By Brielle Johnson and Melissa Fuesting | February 2026
Introduction
Adjunct faculty are hired by institutions to teach specific courses and are paid on a course-by-course basis.[1] Across U.S. colleges and universities, there are more than 650,000 adjunct faculty.[2] In 2024-25, adjuncts accounted for approximately 40% of the higher education faculty workforce.[3]
Despite the sizeable presence of adjunct faculty across higher ed, adjunct positions are typically paid less than their counterparts in regular appointments and have low job security.[4] The median pay per credit hour for adjuncts is $1,166, with the median total pay for an academic term being $4,998.[5] This low pay is especially notable considering the education level of adjuncts, as many colleges and universities require an advanced degree for these positions. In addition to low pay, adjuncts are seldom offered retirement savings plans by their college or university,[6] and they are typically ineligible to receive healthcare benefits from their institution.[7] In 2024-25, only 37% of institutions offered health benefits to their adjunct faculty.[8] Further, many adjuncts work with minimal assurance for ongoing employment beyond the current academic term.[9] Due to the critical role played by adjuncts in post-secondary education as well as the noted vulnerabilities associated with these positions, it is important to better understand this part of the higher ed workforce.
This report provides a deep dive on adjunct faculty, outlining the state of the adjunct workforce and identifying opportunities for increased support for this critical sector of higher ed employees. The findings from the current report contribute to a growing body of research on the conditions of adjunct faculty employment in higher education.
The Data
This report uses data from CUPA-HR’s 2024-25 Faculty in Higher Education Survey and Benefits, Employee Engagement, and Structure (BEES) in Higher Education Survey. Prior to 2024-25, institutions provided aggregate data on their adjunct workforce. In 2024-25, CUPA-HR started collecting adjunct faculty data at the incumbent level through the Faculty in Higher Education Survey, so pay, number of credit hours taught, education-level, and other demographics are now reported for each adjunct at an institution. This change provides deeper insights into adjunct faculty, including the ability to examine differences in pay per credit hour by academic discipline and pay equity by adjunct race/ethnicity and gender. Data were provided by 263 institutions on 43,279 adjuncts, making CUPA-HR’s 2024-25 Faculty in Higher Education Survey the largest source available of current adjunct pay by discipline. Data are also included from the 2024-25 BEES Survey, which collects data on institutional policies related to adjunct pay rates and responsibilities. With 363 institutions participating in 2024-25, the BEES Survey serves as a leading source for data on adjunct workforce policies in higher education.
The Analyses
This report describes the state of the adjunct faculty workforce with a focus on demographic makeup, institutional policies, and pay. First, we examine the composition of the faculty workforce and highlight how the proportion of faculty who are adjuncts varies by institutional control, classification, and discipline.[10] Then, we discuss institutional policies on how adjunct pay is determined and expectations of adjunct faculty. Finally, we present analyses on the characteristics of adjuncts, including number of credit hours taught, education level, and demographics. Throughout this report, we highlight differences in adjunct pay by type of institution, discipline, education level, gender, and race/ethnicity.
Faculty Workforce Proportions
The Percentage of Faculty Who Are Adjuncts Has Remained Consistent for the Past Decade
Across all higher education institutions, adjuncts account for approximately 40% of the faculty workforce. This proportion has been remarkably stable since 2014-15. Past research has shown similar trends, where there was an increase in the percentage of adjuncts from the 1980s to the early 2000s followed by a stabilization in the proportion of adjunct faculty in the workforce.[11] Our data show that the proportion of the faculty workforce accounted for by adjuncts has been consistently around 40% since 2014-15.
Figure 1. Percentage of Adjuncts in the Faculty Workforce From 2014-15 to 2024-25
Adjuncts Account for a Larger Percentage of the Faculty Workforce at Private Institutions Compared to Public Institutions
The percentage of the workforce that are adjuncts varies based on institution control (i.e., public or private not-for-profit). As shown in Figure 2, nearly half (46%) of the faculty workforce at private institutions are adjuncts compared to 37% of the faculty workforce at public institutions.[12] Although the proportion of the faculty workforce accounted for by adjuncts is greater at private institutions, nearly twice as many adjuncts were reported by public institutions, simply because public institutions tend to be larger. Among all adjuncts reported in 2024-25, 64% of adjuncts were employed by public institutions.[13]
Figure 2. Percentage of Adjuncts by Institutional Control
Adjuncts Are Most Common at Associate’s Institutions
Adjuncts account for a much smaller percentage of the faculty workforce (33%) at doctoral institutions compared to other types of institutions (Figure 3).[14] These findings are likely related to differences in institution focus and faculty expectations. At doctoral institutions, it is common to have graduate students lead or support course sections, so these institutions are less reliant on adjuncts to teach courses.[15] Doctoral institutions are typically research-focused and tend to employ faculty who serve as both researchers and educators. In contrast, we find that at associate’s institutions, most of the faculty workforce (66%) are adjuncts. Institutions that award associate’s degrees tend to be teaching-focused and centered on training students for employment in the local community,[16] which likely contributes to the greater presence of adjuncts at these institutions compared to more research-focused institutions. Approximately half of the faculty workforce are adjuncts at baccalaureate and master’s institutions; these institutions tend to be more balanced in their focus on teaching and research.
Figure 3. Percentage of Adjuncts by Institution Classification
Adjuncts Are Paid the Most at Doctoral Institutions
The overall median pay per credit hour for adjuncts is $1,166, which translates to $3,498 for a typical three-credit course. Adjunct faculty pay varies based on institution classification.[17] As shown in Figure 4, institutions that offer higher-level degrees typically pay higher rates to adjunct faculty. That is, median pay per credit hour at baccalaureate institutions is higher compared to pay at associate’s institutions, median pay at master’s institutions is higher compared to baccalaureate institutions, and doctoral institutions pay adjuncts the most. At doctoral institutions, median pay per credit hour is $1,265 compared to $1,028 at associate’s institutions. That’s a difference of $711 for a typical three-credit course.
Figure 4. Median Pay Per Credit Hour by Institution Classification
Adjuncts Make Up a Small Percentage of Faculty in STEM Disciplines
The percentage of faculty who are adjuncts varies by discipline (Figure 5).[18] Many STEM fields have larger proportions of their faculty employed full-time with fewer adjuncts. For example, the following disciplines have relatively small percentages of adjunct faculty: Engineering (3%), Physical Sciences (6%), Biological/Biomedical Sciences (8%), Mathematics and Statistics (11%), and Computer Science (11%). In contrast, disciplines focused on the arts and public service employ a greater proportion of adjuncts. Disciplines with large percentages of adjunct faculty include Liberal Arts and Humanities (32%), Security/Protective Services (25%), Education (23%), Visual/Performing Arts (22%), and Public Administration/Social Service (19%).
There are several reasons that could account for this variability in faculty makeup by discipline. One potential explanation is that disciplines with inconsistent student enrollment may employ more adjunct faculty. Since adjuncts are hired on a course-by-course basis, institutions are typically not committed to employing adjuncts beyond the current term, providing flexibility to adjust adjunct employment based on fluctuations in course enrollment.[19] The large percentage of adjunct faculty in liberal arts and visual/performing arts may also reflect the broad devaluation of these disciplines.[20] In recent years, higher ed has prioritized STEM and other job-oriented programs over disciplines that are less revenue-generating.[21] Colleges and universities may disinvest in certain disciplines by employing larger proportions of adjuncts relative to full-time faculty in those areas.
Figure 5. Percentage of Faculty Who Are Adjuncts by Discipline
Adjuncts Are Paid the Most in Architecture, Engineering, and Legal Professions
Figure 6 shows differences in adjunct pay by discipline.[22] Specifically, this figure depicts how the median adjunct pay for each discipline compares to the overall median adjunct pay. Disciplines paid less than 100% in the figure are paid less than the overall median, whereas disciplines paid over 100% are paid more than the median rate. For example, adjuncts in Psychology are paid slightly below the median adjunct pay, and their median pay is 97% of the overall median pay rate.
Differences in adjunct pay by discipline follow similar trends to full-time faculty pay by discipline.[23] Among adjuncts and full-time faculty, some of the highest-paid disciplines include Architecture, Engineering, Legal Professions, Area/Group Studies, Health Professions, and Business. On the other hand, both adjuncts and full-time faculty receive some of the lowest pay for teaching courses in Recreation/Fitness, Security/Protective Services, History, Education, and English Language/Literature. Many disciplines with relatively large percentages of adjuncts have some of the lowest pay per credit hour (see Figure 5 for percentage of adjuncts by discipline). For example, adjuncts account for 17-25% of faculty in Recreation/Fitness, Security/Protective Services, Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Public Administration/Social Service, Education, English Language/Literature, and Visual/Performing Arts, and all of these disciplines have a median pay that is below the overall median pay per credit hour. Although only 3% of faculty in Engineering are adjuncts, they receive the second highest pay rate. It is likely the case that adjuncts in Engineering and other high-paying disciplines are harder to source.[24] As such, institutions may pay adjuncts more to teach those courses.
Figure 6. Adjunct Faculty Pay Across Disciplines
Institutional Policies on Adjunct Faculty
The Academic Affairs/Provost Office Typically Determines Adjunct Pay Rates
Figure 7 shows that more than half (56%) of institutions indicate their academic affairs/provost office determines how much adjuncts are paid.[25] Collective bargaining agreements and HR offices are the next most common determinants of adjunct pay rates (12% for each). Only 7% of institutions indicate adjunct pay is determined by the department, college, or discipline in which the adjunct teaches.[26] The entity that determines adjunct pay varies based on institution control. Public institutions (18%) are more likely than private institutions (8%) to report that a collective bargaining agreement determines adjunct pay rates. On the other hand, a larger proportion of private institutions (68%) indicate adjunct pay is set by their academic affairs/provost office compared to public institutions (44%). Doctoral institutions are most likely to have adjunct pay determined by individual departments, colleges, or disciplines (17%). Altogether, our findings show that adjunct pay rates are typically set at the institution level by the provost rather than by individual colleges or departments.
Figure 7. Entities That Determine Adjunct Faculty Pay
At Most Institutions, Adjunct-Led Courses Are Canceled When Enrollment Falls Below a Set Number
Since adjuncts are paid on a course-by-course basis, course enrollment is a factor that impacts adjunct pay in all but 12% of institutions (Figure 8). For most institutions (70%), low enrollment results in a course being canceled, and adjuncts scheduled to teach the course receive no pay for the canceled course. Other institutions have different policies for how enrollment impacts adjunct pay. For some institutions (13%), low enrollment may reduce adjunct pay rates. Alternatively, some institutions (4%) pay incrementally based on the number of students enrolled in a course. Public institutions and baccalaureate institutions are most likely to indicate courses are canceled due to low enrollment (76% and 75%, respectively) compared to private institutions (66%) and all other classifications (all 70% or lower).
Figure 8. Adjunct Faculty Pay Policies Related to Enrollment
The Factors Shaping Adjunct Faculty Pay Vary Across Institutions
In addition to the variables noted previously, several additional factors may influence adjunct compensation. As shown in Figure 9, more than half (56%) of institutions indicate that adjunct pay varies based on the adjunct’s level of education (e.g., master’s or doctoral degree), the type of degree program in which the adjunct teaches (i.e., undergraduate or graduate; 53%), and the specific discipline or course taught (54%).[27]
Doctoral institutions are where it is most likely that an adjunct’s level of education (63%) and discipline or course taught (65%) impact pay. Only 41% of baccalaureate institutions and 39% of associate’s institutions indicate pay varies based on adjunct education level. Similarly, 42% of baccalaureate institutions and 39% of associate’s institutions indicate adjunct pay rates differ based on the discipline or course taught. The type of degree program taught impacts adjunct pay rates for a larger percentage of private institutions (60%) compared to public institutions (47%).
Figure 9. Adjunct Faculty Pay Policies Based on Education Level and Courses Taught
Most Institutions Do Not Expect Adjuncts to Perform Work Beyond Their Teaching Responsibilities
Adjunct faculty almost exclusively focus on instruction and are not expected to engage in other activities such as mentoring, research, or governance. In many cases, adjuncts are excluded or discouraged from participation in governing processes and decision-making.[28] As shown in Figure 10, more than two-thirds (67%) of institutions indicate their adjuncts are not expected to fulfill other duties beyond teaching. Some institutions (22%) expect or encourage engagement in additional activities, but adjuncts are not compensated for this extra work. Few institutions (10%) pay adjuncts to engage in additional activities beyond their teaching responsibilities.
Figure 10. Institutional Policies Related to Adjunct Faculty Responsibilities
Adjunct Faculty Characteristics
Adjuncts Typically Teach One or Two Courses Per Term
Figure 11 shows the distribution of credit hours taught by adjuncts.[29] The median number of credit hours taught by adjuncts in a semester or term is five, and most adjuncts (79%) teach six or fewer credit hours at a time. College courses typically consist of three credit hours, which translates to most adjuncts teaching one to two courses per term.[30] Only 8% of adjuncts teach 10 or more credit hours in a semester.
Adjuncts have diverse career goals. Many adjunct faculty have careers outside of academia and teach college courses on the side. Some are interested in part-time work only. Our data suggest that relatively few adjuncts teach as a full-time occupation. As previously mentioned, most college courses are three credit hours, and 7% of adjuncts in our survey teach 12 or more credit hours per term. Teaching 12 credit hours or more is roughly equivalent to teaching four or more courses at a time, which is a typical courseload for full-time teaching faculty. As such, we estimate that approximately 7% of adjuncts teach as their main source of income. Importantly, however, data are reported in CUPA-HR surveys at the institution level, so findings related to number of credit hours taught reflect adjuncts’ work at a single institution. Although most adjunct faculty only teach at a single institution at a time, some adjuncts teach courses at more than one institution.[31] As such, estimates on the proportion of adjuncts who use teaching as their primary occupation may be higher than 7%. Based on the median pay per credit hour, adjuncts who teach four courses per semester year-round (i.e., 36 credit hours) would be paid approximately $41,976.[32] This projected pay for adjuncts teaching full-time is much lower than the median annual income of full-time workers in the United States.[33]
Figure 11. Distribution of Adjuncts by Credit Hours Per Term
Most Adjunct Faculty Have a Master’s Degree or Higher
As noted previously, adjunct faculty tend to be highly educated, as most colleges and universities require an advanced degree for teaching positions.[34] It is common for full-time students to take 2-3 years to earn a master’s degree, during which time students may be limited in how much they can work in addition to incurring debt from student loans.[35] As such, pursuing an advanced degree involves significant time and financial investments. Approximately 88% of adjuncts have an advanced degree, with 59% holding a master’s degree and 29% holding a doctorate as their highest degree (Figure 12).[36] Among adjuncts without an advanced degree, about half teach in either the Health Professions discipline (e.g., Nursing, Allied Health Services/Administration, Dental Support; 25%) or in Visual/Performing Arts (22%).
Figure 12. Percentage of Adjuncts by Highest Degree Held
Adjuncts With a Master’s Degree Are Paid Less Than Those With a Bachelor’s
Pay rates vary by the degree level held by adjuncts. As shown in Figure 13, the median pay per credit hour for adjuncts with a doctorate degree is $1,300. Adjuncts whose highest degree is an associate’s degree have the lowest median pay per credit hour ($990). Although most adjuncts have a master’s degree, they do not benefit from a pay bump for having an advanced degree when compared to their colleagues with a bachelor’s degree. In fact, the median pay per credit hour for adjuncts with a master’s degree is approximately $80 less compared to those with a bachelor’s-level education. This difference in median pay between adjuncts with a bachelor’s versus those with a master’s is likely due in part to the relatively large proportion of bachelor’s-level adjuncts teaching courses in Health Professions. Approximately 23% of adjuncts with a bachelor’s degree teach in the Health Professions discipline compared to 12% of those with a master’s degree. As shown in a previous section of this report (Figure 6), the median pay for adjuncts in Health Professions is higher than the overall median adjunct pay per credit hour. Compared to adjuncts with a bachelor’s degree, adjuncts with a master’s degree are more likely to teach courses in some of the lowest paid disciplines (e.g., Education, English Language/Literature, Mathematics and Statistics, Public Administration/Social Service).
Figure 13. Median Pay Per Credit Hour by Adjunct Degree Type
Women and Black Faculty Are Better Represented Among Adjuncts Than Among Tenure-Track Faculty
Figure 14 shows the composition of adjunct, tenure-track, and non-tenure-track faculty by gender and race/ethnicity.[37] Women represent the majority of faculty within the adjunct (57%) and non-tenure-track (57%) workforces compared to only 44% of tenure-track faculty.[38] Although non-tenure-track positions are full-time, they do not offer the same job security and are typically paid less than tenure-track positions.[39] Altogether, these findings show that women are more likely than men to hold faculty positions that are generally lower pay with less job security.
Adjuncts and tenure-track faculty also differ in terms of race/ethnicity (Figure 14). For example, Black faculty have twice the representation among adjuncts compared to their representation among tenure-track faculty. Only 5% of tenure-track and 7% of non-tenure-track faculty are Black, whereas 10% of adjuncts are Black. In contrast, Asian faculty have stronger representation among full-time faculty (16% among tenure-track faculty and 10% among non-tenure-track faculty) compared to adjunct faculty. Only 6% of adjuncts are Asian. Hispanic faculty are represented at roughly equivalent rates among adjunct (7%) and full-time (6%) faculty. Overall, findings show that White women and Black men and women are more likely than other demographic groups to occupy adjunct positions. On the other hand, men and Asian faculty are better represented in positions that offer more job security and higher pay (i.e., tenure-track and non-tenure-track positions).
Figure 14. Composition of Faculty by Gender and Race/Ethnicity
Issues With Pay Equity Persist for Adjuncts But Not Full-Time Faculty
Figure 15 shows how adjunct faculty pay for women and people of color compares to White men.[40] Pay equity for adjuncts is lowest for Black men and women, Hispanic men, and White women, all of whom are paid $0.95 for every dollar White men are paid.[41] Notably, these disparities in pay for people of color are not present among full-time faculty — most tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty of color are paid on a more equitable basis to their colleagues who are White men.[42]
As shown in Figure 14, only 6% of adjuncts are Asian. Despite the low representation, Asian men and Asian women are paid $1.11 and $1.10, respectively, for every dollar White men are paid in adjunct positions and are paid more compared to all other groups. This may be in part related to differences in concentration by race/ethnicity across disciplines. Earlier in this report (Figure 6), we highlight differences in median pay by discipline. Relative to Black, Hispanic, and White adjuncts, Asian adjuncts are more concentrated in some of the highest-paid disciplines (e.g., Engineering, Foreign Languages/Literature) and have limited representation in several of the lowest-paid disciplines (e.g., Recreation/Fitness, Security/Protective Services, Public Administration/Social Service, Education). Additionally, a greater proportion of Asian adjuncts (37%) hold a doctorate degree compared to Black (32%), Hispanic (26%), and White (28%) adjuncts. As shown in Figure 13, adjuncts with doctorate degrees have the highest median pay rates.
Figure 15. Median Pay Ratios for Adjunct Faculty
Conclusions
This report provides one of the most comprehensive investigations into the current state of the adjunct workforce in higher education that exists. By collecting adjunct data at the incumbent level, CUPA-HR data offer unique insights on adjunct pay and composition by discipline, institution control and classification, and the ability to identify pay inequities by gender and race/ethnicity. Despite a heavy reliance on adjunct faculty to teach college courses, the current report highlights the relatively low pay received by adjuncts across higher ed. Our findings support and extend past research on adjunct faculty regarding pay, policies, and representation. Below, we summarize key takeaways from this report and offer recommendations to higher education institutions.
Adjuncts are most common at associate’s and private institutions, but they have a strong presence across higher ed. Associate’sinstitutions have a faculty workforce that is composed of mostly adjuncts (66%). Adjuncts also make up a larger proportion of faculty at private (46%) versus public (37%) institutions. However, adjuncts are common across all colleges and universities. Even at institutions with the smallest proportion of adjuncts (i.e., doctoral institutions), one third of faculty are adjuncts. Variability in faculty makeup across institutions may be associated with differences in budget and mission (e.g., relative focus on teaching versus research).
Adjunct pay and faculty workforce makeup vary by discipline. STEM fields tend to have small proportions of their faculty workforce as adjuncts. For example, only 3% of Engineering faculty are adjuncts, whereas 32% of faculty in Liberal Arts and Humanities are adjuncts. These differences in faculty makeup by discipline are likely related to variability in research funding across disciplines. STEM fields (e.g., Biological/Biomedical Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science) are among the top recipients of research funding from the federal government (e.g., NSF, NIH) and other external sources.[43] Since adjuncts almost exclusively focus on teaching, STEM fields may be more likely to employ full-time faculty who serve as both educators and researchers in addition to having graduate students who may also teach courses. Findings related to adjunct pay differences by discipline track with findings for full-time faculty. Faculty, regardless of full-time or adjunct status, are paid some of the highest rates in Architecture, Engineering, Legal Professions, Area/Group Studies, Health Professions, and Business. Both adjuncts and full-time faculty receive relatively low pay in areas of Recreation/Fitness, Security/Protective Services, History, Education, and English Language/Literature.
Despite being highly educated, adjuncts receive low pay for teaching college courses. Most adjuncts (88%) have an advanced degree, but their expertise is not well compensated. Although adjunct pay may vary due to a number of factors (e.g., institution control, degree held, discipline taught), the median pay per credit hour (i.e., $1,166) is the full-time equivalent of less than $42,000 annually.[44] This is well below the median annual income in the United States.[45] On top of this low pay, adjuncts typically do not receive employment benefits (e.g., health insurance, retirement contributions) from their college or university due to their positions being considered temporary, part-time. As noted earlier in this report, most adjuncts are likely not teaching college courses as their sole source of income. We estimate that roughly 7% of adjuncts use teaching as their full-time job, although this could be an underestimation.
Inequities in pay and representation exist for women and racial/ethnic minority adjuncts. Historically underrepresented groups (e.g., women and Black faculty) are better represented within the adjunct workforce than the tenure-track faculty workforce. Although professorship is generally considered a prestigious career, there are stark differences in pay and job security between adjunct and tenure-track positions. Adjunct positions offer little to no job security; most institutions (70%) will cancel courses due to low enrollment, which can leave adjuncts scrambling to find alternative income streams since they are paid on a course-by-course basis. Although tenure-track faculty have experienced salary stagnation,[46] their compensation is still much higher than adjuncts. On top of inequities in representation between adjuncts and tenure-track faculty, there are pay disparities for women and people of color within the adjunct faculty workforce. White women, Black men and women, and Hispanic men make less than White men in adjunct positions. Altogether, findings from the current report highlight concerning inequities in pay and representation in the adjunct workforce.
Recommendations
Recognize the value adjuncts bring to your institution. Begin by understanding what percentage of your faculty workforce is made up of adjuncts, as well as what proportion of the courses offered are taught by adjuncts, and ensure your leadership knows these numbers. Adjuncts are highly educated professionals, with 88% of adjuncts holding an advanced degree. Our data suggest a relatively small proportion of adjuncts use teaching as their only source of income, and many adjuncts have careers outside of academia. In addition to being subject matter experts, adjuncts with industry careers can offer valuable insights from their experiences working in their field and connections to professional networks. Colleges and universities should recognize the value of their adjuncts’ industry knowledge and how their experience as practitioners can benefit students. Adjuncts may be particularly well suited to offer career guidance to prepare students for future employment given their experience working outside of higher ed. However, it is important that institutions appropriately compensate adjuncts for their time and mentorship outside of the classroom, as most colleges and universities do not pay adjuncts for additional work beyond teaching responsibilities.
Ensure adjuncts are paid fairly and equitably for their work. All institutions should review their current adjunct pay rates and structures to ensure these professionals are paid fairly for their important contributions. It is concerning that the full-time equivalent of the median adjunct pay per credit hour is less than $42,000 annually. Our findings also highlight pay inequities for women and people of color in adjunct positions. Further, we note differences in adjunct pay by discipline; of particular concern, we find that many disciplines with large percentages of adjuncts offer some of the lowest adjunct pay rates (e.g., Recreation/Fitness, Security/Protective Services, Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Public Administration/Social Service). Even if most adjuncts do not rely on this pay for their primary source of income, they should be adequately compensated for their time and expertise.
About the Authors:
Brielle Johnson, Ph.D., is a survey researcher at CUPA-HR.
Melissa Fuesting, Ph.D., is associate director of research at CUPA-HR.
Graphics were created by Kate Roesch, data visualization developer at CUPA-HR.
Citation for This Report:
Johnson, Brielle, & Fuesting, Melissa. (2026, February). Adjunct Faculty in the Higher Education Workforce. CUPA-HR. https://www.cupahr.org/resource/adjunct-faculty-in-the-higher-education-workforce/
Read our full research disclaimer and terms of use.
Some sources use the term “adjunct” interchangeably with “part-time” faculty. We use “adjunct” throughout this report for consistency.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) [Data set].
CUPA-HR. (2025). Higher Education Workforce Surveys, 2024-25.
Kuimelis, C. & Flannery, M. (2023, May 23). Life as a Contingent Faculty Member. National Education Association.
Pay per credit hour and number of credit hours taught were collected for each adjunct reported in the survey, and total pay was calculated for each adjunct by multiplying number of credit hours they taught by their pay per credit hour; CUPA-HR. (2025). 2024-25 Faculty in Higher Education Survey [Data set].
Yakoboski, P. (2019, March). Adjunct Faculty: Personal Finances and Retirement Savings. TIAA Institute.
Flannery, M. (2023, November 29). Part-Time Faculty in Oregon Win Health Care Access. National Education Association.
CUPA-HR. (2025). Benefits, Employee Experience, and Structure Survey, 2024-25 [Data set].
Anthony, W., Levine Brown, P., Fynn, N., & Gadzekpo, P. (2020). The Plight of Adjuncts in Higher Education. Practitioner to Practitioner.
Institutional control is defined by IPEDS and refers to how an institution is governed. Private, for-profit institutions are not included in this report.
Colby, G. (2025). Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher Education, Fall 2023. AAUP.
Data in this section of the report come from CUPA-HR’s Institutional Basics Survey and the Faculty in Higher Education Survey. Institutions that participate in any CUPA-HR survey are required to provide institutional basics data. Data sources are referenced at the top of each figure.
Past research aligns with the current work on adjunct employment at private and public institutions; Yakoboski, P. J. (2015, May). The Career Experience of Academics in Adjunct Faculty Positions. TIAA Institute.
Analyses in this report that include Carnegie classifications are based on highest degree awarded using 2025 Carnegie classifications.
Desrochers, D. M., & Kirshstein, R. (2014, February). Labor Intensive or Labor Extensive? Changing Staffing and Compensation Patterns in Higher Education. American Institutes for Research.
D’Amico, M. M., Sublett, C. M., Bartlett, J. E. (2019). Preparing the Workforce in Today’s Community Colleges: Issues and Implications for Higher Education Leaders. American Council on Education.
Adjunct pay is shaped by a variety of factors that differ across institutions. See Figures 7-10 of this report.
Disciplines with at least 200 reported adjuncts were included in analyses that focus on differences by academic discipline. The number of adjuncts in each discipline ranged from 277 to 6,054, with a total of 41,714 adjuncts across disciplines included in these analyses. CUPA-HR uses the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) developed by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics when collecting data on faculty.
Hurlburt, S., & McGarrah, M. (2016, October). The Shifting Academic Workforce: Where Are the Contingent Faculty? American Institutes for Research.
Johnson, B., & Fuesting, M. (2025, May). Two Decades of Change: Faculty Discipline Trends in Higher Education. CUPA-HR.
Dutt-Ballerstadt, R. (2019, February 28). Academic Prioritization or Killing the Liberal Arts? Inside Higher Ed.
Disciplines with at least 200 reported adjuncts were included in this analysis. The number of reported adjuncts in each discipline ranged from 277 to 6,054, with a total of 41,714 adjuncts across disciplines.
For a review of salaries by discipline for full-time faculty, see our report, Two Decades of Change: Faculty Discipline Trends in Higher Education. To obtain more statistics and specific pay comparisons for adjunct faculty, subscribe to DataOnDemand.
Michigan Tech. (2025). 2025 Engineering Salary Statistics.
All data in this section of the report related to institutional policies come from CUPA-HR’s 2024-25 Benefits, Employee Experience, and Structure (BEES) Survey.
Institutions that determined adjunct pay rates via collective bargaining agreement paid the highest median rates per credit hour ($1,545). Institutions that determined pay rates via academic affairs/provost had the second-highest median pay per credit hour ($1,133), followed by individual departments ($1,083) and human resources/payroll ($1,076). The lowest pay per credit hour was at institutions where the president or board of trustees determined adjunct pay rates ($963).
These three questions were asked independently in the survey. We also analyzed whether institutions used a combination of the three factors (i.e., level of education, type of degree program, discipline) to determine adjunct pay. Overall, 31% of institutions used all three factors, 21% used a combination of two of these factors, 25% used one of the factors, and the remainder (23%) used none of the factors to determine adjunct pay. There was little consensus across institutions in which combination of these three factors were used to determine adjunct pay.
Alsunaydi, R. (2020). The Implications of Adjunct Faculty on Higher Education Institutions. Journal of Education and Practice, 11(32), 110-114. doi: 10.7176/JEP/11-32-13.
All data in this section of the report related to adjunct faculty characteristics come from CUPA-HR’s 2024-25 Faculty in Higher Education Survey.
Odle, T. K., Dundar, A., Shapiro, D., Chen, X., & England, B. (2022). PDP Insights: Credit Accumulation and Completion Rates among First-Year College Students. National Student Clearinghouse.
Yakoboski, P. J. (2018, November). Adjunct Faculty: Who They Are and What is Their Experience? TIAA Institute.
An adjunct earning the median pay per credit hour and teaching 36 credit hours per year would earn approximately 125% of the federal poverty level for a family of four; 2025 Poverty Guidelines: 48 Contiguous States. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025, December 4). Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers Third Quarter 2025. U.S. Department of Labor.
Education requirements for postsecondary teaching positions vary by discipline and across institutions; Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025). Occupational Outlook Handbook: Postsecondary Teachers. U.S. Department of Labor.
Calhoun, J. A. (2025, July 14). How Long Does It Take to Get a Master’s Degree? U.S. News & World Report.
Highest degree awarded data was reported as “unknown” for 10,426 adjuncts. Adjuncts with unknown highest degree were not included in this analysis. Excluding adjuncts with an “unknown” degree level resulted in a sample of 32,869 adjuncts for this analysis.
Data were included for adjuncts where both race/ethnicity and gender were reported (n = 36,814). In addition to gender and race/ethnicity, we also examined the average age of adjuncts and tenure-track faculty and found no notable differences. Adjunct faculty had an average age of 49.6 years (SD = 13.5) compared to 51.1 (SD = 11.3) years among tenure-track faculty.
Non-tenure-track faculty in this report includes teaching- and research-focused non-tenure-track faculty. The Faculty Survey Participation and Information Template provides a detailed explanation of faculty types.
For a deep dive on full-time faculty, see our report, Representation and Pay Equity in Higher Education Faculty: A Review and Call to Action.
Due to smaller sample sizes and limited generalizability, adjunct pay ratios for Native American/AK Native, Native HI/Other Pacific Islander, or two or more races were excluded from pay ratio analyses. “People of color” refers to race/ethnicity designations other than White.
Pay ratios were obtained by calculating median salaries by race/ethnicity and gender for each discipline and then finding the median of those medians by race/ethnicity and gender. Finally, each group’s median pay was divided by median pay of White men to produce pay ratios. This calculation controls for potential differences in representation of women and adjuncts of color across disciplines, ensuring any identified inequities in pay are not explained by the fact that women or people of color may have greater representation in lower-paying disciplines.
CUPA-HR. (2025, August). Faculty Composition and Pay Equity by Tenure Status, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity.
Nietzel, M. T. (2023, December 4). The Top 25 American Universities For R&D Spending: Johns Hopkins #1 Again. Forbes.
This calculation is based on an adjunct being paid the median pay per credit hour while teaching four courses per semester (i.e., 36 credit hours annually), which is considered a typical full-time courseload for teaching faculty.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025, December 4). Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers Third Quarter 2025. U.S. Department of Labor.
CUPA-HR. (2025). Workforce Pay Increases.