About the Center for Workforce Studies
APA's Center for Workforce Studies (CWS) collects, analyzes and disseminates data about the psychology workforce and education system.
Through the use of surveys, federal statistics and data mining, we gather information about the profession of psychology — including its scientific and educational communities, practitioners, and psychologists working in the public interest.
We collect data on:
- Psychologists in the U.S. (demographics, employment, work settings, licensure, etc.).
- Faculty in psychology departments (rank, tenure status, salary, field, salaries, etc.).
- Psychology students (degrees awarded, demographics, etc.).
- Salary in psychology (academic and non-academic).
- APA members (demographics, employment, fields, division memberships, licensure, etc.).
The center does not maintain data on actual job listings or employment opportunities. Please refer to APA Monitor, PsycCareers, Chronicle of Higher Educationopens in new window, or other sources for employment opportunities in psychology.
Areas of Research
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Psychology Workforce
What does the workforce look like in psychology? CWS collects information on demographics and diversity, employment settings, activities, levels of compensation and satisfaction with employment. -
Psychology Education Pipeline
Who is moving through the educational pipeline in psychology? CWS collects information on the demographic and educational backgrounds of students and graduates. CWS also provides data on sources of support and debt, Internship imbalance, post-doctorate experiences, and the need for diversity. -
Estimate of Need and Demand
Where do psychologists find employment? Where are they needed? Identification of areas and applications that represent areas of opportunity for employment will be included. Hard and fast forecasts are rare given the complexity of defining need and identifying an appropriate supply. It is common to make estimates in the context of certain assumptions or alternative scenarios. -
Comprehensive Environmental Scan
How might changes on the environment impact psychology? In short, environmental scans provide a context for the interpretation of workforce data relative to trends or possible trends in the social, technological, economic and political sectors external to but possibly related to the discipline or profession for which the workforce analysis is conducted. These trends may have a potential impact on supply and demand issues.
Data Sources
Our data sources include but are not limited to:
CWS/APA Data Sources
- Health Service Provider Survey
- APA Member Profile
- Graduate Study in Psychology
Administrative Data Sources
- State Licensure Board Lists
Federal Data Sources
- National Science Foundation (NSF), National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES)
- U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
- National Institute of Health (NIH)
Other Data Sources
- College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR)
- Institute of International Education (IIE)