diff --git a/core/include/thread.h b/core/include/thread.h
index 4f2a1ed3ab..22733b654c 100644
--- a/core/include/thread.h
+++ b/core/include/thread.h
@@ -588,6 +588,34 @@ static inline int thread_has_msg_queue(const volatile struct _thread *thread)
 #endif
 }
 
+/**
+ * Get a thread's status
+ *
+ * @param   thread   thread to work on
+ * @returns status of thread
+ */
+static inline thread_status_t thread_get_status(const thread_t *thread) {
+    return thread->status;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns if a thread is active (currently running or waiting to be scheduled)
+ *
+ * @param   thread   thread to work on
+ * @returns true if thread is active, false otherwise
+ */
+static inline bool thread_is_active(const thread_t *thread) {
+    return thread->status >= STATUS_ON_RUNQUEUE;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Convert a thread state code to a human readable string.
+ *
+ * @param   state   thread state to convert
+ * @returns ptr to string representation of thread state (or to "unknown")
+ */
+const char *thread_state_to_string(thread_status_t state);
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/core/thread.c b/core/thread.c
index a8172209a0..e3ae5ae8c4 100644
--- a/core/thread.c
+++ b/core/thread.c
@@ -318,3 +318,31 @@ kernel_pid_t thread_create(char *stack, int stacksize, uint8_t priority,
 
     return pid;
 }
+
+static const char *state_names[STATUS_NUMOF] = {
+    [STATUS_STOPPED] = "stopped",
+    [STATUS_ZOMBIE] = "zombie",
+    [STATUS_SLEEPING] = "sleeping",
+    [STATUS_MUTEX_BLOCKED] = "bl mutex",
+    [STATUS_RECEIVE_BLOCKED] = "bl rx",
+    [STATUS_SEND_BLOCKED] = "bl send",
+    [STATUS_REPLY_BLOCKED] = "bl reply",
+    [STATUS_FLAG_BLOCKED_ANY] = "bl anyfl",
+    [STATUS_FLAG_BLOCKED_ALL] = "bl allfl",
+    [STATUS_MBOX_BLOCKED] = "bl mbox",
+    [STATUS_COND_BLOCKED] = "bl cond",
+    [STATUS_RUNNING] = "running",
+    [STATUS_PENDING] = "pending",
+};
+
+#define STATE_NAME_UNKNOWN "unknown"
+
+const char *thread_state_to_string(thread_status_t state)
+{
+    const char *name = state_names[state] ? state_names[state] : NULL;
+
+    assert(name != NULL); /* if compiling with assertions, this is an error that
+                            indicates that the table above is incomplete */
+
+    return (name != NULL) ? name : STATE_NAME_UNKNOWN;
+}
diff --git a/sys/ps/ps.c b/sys/ps/ps.c
index 808945346a..6df9ce913b 100644
--- a/sys/ps/ps.c
+++ b/sys/ps/ps.c
@@ -32,51 +32,11 @@
 #include "tlsf-malloc.h"
 #endif
 
-/* list of states copied from tcb.h */
-static const char *state_names[STATUS_NUMOF] = {
-    [STATUS_STOPPED] = "stopped",
-    [STATUS_ZOMBIE] = "zombie",
-    [STATUS_SLEEPING] = "sleeping",
-    [STATUS_MUTEX_BLOCKED] = "bl mutex",
-    [STATUS_RECEIVE_BLOCKED] = "bl rx",
-    [STATUS_SEND_BLOCKED] = "bl send",
-    [STATUS_REPLY_BLOCKED] = "bl reply",
-    [STATUS_FLAG_BLOCKED_ANY] = "bl anyfl",
-    [STATUS_FLAG_BLOCKED_ALL] = "bl allfl",
-    [STATUS_MBOX_BLOCKED] = "bl mbox",
-    [STATUS_COND_BLOCKED] = "bl cond",
-    [STATUS_RUNNING] = "running",
-    [STATUS_PENDING] = "pending",
-};
-
-#define STATE_NAME_UNKNOWN "unknown"
-
-/**
- * Convert a thread state code to a human readable string.
- *
- * This function should be used instead of a direct array lookup: if ever
- * state_names and the actual states in tcb.h get out of sync, a hole will be
- * left in the lookup table. If compiling with NDEBUG not defined, this will
- * generate an assertion which should make it clear that the table needs
- * updating. With NDEBUG, any missing code will result in the string "unknown"
- * (while direct access would return a NULL, possibly causing a crash.)
- */
-static const char *state_to_string(thread_status_t state)
-{
-    const char *name = state_names[state] ? state_names[state] : NULL;
-
-    assert(name != NULL); /* if compiling with assertions, this is an error that
-                            indicates that the table above is incomplete */
-
-    return (name != NULL) ? name : STATE_NAME_UNKNOWN;
-}
-
 /**
  * @brief Prints a list of running threads including stack usage to stdout.
  */
 void ps(void)
 {
-    const char queued_name[] = {'_', 'Q'};
 #ifdef DEVELHELP
     int overall_stacksz = 0, overall_used = 0;
 #endif
@@ -126,9 +86,9 @@ void ps(void)
         thread_t *p = thread_get(i);
 
         if (p != NULL) {
-            thread_status_t state = p->status;                                     /* copy state */
-            const char *sname = state_to_string(state);                            /* get state name */
-            const char *queued = &queued_name[(int)(state >= STATUS_ON_RUNQUEUE)]; /* get queued flag */
+            thread_status_t state = thread_get_status(p);                          /* copy state */
+            const char *sname = thread_state_to_string(state);                     /* get state name */
+            const char *queued = thread_is_active(p) ? "Q" : "_";                  /* get queued flag */
 #ifdef DEVELHELP
             int stacksz = p->stack_size;                                           /* get stack size */
             overall_stacksz += stacksz;