North Carolina Psychology Education Overview
Psychology Licensure in North Carolina
North Carolina is a state that offers a wide variety of occupational niches for its licensed psychologists. Some might wish to work at a hospital in Raleigh, while others might feel called to work with children at a school in Charlotte. Regardless of where you end up, there are many options for the licensed psychologist in North Carolina.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average annual salary for clinical and counseling psychologists in North Carolina is $99,940.
For those with a degree in child psychology or who feel they want to help with the healing of children, consider employment in one of North Carolina’s 130+ school districts. If the idea of working in a hospital with fellow professionals sounds like the right line of work for you, then you may wish to explore work at one of North Carolina’s 130+ major hospitals.
There are many possible career routes for those licensed to practice psychology in North Carolina. We’ve created the following step-by-step guide to help make the licensing process smoother.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024. Salary figures for Clinical and Counseling Psychologists. Salaries based on state data not school specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed May 2025.
Required Educational Background
You must have already attained your doctorate in Psychology to achieve licensure in North Carolina. This in turn means that you will first need to have finished your Bachelor and Master of Psychology degrees to go on and earn your Ph.D.
Studying for and earning your Bachelor of Psychology will help you to learn about your potential career in psychology. You will also discover that your degree helps you find employment in many other human services careers. Your Bachelor of Psychology is also a pre-requisite to earn your doctorate, and therefore a necessary step if you wish to become a licensed psychologist.
Master Level Licensure
Some states, such as North Carolina, allow limited practice with a Master of Psychology degree. You also will have access to a wide variety of human services careers with your master’s degree if you prefer to work outside the field of licensed psychology. If you have your Master of Psychology you will be able to apply to become a Psychologist Associate in North Carolina by performing the following steps:
- You must provide proof of your educational background to the board
- You will need to provide proof of supervised field experience of at least 500 hours supervised practice as defined here:
- You are required to have had face-to-face supervision at least one hour per week during your field experience.
- The supervised field experience must occur within a 12 month period at no more than two sites and must be under the supervision of a Psychologist who holds a license in North Carolina, unless it meets the requirements described in the link above.
You will want to familiarize yourself with state laws and statutes as described here:
Doctoral Level Licensure
To begin your path to licensure you will need your doctorate in psychology from a board approved school. Once you have your doctorate you will need to complete your field experience.
Field Experience and Examination
To continue towards your license you will need to do the following:
- You will need to submit proof of your education
- You will need to have fulfilled the requirement for at least two years of supervised experience (3000 hours) of which one may occur within an internship during your doctoral studies. One year must be completed after receiving your doctorate.
- You can be issued a temporary provisional license if you have finished all requirements for licensure except work experience.
- You should review the exact specifications of your field experience. They can be found here:
- Once you have completed your field experience you can apply to take the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). You can be granted a temporary license in the meantime.
You can find some helpful information about your EPPP exam here: