Department of Psychology at Illinois State University
Students who pursue the master's degree sequence in I/O-Social Psychology may select either an emphasis in Industrial-Organizational Psychology or an emphasis in Social Psychology. The emphasis in I/O Psychology is designed to prepare students as scientist-practitioners involved in the development and application of psychological theory and methodology to the problems of industrial, business, and government organizations, as well as to the problems of individuals and groups in these organizational settings.
Moreover, there is a strong commitment to thorough preparation in basic scientific methods and the principles of psychological science. Emphasis is placed on psychology as a science while representing the nature of its application in real-world organizational settings. The nature of the services delivered by individuals trained in I/O Psychology include, but are not limited to personnel selection, performance appraisal, training and development, motivation, design of jobs, job satisfaction, leadership, test construction and interpretation, statistical reasoning, organizational theory, program evaluation, and research methodology.
The emphasis in Social Psychology focuses on the theory and methods of social psychological research. Topics to be studied include both basic processes such as social cognition, attitudes, social influence, and cross-cultural issues, as well as topics of a more applied nature such as sexual harassment and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Both the I/O emphasis and Social emphasis are designed to meet the educational needs of two types of students. For students who later plan to enter doctoral programs, the fundamentals of psychological science and research methodology are emphasized in classroom discussions and as criteria for thesis approval. For those seeking employment at the master's level, each class is structured to include experiential and practical exercises demonstrating the application of basic skills. Moreover, thesis research can be of an applied nature, combining fundamental research skills with practical skill development.
The master's degree sequence in I/O-Social Psychology is designed to take two years for full-time students. Enrollment on a part-time basis will likely lengthen this start-to-finish time.
The first year consists of taking courses specified by the general departmental requirements and certain I/O-Social Psychology sequence or elective courses. Students should start a thesis proposal during the first year. The second year involves completing course requirements and completing the thesis.
NOTE: Students interested in I/O-Social Psychology are required to have a basic knowledge of either I/O or Social Psychology, such as that gained from successful completion of Business and Industrial Psychology (PSY 230) or some other introductory I/O-Social course. Absence of such a course on a transcript may require remediation prior to graduate work or demonstrations of proficiency.
All listed courses are for three semester hours unless otherwise noted.
PSY 418 Learning and Cognition
PSY 420 Theories of Personality
PSY 440 Statistics: Data Analysis and Methodology
Total Hours:
9
PSY 375 Personnel Psychology
PSY 376 Organizational Psychology
PSY
431 Theory and Research in Social Psychology
PSY 426.01 Research and Practice in I/O Social
(1 hour)
PSY 426.02 Research and Practice in I/O Social
(1 hour)
PSY 426.03 Research and Practice in I/O Social
(1 hour)
PSY 426.04 Research and Practice in I/O Social
(1 hour)
Total Hours:
13
Three courses in methods are required and chosen from the following:
PSY 441 Experimental Design
PSY 442 Test Theory*
PSY 443 Regression Analysis (formerly Survey Methods and Analysis)
PSY 444 Multivariate Analysis
PSY 445 Covariance Structure Modeling**
Total Hours:
9
* PSY 440 is a prerequisite for all of these courses
** PSY 444 Multivariate Analysis is a prerequisite course for PSY 445 Covariance Structure Modeling
All listed courses are three semester hours unless noted otherwise.
PSY 475 Seminar in Personnel Psychology
PSY 476 Seminar in Organizational Psychology
PSY 499 Master's Thesis or elective hours
- (4 to 6 hours)
Total Hours: 10-12
PSY 460 Seminar in Social Psychology
PSY 499 Master's Thesis or elective hours - (7 to 9 hours)
Total Hours 10-12
All listed courses are for three semester hours unless otherwise noted.
PSY 451 Psychology of Diversity
Additional courses are allowed with the approval of the sequence coordinator. A minimum of 41 semester hours are required for graduation.
PSY 375 Personnel Psychology
PSY
418 Learning and Cognition or PSY 420 Theories of Personality
PSY 426 Research & Practice in I/O-Social Psychology
PSY 440 Statistics: Data Analysis and
Methodology
Elective
Total H0urs 10-13
PSY
376 Organizational Psychology
PSY 426 Research & Practice in I/O-Social Psychology
PSY 442 Test Theory* or PSY
443 Survey
Methods and Analysis
PSY 475 Seminar in Personnel Psychology
Elective
Total Credits: 10-13
PSY 418 Learning and Cognition or PSY
420 Theories
of Personality
PSY 426 Research and Practice in I/O-Social Psychology
PSY 444 Multivariate Analysis
PSY 476 Seminar in Organizational Psychology
Total Credits: 13
PSY 426 Research & Practice in I/O-Social Psychology
PSY 431 Theory and Research in Social Psychology
PSY 442 Test Theory or PSY 443 Survey Methods and Analysis
PSY 445 Covariance Structure Modeling
or Elective
Thesis hours and/or Electives
Total Credits: 8 -13
Note: The suggested course schedule is tentative and subject to change due to the program needs of the department. Check the course finder at http://www.coursefinder.ilstu.edu/ to verify when a course will be offered.