n=3

By state

States with at least five disclosed-pay psychology listings.

California$8,509n=10
Minnesota$6,596n=6
Massachusetts$5,500n=15
New York$4,781n=7
Illinois$3,300n=13
Texas$2,800n=9

Twelve-month trend

$6,387

Nov 2025

$4,939

Feb 2026

$15,211

Mar 2026

$3,275

Apr 2026

$3,225

May 2026

$4,005

Jun 2026

$3,823

Jul 2026

$4,050

Aug 2026

$3,513

Sep 2026

$3,500

Oct 2026

Median per-course pay of listings posted each month.

What the median means per year

Adjuncts are paid per course, so annual income depends on load. At $3,513 per course:

2 courses × 2 terms: $14,052
3 courses × 2 terms: $21,078
4 courses × 3 terms: $42,156

Before tax, no benefits. Most institutions cap adjuncts below the load that would trigger benefits eligibility.

Frequently asked questions

How much do adjunct psychology professors make per course?: Across 87 psychology adjunct postings that disclose pay, the median is $3,513 per course; the middle half of listings fall between $2,611 and $6,387.
Do online adjunct psychology jobs pay less?: Online psychology listings show a median of $2,850 per course against $3,513 overall (from 6 online postings with disclosed pay). Institutions usually pay online and in-person sections at the same rate; the gap reflects which institutions hire online.
What would that be per year?: At the $3,513 median, three courses a term over two terms is about $21,078 before tax, with no benefits. Loads are usually capped below the level that would trigger benefits eligibility.

Where these numbers come from

Every figure is computed from adjunct, lecturer, and part-time faculty postings that OpenLecture tracks across 4,000+ U.S. institutions, refreshed daily. Closed listings stay in the sample, so the picture covers roughly the past year.
Only postings that state a per-course amount are compared. Hourly and annual quotes are reported separately and never converted.
Where a range is posted, the top of the range is used. Figures below $500 or above $25,000 per course are excluded as mislabelled periods.
Medians are shown, not averages, so a handful of outliers cannot move them. Pages with fewer than 25 disclosed-pay listings carry a warning.
Roughly a quarter of adjunct postings disclose pay at all; these numbers describe the institutions that do.

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