There are only two psychology schools and colleges in Kansas with accreditation from the American Psychological Association, two with approval from the National Register of Health Service Psychologists, and three with formal recognition from the National Association of School Psychologists.
The National Center for Education Statistics counted just 151 master’s degree students in psychology in the state of Kansas during the 2011-2012 academic year, with ranked 32nd in the country. Kansas ranked 35th overall in undergraduates majoring in psychology that same year, with 718.
- The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics found a total of 1,230 clinical, counseling, and school psychologists employed across the state of Kansas as of May 2015.
- The average annual salary for those psychologists was $65,030, which was below the national average of $76,040.
- The Kansas Department of Labor is projecting a 10 percent increase in employment for psychologists state-wide through the year 2012, but that too is lower than the national projections, which are closer to 19percent.
Region | Career | Total Employment | MeanAnnualWage |
---|---|---|---|
Topeka, KS | Marriage and Family Therapists | 40 | $43,380 |
Lawrence, KS | Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists | 30 | $53,770 |
Topeka, KS | Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists | 90 | $51,360 |
Wichita, KS | Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists | 200 | $58,670 |
2019 Occupational Employment Statistics and 2018-28 Employment Projections, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS.gov.
Kansas psychology licensing requirements
All psychologists who intend to practice professionally in Kansas must be licensed at the state level by the Kansas Behavioral Science Regulatory Board. The minimum educational requirement for licensure is a doctoral degree in psychology from an accredited college or university program. The specific requirements are spelled out in the list below:
- Earn a doctoral degree in psychology from an accredited program
- Complete two years of supervised work experience in the field of psychology
- Earn a passing score on the Examination for the Professional Practice of Psychology
- Supply letters or recommendation or supervisory attestations from four psychologist
Psychologists who practice professionally in the state of Kansas must renew their licenses every two years, by June 30 of every even-numbered year. Depending on when the original license was granted, renewal applicants must demonstrate that they have completed up to 50 hours of qualifying continuing education credits.
Featured psychology schools in Kansas
There are three psychology schools and colleges in Kansas that qualified for the latest national rankings of psychology graduate programs by U.S. News & World Report. They are listed below along with an additional program that is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists:
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas, or KU, is a public research university that is the flagship institution of the Kansas state system. It encompasses and medical center and a hospital located in Kansas City, and satellite campuses in Wichita, Lawrence, Overland Park, and Salina. The school’s Department of Psychology sits atop Mount Oread on the Lawrence campus, and features APA accredited programs in clinical psychology and child psychology. For undergraduates, the psych program offers a BA major in psychology and BS major in behavioral neuroscience. For doctoral students, KU has research and training in six program areas: clinical child psychology; clinical psychology; cognitive and brain sciences; developmental psychology; quantitative psychology; and social psychology. The School of Education at KU houses a Department of Educational Psychology, which awards master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees in counseling psychology, educational psychology and research, and school psychology.
- Department: University of Kansas Department of Psychology and Department of Educational Psychology
- Location: Lawrence, Kansas
- Online options: KU has an active online education program that includes a bachelor’s degree in psychology
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, or K-State, as it’s often referred to, is a public research university that’s also part of the state system in Kansas. The Department of Psychological Sciences at K-State has a large undergraduate program in psychology that allows for a concentration in clinical psychology. At the graduate level, research and training in psychology at K-State is divided into four primary areas: behavioral neuroscience/animal learning; cognitive/human factors; industrial/organizational psychology; and social/personality psychology. In addition to its Ph.D. programs, the department awards a terming master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology.
- Department: Kansas State University Department of Psychological Sciences
- Location: Manhattan, Kansas
- Online options: Through its Global Campus initiative, Kansas State offers a variety of online degrees, including a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology
Wichita State University
Wichita State is another of the public research universities that’s part of the state system in Kansas. It features an APA accredited graduate program that awards Ph.D.s in three central areas of study: clinical psychology, community psychology, and human factors psychology. Undergraduates who major in psychology have the option of earning certificates in community psychology and human factors psychology. The Wichita State Department of Psychology is active in researching behavioral economics; personality and psychopathology; aging, perception, and performance; and aviation psychology. In addition, the College of Education at Wichita State confers mater of education and specialist degrees in educational and school psychology.
- Department: Wichita State University Department of Psychology and College of Education
- Location: Wichita, Kansas
- Online options: Wichita State does offer online degrees, but not in the field of psychology
Emporia State University
Emporia State University is also part of the state system of public universities in Kansas. It is located in Emporia, and it is best known for its top-notch Teachers College. Indeed, it is the one institution in Kansas with programs in school and educational psychology that are recognized by the National Association of School Psychologists. The Department of Psychology, which is housed in Teachers College, has an undergraduate major in psychology, which can be pursued along three different tracks: a bachelor of arts, a bachelor of science, or a bachelor of science in education in psychology. The school does not offer doctoral degrees in psychology. But it does have three areas of study for master’s degrees in in the field: clinical psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, and school psychology.
- Department: Emporia State University Teachers College
- Location: Emporia, Kansas
- Online options: Emporia State’s distance education program includes two options for psychology master’s degrees: general experimental psychology and industrial/organizational psychology