M.S. in Psychology - Industrial/Organizational Psychology Concentration
Note: GRE General Test scores for Fall 2024 Applicants are not required as part of the application for Psychology MS Graduate programs.
Professionals with an understanding of Industrial/Organizational Psychology principles
are in high demand in the workplace. Join our graduates from the Master of Science
in Psychology program who drive positive change in organizations, motivate teams,
and increase employee productivity.
The M.S. in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology program at WCU is designed
for students who plan careers in Human Resources in business, industry, government,
or other organizations. Students explore workplace motivation and attitudes; employee
selection, training, and evaluation; leadership, group and organizational behavior;
organizational culture and change management; people analytics and human resource
management. Our students graduate with business, leadership, and psychology skills,
the ability to apply psychology in the workplace, to use research methods to solve
problems, and improve quality of work life.
Students in the program can get creative with electives, internships, and research to create a program plan based on interest and career aspirations. Students can gain expertise in the areas of selection and placement, training, performance evaluation, leadership development, workplace stress and organization development interventions.
Curriculum
The I/O M.S. concentration requires 27 semester hours of course work: PSY601, 602, 524, 560, 562, 569, 566, 600, & 630. In addition, 12-15 semester hours of elective courses must be completed. Common electives include: PSY510, PSY546, PSY 571, PSY572, PSY567, 590 (I/O related), and 610. Students may take 6 elective graduate hours outside of Psychology (e.g., Human Resource Management HRM or PPA departments). Electives must be approved by the advisor.
Here is an Advising Guide which lists typical course sequences and elective options for the I/O concentration.
I/O Program Internship
Students enrolled in the I/O M.S. program, in addition to the core course work, are required to complete an internship which requires 300 clock hours of work. While the University offers many resources to guide students through the internship selection process, students must independently arrange and complete the internship during their enrollment as the university does not provide these placements. The student contacts and coordinates with a site representative from a potential internship location. Once they have agreed upon a tentative set of experiences or projects, in writing, students will present this to the faculty instructor for approval. Upon approval by the instructor, the student begins the internship. Students may develop and propose new internship sites, which may be approved by the faculty instructor.
Although we make every effort to facilitate the internship placement process, students are not guaranteed an internship assignment by merely interviewing with recommended sites. An internship is a job placement and it is ultimately the employer’s decision to hire. Therefore, students should be prepared to contact several sites and to be flexible, patient, and tenacious throughout the internship search process.
An internship evaluation instrument is developed by the intern and submitted to the site supervisor for his/her evaluation every two weeks. The intern is responsible for forwarding these completed evaluations to the faculty instructor every two weeks during the internship. The intern completes an internship evaluation paper at the completion of the internship. Failure to submit evaluations or the final paper will prevent awarding of a grade for the internship. Details about the requirements for the I/O internship are available from the faculty instructor.
Resources for Internship
Overview of Requirements for the Industrial/Organizational Internship
I/O Psychology Internship FAQs
Opportunities Within Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Twardowski Career Center meets with students virtually about internship resources.
Guide to I/O Graduate Research Report Writing
For Information About Our Graduate Certificate In Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Click Here.
Apply Now
https://www.wcupa.edu/_admissions/SCH_DGR/applyNow.aspx
Should you have questions about the Graduate Admission Application process or wish to make any changes after you submit your application, please contact The Graduate School or call us at 610-436-2943. If you call our office, please note our hours of operation are from 8:00AM until 4:30PM Monday through Friday.