A total of 47 semester credit-hours is required for graduation. Most students are expected to enroll on a full-time basis. Because most required courses will not be offered nights or weekends, and because practicum, internship, or thesis research generally require time blocks be available during the day, students may not be able to complete all the degree requirements on a part-time basis.

Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25, show satisfactory progress toward completion of degree requirements, and correct any unsatisfactory performance. If deficiencies are not removed during the succeeding semester, the student may be terminated from the program.

The curriculum of the M.S. - Psychology program is intended to meet the following objectives and goals.

• Development of research and statistical skills for job analysis, performance assessment, measurement of individual differences, program development and evaluation.
• Development of a knowledge base concerning important contextual influences on behavior, such as social influence and job design.
• Development of an understanding of the philosophical, ethical, and legal issues related to the practice of applied psychology.
• Development of communication and interpersonal competence necessary for successful functioning in organizations.

Core course requirements (21 credit hours)

Go to psychology course descriptions or go to upcoming psychology class schedule.

• PSY 645 Statistics and Research Design (3 credit hours)
• PSY 650 Advanced Survey of Psychology (3 credit hours)
• PSY 652 Research Methods (3 credit hours)
• PSY 661 Ethics and Professional Issues (3 credit hours)
• PSY 680 Social Psychology (3 credit hours)
• PSY 696 Practicum (6 credit hours)

I/O Track Required Courses (21 credit hours)

• PSY 618 Organizational Psychology (3 credit hours)
• PSY 616 Personnel Psychology (3 credit hours)
• PSY 698 / 699 Internship /Thesis (6 credit hours)

    Plus at least 3 courses from the following:

Electives (at least 5 credits)

Graduate courses chosen from the offerings of Psychology, Management, and other departments at the discretion of the I/O faculty committee.

Comprehensive Examination

A written comprehensive examination must be passed by the candidate before a degree will be granted. This exam is typically taken at the beginning of the student's fourth semester. Students must have completed Statistics and Research Design, Adv. Survey of Psychology, Research Methods, Organizational Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and three I/O topics courses.

Culminating Experiences

Culminating experiences are crucial to the M.S. Psychology program because these experiences are typically a major consideration in employment and opportunities for doctoral study. Students must complete six hours of PSY 698 (Internship) or PSY 699 (Thesis) before earning their degree.

Internships

Internships will be congruent with program goals and will be conducted in sites appropriate to the career goals of each student. For each credit hour, students must serve 45 hours at the internship agency. Evaluation of student performance will come from two sources: supervisors at the organization and I/O faculty. Besides providing extensive, supervised fieldwork, the internship will allow students to integrate theoretical and research knowledge with specific aspects of the applied experience.

Thesis

The primary purpose of the thesis is to allow the student to establish and demonstrate research competency. In the pursuit of this goal, students will learn the following:

• How to identify an original and significant research problem
• How to conduct comprehensive background literature searches on the topic
• How to design and implement a research project
• How to collect, analyze, and interpret data
• How to communicate research results in a scientifically lucid fashion

The written thesis and oral defense serve this function.