Fastest Way To Become a Psychologist in North Carolina 2025

The psychology profession can be a rewarding career. While it takes time to complete psychologist credentialing, you can pursue some of the fastest PsyD programs to accelerate your degree.

North Carolina offers an array of psychology programs for bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees. These further develop skills, knowledge, and experience in psychology. You can discover the quickest way to become a psychologist by selecting the right program, considering online programs, and exploring other tips to quickly reach your goals.

How Long Does It Take to Become a Psychologist in North Carolina?

It typically takes between eight and 12 years to become a psychologist in North Carolina. The difference between the lower and higher ends of that range depends on whether students pursue full-time education or complete coursework at a part-time pace. The longest part of this process is the time required to complete a Doctor in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) degree or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Educational Requirements To Become a Psychologist in North Carolina

North Carolina requires psychologists to possess a doctoral degree in psychology from a program accredited by the American Psychology Association (APA). There are also further educational requirements depending on the psychology specialization you pursue.

North Carolina requires school psychologists to complete a specific program, which involves getting a passing score on the Praxis School Psychology Educational Testing Service. If you seek to become a licensed psychological associate, then you will need just a master's degree. Below are the most important steps for becoming a psychologist faster in North Carolina.

1. Explore Psychology Career Paths

North Carolina allows professionals to become either a licensed psychologist or a licensed psychological associate. These career paths dictate how much education and clinical experience you will need. The former requires a doctoral degree, whereas you can reach the latter through just a master's degree program.

We've featured three North Carolina programs, which offer all the requisite graduate degrees. They allow prospective psychologists to explore every important career path, including clinical psychology, school psychology, social work, and more. North Carolina universities also offer coursework to prepare you for a psychology license.

2. Go to School for Psychology

Graduate programs in psychology are rigorous, and admission to an accredited program is very competitive. The first step will be to obtain a bachelor's in psychology, achieve a high grade point average (GPA), take accelerated courses (if available), and get a high score on the Graduate Records Examination (GRE).

If you want to become a licensed psychologist, prepare for about 60 to 94 hours of doctoral-level coursework. A master's degree is enough for some psychologist roles, but most clinical practice requires a doctorate. In North Carolina, you can bypass the master's degree and enroll directly into a doctoral program with an exemplary undergraduate record.

3. Get Licensed for Psychology

North Carolina's licensing requirements depend on which career path you select. There are different application forms and fees for psychological associates, health services providers, and senior psychologist associates.

The application requires a background check (with fingerprinting), an explanation of post-doctoral experience, and completion of both the state examination and national examination. You can find the license application form and application fees on the North Carolina Psychology Board website.

4. Renew Your Licensure

North Carolina psychologists must renew their licenses every two years on even-numbered years before Oct. 1. The license renewal, which you can complete online, requires psychologists to document and explain any infractions that may have occurred during their practice of psychology. This includes malpractice incidents, felonies, license or permit denials, and guilty pleas for misdemeanors.

Psychologists must also provide evidence of continuing education. This consists of 18 hours with three hours of training on ethical and legal issues in the professional practice of psychology.

How To Become a North Carolina-Licensed Psychologist in the Shortest Timeframe

You can reduce the time it takes to earn a degree and begin your career as a licensed psychologist. Here are five tips to complete North Carolina's licensing requirements for psychologists faster.

1. Plan Your Education Trajectory

The process to obtain a psychologist license can be complex. That's why it's essential to develop a roadmap to success, detailing which degrees you'll need and how long they'll take to complete.

If you start from the beginning, then you will need to plan to obtain multiple college degrees and pass the licensing exam. These include a bachelor's degree, master's degree, and doctorate. Following psychology licensure, professionals must complete continuing education throughout their careers as well.

2. Complete an Internship

Psychologists and psychiatrists devote lots of time to serving mental-health clients. However, this is hard work, and you cannot afford to wait until you become a licensed psychologist to gain experience working with patients.

The work experience you gather from a paid or unpaid internship will enrich your practical skill set and satisfy the state's supervised experience requirements for licensure. You can learn more about internships through independent research, but it's faster to ask your psychology professors for help finding them.

3. Find Affordable Degree Programs

You should consider the most affordable psychology degree programs without sacrificing education quality. Almost every North Carolina university has at least a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in psychology. Several of them offer master's degrees and doctoral degrees as well.

The University of North Carolina (UNC) system has 16 public universities, which offer less expensive tuition than most private colleges. This includes UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, and East Carolina University (ECU). ECU, for example, prepares students for direct entry into its PhD in clinical psychology after completing a bachelor's degree.

4. Study for Licensing Exams

North Carolina's state licensing exam contains 50 multiple-choice questions, covering a range of topics learned from education, experience, and knowledge of applicable legislation. You have one hour to complete the exam with a passing score of 78%.

Many applicants prepare by taking exam preparatory courses. You can retake the exam four times within 12 months. It costs $200 each time you take it.

5. Prepare for Continuing Education

North Carolina Psychologists must renew their licenses every two years, which entails a continuing education component. Prospective psychologists should prepare for ongoing credentialing for their entire careers.

Courses for renewal must include three hours of ethics training out of 18 credit hours altogether. Other coursework should coincide with your chosen specialization, such as:

• clinical psychology
• social work
• behavioral psychology
• cognitive psychology
• forensic psychology
• health psychology
• counseling psychology

Licensure Requirements for Psychologists in North Carolina

You must complete at least three years of full-time study in an accredited doctoral program to become a licensed psychologist. You can become a licensed psychological associate by finishing a master's degree, which entails 45 credit hours and 500 hours of supervised experience in psychological work. Educational attainment for licensed psychologists is equivalent to three years of doctoral education.

The North Carolina licensing board does not honor reciprocity agreements with other states for psychology licensure. Out-of-state license holders must apply for a separate license through the state board.

North Carolina also distinguishes between permanent and provisional licensing. The permanent license requires 1,500 hours of post-doctoral experience over no less than one calendar year. Psychologists can practice in their fields before receiving a permanent license if they obtain a provisional license.

You must renew your psychologist's license every two years, in even-numbered years. You can do this conveniently by accessing North Carolina's licensee system. If you have other questions, contact the North Carolina Board during regular business hours at info@ncpsychologyboard.org.

Featured Psychology Doctoral Programs in North Carolina

The following three universities offer accredited doctoral programs in psychology in North Carolina.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

UNC has six PhD tracks in psychology: behavioral and integrative neuroscience, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, quantitative psychology, and social psychology. Applicants must have a 3.0 GPA for admission into this competitive program. Since UNC is a public university, the tuition rate for in-state students is substantially lower than it is for out-of-state applicants.

• Time to completion: Four to five years (full-time)
• Tuition cost: $10,764 per semester (in-state)
• Accreditation: APA

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University (NCSU) offers a 72-hour PhD program for aspiring psychologists. It includes five components:

• core courses
• quantitative methods
• additional methodology training
• psychology concentrations
• dissertation research

Graduate students offset the cost of education by accepting teaching or research assistantships with NCSU.

• Time to completion: Four to five years (full-time)
• Tuition cost: $12,300 (North Carolina residents)
• Accreditation: APA

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

UNC Charlotte offers a PhD in health psychology, divided into three sub-fields: community health, clinical health, and behavioral science health. It requires students to acquire a range of important skills, spanning the areas of psychology, biology, health, and other social sciences. Applicants should possess good GRE scores, gain exposure to statistics and psychology research methodology during undergrad, and have a competitive GPA.

• Time to completion: Six years
• Tuition cost: $19,646
• Accreditation: APA

Explore Psychology Degrees

If you're looking for the fastest way to become a psychologist, make sure to follow the steps above. Learn.org offers various resources for prospective psychologists. Explore important educational topics, such as degree programs, financial aid, continuing education, online degrees, and more.