A new report from CUPA-HR shows that adjuncts make up about 40% of the higher ed faculty workforce, but receive low pay, limited job security and few benefits. Adjunct Faculty in the Higher Education Workforce provides one of the most comprehensive investigations into the current adjunct workforce to date. The report focuses on the demographic makeup of adjuncts, institutional policies around adjunct teaching, and pay.
Some key findings highlighted in the report:
Adjuncts make up approximately 40% of the overall faculty workforce across higher ed. The makeup of adjunct faculty varies by institution type. At private institutions, adjunct faculty make up nearly half (46%) of the faculty workforce. At public institutions, adjuncts account for 37%. Adjuncts are most common at associate’s institutions (66% of the faculty workforce) and least common at doctoral institutions (33%).
Adjuncts make up a small percentage of STEM faculty. Fields with relatively small percentages of adjunct faculty are Engineering (3%), Physical Sciences (6%) and Biological/Biomedical Sciences (8%). Disciplines focused on the arts and public service have a greater proportion of adjuncts, including Liberal Arts and Humanities (32%), Security/Protective Services (25%) and Education (23%). Adjunct pay varies by discipline, with Architecture, Engineering and Legal Professions paying the most.
Adjuncts are provided low pay and few benefits. Despite their high levels of education, adjuncts are paid substantially less than their counterparts in regular appointments. The median pay per credit hour for adjuncts is $1,166. Adjuncts are also typically ineligible for healthcare benefits. In 2024-25, only 37% of institutions offered health benefits to adjunct faculty.
Pay equity lags for women and Black faculty. White women, Black women and Black men are more likely than other demographic groups to occupy adjunct positions. Women represent more than half (57%) of adjunct faculty. Black faculty have twice the representation among adjuncts compared to their representation among tenure-track faculty.
Policies around courses taught by adjuncts may create job instability. At most institutions (70%), low enrollment results in a course being canceled, and adjuncts scheduled to teach these courses receive no pay for the canceled course. For some institutions (13%), low enrollment may reduce pay rates for adjuncts.
Relatively few adjuncts teach as a full-time occupation. We estimate that approximately 7% of adjuncts teach as their main source of income. Based on the median pay per credit hour, adjuncts who teach four courses per semester year-round would be paid approximately $41,976, much lower than the median annual income of full-time workers in the United States.
To dig deeper into these trends and see the full data, explore the complete Adjunct Faculty in the Higher Education Workforce report.
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