Approved by: Graduate Council
Implementation Date: Summer 2014
Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.
Catalog Copy
MASTER OF ARTS IN
INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY
**NOT ACCEPTING APPLICANTS FOR THE
2013-2014 ACADEMIC YEAR**
The objective of UNC Charlotte’s nationally
recognized master’s degree program in
Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology is to provide
students with the knowledge and skills necessary to
research and improve the world of work from both an
employee and organizational point of view. Among
the issues studied are personnel selection, training
and development, performance evaluation, workplace
health, employee attitudes and satisfaction, work
motivation, team and organizational effectiveness, and change management. The program and its curriculum are built on five key foundational elements: Leadership, Organizational Change and Development, Talent, Culture/Climate, and Analytics. The program provides these foundations in the context of science driven practice. Specifically, we will provide students with a strong foundation in (a) reading, understanding and applying the science of I/O Psychology to solve organizational problems and (b) collecting, critically evaluating, and statistically examining data to support organizational decision-making.
The relatively small, competitively selected student body Students receives individual attention from faculty members who maintain rigorous standards of academic excellence. The program provides a firm foundation in the research methods and content of basic psychology, as well as training in the applied skills of professional practice.
Working Professionals
Our program is designed to be accessible for working professionals. Courses will be offered in the evenings and on weekends so that individuals who work full-time can complete the program. The program is ideal for people working in an I/O-related field, such as in a Human Resources function within an organization, who are looking for a degree that will allow them to expand their career options.
The program would also be appropriate for working individuals looking to change careers and for individuals who have just completed an undergraduate degree. Work in an I/O-related career is not required for admittance into the program.
Advisory Board
An Advisory Board has been established for the I/O Program. The Board, made up of leading I/O psychologists and human resource professionals working in the Charlotte Community (see our website for a list of current Board members), provides regular reviews and evaluations of the programs’ curriculum to ensure that course content addresses current topics and issues facing I/O psychologists working in the business community. The Board also plays a key role in identifying business leaders in the community who can provide information or guidance to students.
Additional Admission Requirements
To be considered for admission to graduate study in
I/O, a student must meet the following minimum
requirements:
The Graduate School requires that applicants submit scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), or Miller Analogies Test (MAT). The I/O program will accept scores from any one of these tests.
The Graduate School also requires three letters of recommendation. If you are a working professional who has received a bachelor’s degree five or more years ago, we suggest that you seek out recommenders who can speak to your capabilities and potential as an I/O or HR professional (e.g., supervisors, coworkers, individuals with an advanced I/O degree). If you have recently graduated from a bachelors program, we suggest that you seek out academic recommenders who can speak to your potential for graduate studies.
Your application will also include a statement of purpose. Minimally, your statement should address (a) your motivation for seeking a degree in I/O psychology, (b) your preparation for graduate studies in I/O Psychology, and (c) how you expect the degree will positively impact your career. Please keep your statement to approximately two pages.
You must also have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university (the Graduate School requires that you upload transcripts from each institution attended). While a degree in psychology or business is not required, applicants with backgrounds in these disciplines may be given preferential treatment.
The Graduate School has additional requirements for application. Please see the Graduate School website for additional details.
1.) Completed application (Deadline: January 15)
2.) Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
3.) Grade point average above 3.0 overall
4.) GRE Math and Verbal, combined, of over 1000
5.) Official transcripts
6.) 3 letters of recommendation
7.) Statement of professional goals
Admission to the full-time program is very competitive. Applicants whose native language is other than English must offer acceptable scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (see Graduate School website for what constitutes an acceptable score). The application deadline is January 15 for admission in the Fall semester. Students must begin the program in the Fall Semester. may not begin the program during the Spring semester.
We will begin reviewing completed applications on March 1 and continue to evaluate applications until the class is full.
Degree Requirements
The Industrial/Organizational program requires at
least 43 31 semester hours of graduate coursework as
specified and discussed in the I/O Psychology Graduate
Student Handbook. Full-time students Students should be able
to complete the program in two calendar years. Courses will be required in the summer between the first and second year in the program. Additionally, the comprehensive examination will be given in the summer at the end of the second year of study.
Students who consistently show borderline course
performance, who fail to complete coursework on a
timely basis, or who otherwise perform unprofessionally or unsatisfactorily may be required to complete additional courses or may be removed from the program. The enrollment of a student who receives three two grades of C or one Unsatisfactory (U)
grade during his or her graduate career is automatically terminated.
Specialization
Students will be able to pick a specialization track: a
non-thesis research track, a thesis research track, or a
practice track. These tracks allow the student to
tailor, in part, their educational experience to their
career objectives. All students will complete a
comprehensive examination at the end of their
program. For those students doing a thesis, the thesis
defense itself serves as the comprehensive exam. The only difference between the tracks is the capstone experience; students choosing the thesis track will defend an empirical thesis whereas students who choose the practice track will complete For
those on the non-thesis research track or a practice
track, a standardized comprehensive examination will
be given in the spring summer of year two in the program.
The examination samples content from across the I/O
Psychology discipline as well as research design. A
complete description of the specialization tracks and
requirements (including a thorough discussion of
comprehensive exams) can be found in the most
recent version of the I/O Psychology Graduate Student
Handbook.
Assistantships and Other Financial Assistance
A variety of resources are available for financial
assistance. These include teaching assistantships to
proctor the general psychology laboratory, research
assistantships to assist on faculty grants, and graduate
assistantships in psychology and other campus units
such as the Learning Assistance Center and the
University Honors Office. Information on loans, grants
and employment opportunities is available from the
Financial Aid Office.
Research Experiences
In addition to the completion of a thesis, students
have the opportunity to work with individual faculty
members on their research. The Department of
Psychology has an energetic and dynamic faculty of
more than 30 psychologists who are committed to
education and have established an excellent record or
productivity in all the major areas of psychological
research and professional practice. Students also
have the opportunity to work closely with the
Department of Management faculty affiliated with the
program as well as two I/O faculty members from
Davidson College affiliated with the program.
Practica and Applied Experiences
Students who desire I/O-related work experiences will have a wide range of opportunities for applied experiences. These can occur as part of a formal practicum experience (i.e., internships) or more informally through the UNC Charlotte Organizational Science
Consulting and Research Unit. While practicum experiences are not required as part of the program, our Faculty and Advisory Board members have connections within the local community to help students find relevant experiences.
Course Descriptions to be changed
PSYC 6102. Research Design and Quantitative Methods in Psychology Organizational Research Methods. (3) Prerequisites: STAT 1222 and PSYC 2102 or equivalent full graduate standing in the I/O psychology graduate program. Experimental and correlational methods of psychological research, including single subject designs with emphasis on research Research design and the application of statistical methods to psychological I/O research, with a specific focus on gathering and evaluating organizational data.
PSYC 6171. Industrial/Organizational Psychology. (3) Human behavior within organizations. Topics include: personnel selection and placement, job analysis, motivation, satisfaction, consumer psychology and ergonomics recruitment, hiring, competency modeling, talent management, leadership, job attitudes, and organizational development and change.
PSYC 6173. Individual Dynamics Job attitudes. (3) The individual within the organization, including job attitudes, engagement, and motivation. Special emphasis on theories of motivation and job satisfaction.
PSYC 6175. Organizational Dynamics II Development and Change. (3) Prerequisite: PSYC 6174. Organization theories and organizational change methods.
PSYC 6172. Personnel I Talent Acquisition. (3) Prerequisite or corequisite: PSYC 6171, 6140. Techniques of applied personnel psychology. Issues associated with the attraction and evaluation of job applicants. Topics include: job analysis, testing in industry, interviews, personality measures, assessment centers, job evaluation, and polygraphs managing the hiring process.
PSYC 6177. Personnel II Talent Management. (3) Prerequisite: PSYC 6172. Theoretical bases of personnel psychology talent management. Topics include: performance appraisal, legal issues, personnel strategies, validation issues, utility analysis succession planning, human resource planning, and training and development.
PSYC 6207. Psychometrics Measurement in Organizations. (3) Cross-listed as OSCI 8207. Prerequisites: Full graduate standing in a psychology graduate program or permission of the instructor. Presents an introduction to classical and modern test theory and methods. Theoretical and statistical bases for the measurement of psychological constructs are covered including Topics include: Classical True Score Theory, reliability and validity inferences, item response theory, scaling, and an introduction to factor analysis. Special emphasis will be given to evaluating the quality of existing tests and assessments.
PSYC 6630. Micro Seminar in Organizational Science. Topics in Talent Management. (3) Cross-listed as OSCI 8630. Prerequisites: Full graduate standing in the I/O psychology graduate program or permission of the instructor. Examination of special topic(s) germane to Micro Organizational Science talent management. The seminar may focus on one or a small number of topics salient to this area. Extensive reading and discussion of topics from multiple perspectives. May be repeated for credit for different topics.
PSYC 6640. Macro Seminar in Organizational Science Topics in Organizational Psychology. (3) Cross-listed as OSCI 8640. Prerequisites: Full graduate standing in the I/O psychology graduate program or permission of the instructor. Examination of special topic(s) germane to Macro Organizational Science organizational psychology. The seminar may focus on one or a small number of topics salient this area. Extensive reading and discussion of topics from multiple perspectives. May be repeated for credit for different topics. May be repeated for credit.