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Industrial/Organizational Psychology Graduate Program (PSY)

Offered through the Department of Psychology
in the College of Liberal Arts
102 Whitney House
Phone: 320-308-4157
Fax: 320-308-3098
Department Web site: www.stcloudstate.edu/psychology
Program Web site: www.stcloudstate.edu/psychology/io

Department Chairperson: Dr. Joseph M. Melcher
Department Secretary: Ms. Linda Williams

Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Daren Protolipac
Graduate Faculty: Buswell, DeVoe, Godding, Illies, Jazwinski, Kling, Kulas, Melcher, Protolipac, Rockenstein, Valdes

The Profession

Having completed this degree, students will be prepared to obtain a job in a consulting, business, or government setting or to pursue a doctoral degree in industrial/organizational psychology.

The Program

The Master of Science in Industrial/Organizational Psychology program provides students with the knowledge required to find solutions to workplace problems. It focuses on the use of psychological principles to understand behavior in the workplace and to improve the productivity and quality of work life of employees at all organizational levels. Students will learn the psychological theories and techniques underlying employee selection, training, and performance assessment. They will also study various organizational behavior topics such as leadership and employee motivation. Finally, students will be provided with a foundation in psychological statistics and methodology, which they will be able to draw from throughout their careers. Having completed this degree, students will be prepared to obtain a job in a consulting, business, or government setting or to pursue a doctoral degree in industrial/organizational psychology.

What Sets our Program Apart

• Faculty and students publish in refereed journals and present their research at juried national conferences such as the Society of Industrial Psychology (SIOP). Nearly 50 publications and presentations have been produced by the I-O program faculty and graduate students since the program began in fall 2003.
• The I-O program provides applied learning opportunities for students enrolled in the program through continued fostering of connections and partnerships with the local and national business community. The consulting firm, St. Cloud Industrial-Organizational Network (SCION), obtains contracts, internship or practicum experiences, consulting challenges (teaming up with Minnesota State University-Mankato, UNI, and Roosevelt College), and class or program wide research projects.
• The I-O program consults with an advisory board consisting of community HR members in order to help develop curriculum and relevant I-O activities in order to make suggestions for the direction and focus of the program and to ensure local and regional businesses needs are being met by I-O program graduate skills.
• The I-O program fosters a cooperative learning experience. Students are encouraged and often required to collaborate on class and other projects.
• The I-O program employs experiential learning techniques in order to engage students in applying theoretical concepts to actual organizational problems and issues. Often these learning experiences include interacting with the business community.
• The I-O program has a heavy quantitative emphasis. This emphasis provides graduates with knowledge and skills that are attractive to many businesses, such as the knowledge to assist corporate leaders in making data-driven decisions. In addition to three largely quantitative courses, most courses in the program have components that require the understanding and application of quantitative methods.
• The I-O program faculty and students actively support and participate in socialization activities and networking, formal and informal, including attendance at local and national conferences and meetings.
• The I-O program was ranked 14th in the Nation in terms of program resources offered to graduate students, 15th in the nation on culture, and 9th in the nation on tuition costs (Kraiger & Abalos, 2004).
• The I-O program is highly involved in program and student learning assessments using exit interview surveys, program comprehensive pre-post test, course pre-post tests, and writing rubrics.
• The I-O program participates in an annual I-O Guest Lecture/Speaker Series.
• The I-O program developed a newsletter to help inform community organization members and alumni of the current status and direction of the I-O program.
• I-O graduate students have developed an I-O student organization that participates in community volunteering and outreach opportunities.

Employers

• Master’s degree industrial-organizational psychologists work in many different settings, including consulting, business, and government. This flexibility increases their marketability and has resulted in a steady annual increase in the demand for individuals with this degree.
• Master’s degree industrial-organizational psychologists also have the option of pursuing a doctoral degree in their field, opening up many other employment opportunities.

Application Deadline Specific to the Program

• Application deadline is March 1 to be given full consideration.
• Students are admitted for a fall semester start only.

Admission Requirements Specific to the Program

• The GRE is required of all applicants.
• The following undergraduate courses are helpful: introductory psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, statistics, research methods or experimental psychology, and social psychology.
• It is also recommended that prospective students have a strong quantitative background.

Wait list Information

• Competition for limited places in the IO program requires the necessity of a wait list. Click here for details.
  

Graduate Assistantships

• Two to three graduate assistantships are available for fall and spring semesters. 

Cost

Tuition is currently $337 a credit or approximately $13,817 for the entire 41 credits required for graduation. Student fees and cost of living in St. Cloud are also very affordable.

Length of Program — Measured by Semesters

• The 41-credit program is designed so that full-time students can finish in four semesters.

Curriculum

Plan A: Thesis, 41 credits
Students choosing Plan A are required to pass a preliminary oral examination where they will propose their thesis topic and a final oral examination where they will defend their completed study.

Plan C: Portfolio, 41 credits
Students choosing Plan C are required to pass a preliminary oral examination where they will propose their practicum project and a final oral examination where they will defend their completed project

Master of Science — Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Research and Professional Courses
11 credits

• PSY 505. Profession of Psychology, 2 credits
• PSY 602. Psychometrics, 3 credits
• PSY 603. Inferential Statistics I, 3 credits
• PSY 604. Inferential Statistics II, 3 credits
  

Content Courses
15 credits

• PSY 560. Organizational Psychology, 3 credits
• PSY 661. Criterion Development and Performance Assessment, 3 credits
• PSY 662. Psychology of Training and Organizational Development, 3 credits
• PSY 663. Psychology of Personnel Selection, 3 credits
• PSY 664. Job Analysis, 3 credits
  

Programmatic Courses
6 credits

• PSY 696. Practicum, 6 credits (Plan C only)
• PSY 699. Thesis, 6 credits (Plan A only)

Elective Courses
9 credits
General Psychology Electives, select 3-6 credits

• PSY 525. Psychology of Creativity, 3 credits
• PSY 592. Health Psychology, 3 credits
• PSY 630. Seminar in Psychology, 3-6 credits
• PSY 640. Advanced Developmental Psychology, 3 credits
• PSY 647. Psychology of Aging: Theory and Research, 3 credits
• PSY 671. Advanced Social Psychology, 3 credits
  

Related Fields Electives
Select 3-6 credits

• MBA 667. Organizational Behavior, 3 credits
• MBA 673. Management of Human Resources, 3 credits
• MGMT 551. Employee and Labor Relations, 3 credits
• MGMT 552. Employee Compensation, 3 credits
• MGMT 553. Employee Development, 3 credits
• MGMT 567. Organization Theory, 3 credits
• SOC 656. Seminar in the Sociological Study of Organizations, 3 credits

Plan Ahead!
Course Sequence (41 credits)