Prospective Students: Master's

Overview

The master of arts degree in industrial/organizational psychology:

• Provides a theoretical foundation for addressing a broad range of behavioral issues in the workplace.

• Develops professionals within human resources, organizational development, and training fields.

• Equips organizational leaders with a graduate education that relates directly to their practice as leaders.

• Is a 66-credit program (56 credits required, plus ten elective credits) designed to be taken over a two-year/seven-quarter or three-year/11-quarter sequence.

• Allows electives to be fulfilled from any approved graduate courses.

• Involves eight to tweleve credits per quarter for full-time students.

• Requires a master's project in which students apply their research skills within an organizational setting (to be completed in the final year of the program).

Targeted Competencies

The master's degree program is designed to meet the industry standard for graduate programs in industrial/organizational psychology.

Our program curriculum targets each area of competence suggested by the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP), which ensures that our graduates are fulfilling not only the expectations for master's-level education but also fulfilling the expectations of experts working in the field.

Review the targeted competencies (PDF, 29 KB) in the master’s degree program.

Admission Process

The master’s degree program begins in Autumn Quarter and admits students once a year. The application deadline is December 15.

The Industrial/Organizational Psychology program admissions committee conducts a preliminary screening process. Admission depends upon recommendation by the program faculty members and approval from the department chair.

This process is usually completed within eight weeks after the final application deadline.

Admission Requirements for

the M.A. Degree

• A bachelor's degree. Applicants must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 from a regionally accredited institution, and have completed a minimum of one business or social science statistics course and two courses in psychology at a regionally accredited institution.

• Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The test must have been administered within five years of the deadline date for application to the program. A combined score of 950 or 295 (new GRE) on the verbal and quantitative sections is preferred.

• Personal statement. A typed statement that demonstrates writing and grammatical skills; addresses career objectives and the rationale for seeking the degree and choosing SPU; and indicates personal qualifications, experience, and other insights as deemed appropriate by the applicant.

• Recommendations. Three letters of recommendation — one personal, one professional, and one academic — on the forms provided.

• Language competency. If English is not an applicant's first language, the minimum score for a master’s degree student on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is either 550 on the paper-based test or 213 on the computer-based test.

• Statement of financial support. If an applicant is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States, then an official confidential statement of financial support covering each year of intended enrollment is required.
  

Transfer of Credit

Students who have taken graduate work at a regionally accredited institution may be allowed to transfer up to 12 quarter units. Students must provide applicable transcripts and/or syllabi.

Each transferrable course must be

• A minimum of three graduate quarter credits.

• Equivalent to courses taught in SPU’s industrial/organizational psychology programs.

• Completed within seven years of admission.

A minimum grade of “B” will be required for transferred work. Any transfer-credit petitions should be submitted only after formal admission to the master's program.

More Options

Apply: Begin your journey by filling out the graduate application form.

Course Schedule: See a sample two-year course sequence.

Costs/Financial Aid: Get insights into costs and the ways to pay for them.