Masters in Organizational Psychology

Throughout most of the 20th Century, the field of psychology was largely limited to diagnosing and treating emotional and psychological problems. Over the past few decades however, the sub-field of organizational psychology has emerged and proved its effectiveness and applicability across a variety of sectors.
Organizational psychology is the psychology of the workplace, and deals with employee management and training, supervision of personnel, resource management, internal communications, counseling, labor relations and employee retention. At many companies, organization psychologists use special psychometric and intelligence tests to hire new employees.

Admission Requirements for the Master’s Degree

The master’s degree in organizational psychology is a postgraduate degree which is offered by the psychology and sociology departments of many universities all over the country. You can only apply for a master’s degree program if you have previously completed a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a related field of psychology.
When applying to the program, you may have to fulfill the following conditions:

• A competed admission’s application to the university of your choice
• All post-secondary transcripts
• Personal essay outlining your motivation behind choosing the program
• GRE or GMAT score
• Letters of recommendation from instructors or employers

Submitting all of the required documents before the deadline date is recommended in this case.  

Curriculum of Master’s in Organizational Psychology

Organizational psychology degrees are a combination of the courses offered by the psychology and the business administration departments. Most psychology master’s programs have two degree tracks that students can choose to follow:

• Internship track—this track gives interested students to earn some elective course hours with a practicum course. This is for students who wish to obtain clinical experience in an organizational psychology context.
• Capstone track—students employed during the course of the degree may choose a capstone course to implement what they’ve learnt at work.

If you are enrolled in a master’s in organizational psychology program you will be required to take a number of core compulsory courses as well as some elective courses. The core foundation courses are:

• Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology
• Personnel Psychology
• Experimental Design
• Advanced Research Methods

The most commonly offered elective courses that students will have the option of choosing from are:

• Organizational Development
• Intercultural Communication
• Conflict Management
• Dynamics of Group Decision Making
• Managerial Skills
• Feminist Perspectives on Caring Professions
• Health Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Lifespan Development.

Students also learn about psychometric analysis, and learn how to develop intelligence and aptitude tests for potential employees. The research project is completed under the supervision of a professor, and students must deliver a public dissertation before they are awarded the degree. The master’s program can be completed online or on-campus. The online degree option will be especially beneficial to students who are employed full-time or have responsibilities at home.

Job Description of Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

Industrial –organizational psychologist have a job description that combines the activities of psychologist and human resource managers. On a daily basis, they will be expected to:

• Obtain information from relevant sources
• Establish and then maintain successful interpersonal relationships with company employees
• Make decisions based on analysis and evaluation
• Translate and explain what information could mean to concerned parties
• Provide consultation
• Asses the value and quality of people and services

Employment Outlook

Throughout the world, companies hire organizational psychologists to implement effective techniques that will ensure an increase in productivity and profits. According to O*NET Online, employment opportunities for related occupations such as Industrial-Organizational Psychologists will increase by up to 22% from 2012 to 2022. Industrial-Organizational psychologists earned a median annual wage of $80,330 in 2013.