How much do adjunct social work professors make per course?

Across 47 social work adjunct postings that disclose pay, the median is $3,600 per course; the middle half of listings fall between $1,208 and $4,851.

Do online adjunct social work jobs pay less?

Online social work listings show a median of $2,253 per course against $3,600 overall (from 2 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 $3,600 median, three courses a term over two terms is about $21,600 before tax, with no benefits. Loads are usually capped below the level that would trigger benefits eligibility.

Adjunct social work professor pay per course

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

Median per course · social work: $3,600
Middle half of listings (25th–75th): $1,208 – $4,851
Typical range (5th–95th): $942 – $7,940
Institutions disclosing pay: 31

Based on 47 listings that disclose per-course pay.

Highest-paying institutions

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

By state

States with at least five disclosed-pay social work listings.

California$7,800n=5
Massachusetts$5,583n=6
Texas$3,500n=5
Illinois$3,300n=10
Ohio$942n=5

Twelve-month trend

$15,211

Mar 2026

$3,600

Apr 2026

$942

May 2026

$3,871

Jun 2026

$3,000

Jul 2026

$4,638

Aug 2026

$4,607

Sep 2026

$3,300

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 $3,600 per course:

2 courses × 2 terms: $14,400
3 courses × 2 terms: $21,600
4 courses × 3 terms: $43,200

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

Frequently asked questions

How much do adjunct social work professors make per course?: Across 47 social work adjunct postings that disclose pay, the median is $3,600 per course; the middle half of listings fall between $1,208 and $4,851.
Do online adjunct social work jobs pay less?: Online social work listings show a median of $2,253 per course against $3,600 overall (from 2 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 $3,600 median, three courses a term over two terms is about $21,600 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.

Open adjunct social work jobs Online social work adjunct jobs All disciplines