Mental health and psychology

How to become an educational psychologist

Official title: Educational psychologist

Also called: Psychologist, Learning and development psychologist

Educational psychologists design strategies to help students and school staff deal with behavioural, social and educational issues. They provide counselling and treatment plans.

Main tasks

Design psychological and educational treatment programmes
Give advice about educational matters
Develop educational programmes
Counsel people on mental health and achievement
Conduct scientific research of organisational behaviour
Collect information through surveys and observation
Interpret research or orperational data
Prepare scientific reports and presentations

How to become one

You need more than one qualification to become an educational psychologist. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a bachelor's degree in psychology OR a graduate diploma in psychology; a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Psychology Practice OR a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational and Developmental Psychology; a master's degree in curriculum and education (educational psychology), psychology or similar area OR a doctoral degree in psychology; an Annual Practising Certificate from the NZ Psychologists Board; to pass a police check. Registration body: NZ Psychologists Board.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Psychology degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
University: Education & Teaching degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
Registration or licence: An Annual Practising Certificate from the NZ Psychologists Board. Registration body: NZ Psychologists Board (https://www.psychologistsboard.org.nz).

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $101,250 to $133,750 a year (median $117,500), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $85,000 a year · Upper: $150,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Psychologists: 3,432 at the 2018 Census and 4,275 at the 2023 Census (+24.6%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 1,300 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Psychologists, 77% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Psychologists work (2023 Census): Auckland 34.3%, Canterbury 13.9%, and Wellington 13.6%.

Questions people ask

How do I become an educational psychologist?

How much does an educational psychologist earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $117,500 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $101,250 to $133,750 a year.

Has the number of people working as an educational psychologist grown in New Zealand?

It has grown: TEC records an increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of an educational psychologist?

Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026