diff --git a/core/include/thread.h b/core/include/thread.h
index 0987e621d8..3dfc5513ae 100644
--- a/core/include/thread.h
+++ b/core/include/thread.h
@@ -588,6 +588,16 @@ 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;
+}
+
 /**
  * Convert a thread state code to a human readable string.
  *