M.S. in Psychology
Industrial / Organizational Psychology Concentration
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.
Curriculum
The goal of the M.S. program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (I/O) is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for many of several possible applied I/O careers. The program also prepares students for continued graduate study at the doctoral level. The curriculum is designed to expose students to core I/O content areas including Industrial Psychology and Organizational Psychology, as well as statistics, research methods, and people analytics. Students also gain applied experience via the required internship. The program provides necessary research skills through the required research report, optional thesis, and the opportunity to work with individual faculty members on their research projects.
The I/O M.S. concentration requires 27 semester hours of course work including the following courses: PSY 601, PSY 602, PSY 560, PSY 562, PSY 569, PSY 566, PSY 572, PSY 600, & PSY 630. In addition, 12-15 semester hours of elective courses must be completed. Common electives include: PSY 510, PSY 546, PSY 571, PSY 573, PSY 567, PSY 590 (I/O related), and PSY 610 (Thesis). 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.
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.
Advising Guide Sample Course Plan
* The Advising Guide lists typical course sequences and elective options for the I/O
concentration.
Learn more about our Graduate Certificate In Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Admission Requirements for MS Degree Programs
The minimum requirements for consideration for admission in Psychology are:
- An undergraduate overall GPA of 3.0
- A GPA of 3.25 or more in Psychology courses. Applicants who are not psychology majors may be required to complete undergraduate psychology courses as a condition of admission to the program after review of academic transcript by the Graduate Coordinator.
- Three letters of recommendation addressing the applicants’ areas of growth and specifying the length of time and in what capacity the recommender knows the applicant. At least one of the letters should come from an academic source.
- A 2000-word personal goals statement addressing the applicants’ professional goals, academic background, and professional experiences and why WCU is a good fit for the chosen program of study.
Admission to the degree programs is Fall only, with March 1 as the deadline for initial review. Applications received after March 1 will be reviewed only on
a space-available basis. Students may not change programs of study in Psychology without
approval of the Graduate Coordinator.
Provisional Admission Policy
Provisional admission is available to applicants at the discretion of the Graduate Coordinator after a complete review of the applicant’s file. Provisional admission will be considered if the applicant can demonstrate substantial, but not complete, satisfaction of the requirements for full admission, and if the applicant can demonstrate the strong potential for successful completion of the program. Relevant work experience will also be considered for provisional admittance. Students may be permitted to change from one concentration to other after a review by the Graduate Coordinator. Students admitted on a Provisional basis must petition to be admitted to Full status when they have successfully met the provisions specified at the time of their admission.
Apply Now
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.