The I/O Psychology program offers both a terminal M.A. and doctoral degree. Both programs share foundation courses in industrial, organizational, and methodological topics. Doctoral students receive more in-depth training and mentoring in advanced statistics, business strategy, theoretical seminars, and research courses to produce original I/O knowledge.
The M.A. program requires completion of 34-36 credits designed to train students with the skills and knowledge to become I/O practitioners in an applied setting. Students choose between a capstone of either an applied internship project or original master’s thesis.
Sample Schedule
Below is a standard I/O M.A. sequence for full-time students desiring to complete the program in 2 years (effective Fall 2020).
1st Year
| Fall Term | Spring Term |
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2nd Year
| Fall Term | Spring Term |
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The Ph.D. degree requires completion of 79 credit hours. The first two years are spent on I/O psychology courses, statistics, business strategy, and methods. Students carry out a year-long research seminar in their second year culminating into a publishable or presentable project. The second year concludes with a required summer internship to gain applied experience. As students progress into their third and fourth year, the proportion of time spent on research and personalized interests will increase sharply. Students will complete a prospective exam to advance to doctoral candidacy, begin teaching, and take more specialized courses along with research credits. The program concludes with both a successful proposal and defense of an original dissertation.
The typical course load is 9 to 12 credits hours per semester for the first three years, with ambitious students able to finish the program within 4 years. Coursework choices should be made in consultation with the student’s advisor. Furthermore, students should consult with their advisors and I/O program director before taking advanced electives outside of the Psychology Department. The I/O program director may designate other courses towards meeting the requirements below.
| Course Number | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| I. I/O Psychology Core and Internship (take all of the following; 22 credits) | ||
| PSYC 585 | Work Attitudes and Motivation: Theory and Application | 3 |
| PSYC 631 | Interventions for Effective Organizations | 3 |
| PSYC 584 | Performance Management | 3 |
| PSYC 559 | Personnel Selection: Issues & Procedures | 3 |
| PSYC 632 | Group Theory and Development in Organizations | 3 |
| PSYC 633 | Leadership: Theory and Development | 3 |
| PSYC 858 | Organizational Development and Change | 3 |
| PSYC 663 | Independent Study (i.e., Internship) | 1 |
| II. Core Methods, Stats, and Data Science (take all of the following; 15 credits) | ||
| PSYC 510 | Research Methods in Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 550 | Quantitative and Statistical Methods | 3 |
| PSYC 578 | Psychometrics | 3 |
| PSYC 546 | Data Science for Social Scientists | 3 |
| PSYC 739 | Multivariate Statistics | 3 |
| III. Advanced Statistics (take one of the following; 3 credits) | ||
| PSYC 740 | Theory Building and Structural Equation Modeling | 3 |
| PSYC 741 | Hierarchical Linear Modeling | 3 |
| IV. Business and HR Strategy (take each of the following; 3 credits) | ||
| MGMT 561 | Achieving Competitive Advantage | 1.5 |
| MGMT 570 | Strategic HR | 1.5 |
| V. Specialization (students must select Option A, Option B, or Option C; 12-13 credits) | ||
| Option A: General Psychology Specialization (take 4 of the following) | ||
| PSYC 504 | Cognitive Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 552 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 561 | Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 563 | Theories of Learning | 3 |
| PSYC 573 | Behavioral Neuroscience | 3 |
| PSYC 745 | History and Systems | 3 |
| PSYC 857 | Occupational Health Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 859 | Advanced Seminar in I/O Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 592 | Health Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 659 | Special Topics in Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 858 | Organizational Development and Change | 3 |
| Option B: Data Science Specialization (take all of the following) | ||
| CSIT 506 | Data Structures with Python | 3 |
| CSIT 555 | Database Systems | 3 |
| CSIT 556 | Introduction to Data Science | 3 |
| CSIT 557 | Advanced Techniques in Data Science | 3 |
| Option C: Business Specialization (take 4 of the following) | ||
| ACCT 560 | Accounting for Business Managers | 3 |
| ECON 562 | Macroeconomics Analysis and Public Policy | 3 |
| ENTR 561 | Business Innovation and Entrepreneurial Thinking | 3 |
| INFO 563 | Information Systems Strategy and Innovation | 3 |
| INFO 570 | Data Wrangling and Analysis | 3 |
| INFO 584 | Data Visualization | 3 |
| MGMT 565 | Project Management | 3 |
| MGMT 566 | Negotiation in the Workplace | 3 |
| MGMT 576 | Advanced Project Management | 3 |
| MGMT 584 | Talent Management | 3 |
| MGMT 585 | Human Resource Analytics | 3 |
| MKTG 561 | Applied Marketing Management | 3 |
| MKTG 563 | Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility | 3 |
| VI. Advanced Electives (take 2 electives under guidance of faculty advisor; 6-8 credits) | ||
| VII. Research (take all the following; 18 credits) | ||
| PSYC 691 | I/O Research Seminar Readings | 3 |
| PSYC 692 | I/O Research Seminar Defense | 3 |
| PSYC 900 | Dissertation | 12 |
| Total Credit Hours | 79-82 | |
Sample Schedule
Below is a standard I/O PhD sequence for students specializing in psychology science who desire to finish in 4 years.
1st Year
| Fall Term | Spring Term |
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2nd Year
| Fall Term | Spring Term |
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3rd Year
| Fall Term | Spring Term |
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4th Year
| Fall Term | Spring Term |
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