Curriculum

The I/O curriculum conforms to the Guidelines for Education and Training at the Doctoral Level in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and provides training in a number of areas including: Job analysis, Selection, Performance management, Predictive analytics, Stress and Work-Life Balance, Work motivation, and Leadership and Teams.

To graduate with a Ph.D. in I/O psychology, a student must satisfy the requirements for the Department Core Curriculum, Breadth, and the I/O area Ph.D. Depth requirements.  The course requirements presented below satisfy all of the Ph.D. curriculum requirements.  All courses are 3 credit hours and must be 5000-level or above. These requirements represent the required coursework for all students enrolling in Fall 2023 or later, as approved by the I/O area faculty in Spring 2023.

1. Core Requirements

    a. Research methods (PSYC 5315)

    b. Regression (STAT 5214g)

    c. One additional quantitative course approved by area director

2. Breadth Requirement.  The goal of this requirement is to expand students’ general knowledge of the field at large. Two content courses outside of the student’s research concentration (including but not limited to the Department of Psychology).  The third breadth course can either be a content course or a quantitative course.

3. Depth Requirement.  Seminar in Industrial Psychology (PSYC 5114)

4. Depth Requirement.  Seminar in Organizational Psychology (PSYC 5115)

5. Depth Requirement.  One seminar in Advanced Topics in Industrial Psychology (PSYC 6924)

6. Depth Requirement.  One seminar in Advanced Topics in Organizational Psychology (PSYC 6934)

7. Depth Requirement.  Two seminars in Quantitative Topics in Applied Psychology (PSYC 6014)

Sample of Quantitative Topics that may be Applied to Meeting Core Requirement for One Additional Quantitative Course Approved by Area Director

  • Advanced Psychometric Theory
  • Multivariate Statistics
  • Structural Equation Modeling
  • Hierarchical Linear Modeling
  • Longitudinal Data Analysis
  • Bayesian Statistical Inference
  • Predictive Analytics

For students earning a Master’s degree on the way to the Ph.D., the master’s degree course requirements include the following from the list of Ph.D. requirements above:  #1a to #1c and #3 as well as a minimum of two breadth courses, and one seminar in either Advanced Industrial Psychology (PSYC 6924) OR Advanced Organizational Psychology (PSYC 6934).

For students pursuing a Masters in Applied Statistics (DDAS) are required to take six quantitative courses beyond the requirements of for the Ph.D. in Psychology. 

Internship

Students are encouraged to seek internship training. In seeking internships, it is least disruptive to training if the internship is limited to the summer months between academic years. However, students may take a one-semester leave of absence to pursue an external internship. Please note that internships are competitive, requiring students to apply directly to the host organization.

Present and former students have completed such internships in the following organizations:

  • Allstate Insurance
  • American Institutes for Research
  • American Psychological Association
  • Center for Creative Leadership
  • Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute
  • Department of Labor
  • Developmental Dimensions International
  • Home Depot
  • Human Resources Research Organization (HUMRRO)
  • IBM
  • Marriott International
  • Naval Personnel Research & Development Center
  • Office of Personnel Management
  • Personnel Decisions International
  • Society for Human Resource Management
  • Travelers Insurance
  • United Airlines

Students may also collaborate with faculty on industry consultations to gain "real world" experience.