Industrial/Organizational Psychology Program Requirements

Core Course Requirements

I/O Course Requirements

Suggested class schedule

Below are the requirements for both the Master of Science in Psychology and the Ph.D. degrees. It should be noted that the master’s degree is earned en route to the Ph.D. Thus, the requirements for the master’s degree are subsumed in those listed for the Ph.D. degree.

The Master of Science in Psychology

The Master of Science in Psychology prepares the student for continuation of graduate work toward the Ph.D. and/or for the employment in business, industry, government, or education. Most students require a minimum of two calendar years to complete the master’s degree. Students must complete and pass the required courses listed below (32 approved credit hours), and a research thesis as partial fulfillment of the Master’s Degree requirement. In addition, each area may have specific core course requirements.

• The three required quantitative core courses (see above)

• Two of the four required psychology core courses must be taken and passed.

• PSYC 7000 Master’s Thesis (9 credit hours - minimum)

• PSYC 8900 or 8901 or 8902 Special Problems in Engineering, Experimental, Industrial/Organizational, or Quantitative Psychology (6 credit hours – minimum to count towards the MS degree)

Doctoral Program

The Doctoral Program in Psychology provides the student with an opportunity for advanced study in Engineering, Experimental (focus areas in cognitive science, cognitive aging, and animal behavior), Industrial/Organizational, or Quantitative Psychology. Each of these curricula consists of additional courses and programs of individual study and research beyond the core curriculum. Overall, the program will provide all students with a strong background in general experimental psychology, quantitative methodology, and the students’ area of specialization. As indicated above, the Doctoral Degree program consists of completion of four categories of course requirements: quantitative core courses, general psychology core courses, professional course requirements, and specific program requirements. The institute additionally mandates that 9 credit hours be earned in a "minor" field that differs from the discipline of psychology of the Ph.D. investigation (see Minor Requirements). Finally, in addition to the course work, the student must successfully complete a Master’s thesis, the School’s comprehensive examination, and an independent research project that culminates into the Ph.D. thesis. Except for the minor, all School and area course and research requirements must be completed before taking the comprehensive exam. To summarize again, these include:

• The three required quantitative core courses (see above)

• The four core courses

• The two required professional courses (see above)

Specific Industrial/Organizational Program Requirements

Industrial/Organizational Psychology

In addition to departmental requirements, doctoral students in the I/O psychology program must complete three course-set requirements (for a total of four courses) and to complete a Minor in Statistics/Quantitative Methods. These requirements are designed to provide I/O graduate students with the critical knowledge, skills, and competencies for theory-building and conducting research related to the psychology of work.

All students must pass (with a grade of ‘B’ or better):

• PSYC 7201 Industrial/Organizational Psychology

• PSYC 7202 Personnel Psychology Seminar

• PSYC 7203 Organizational Behavior Psychology Seminar

• A minimum of one advanced I/O topical seminar

Colloquia and Brown Bags

COLLOQUIA

Periodically, scholars from visiting universities are regularly invited as guest speakers to the School of Psychology. All students within the School of Psychology are expected to attend department-wide colloquia that are scheduled throughout the academic year. The department-wide colloquia typically meet on Wednesday afternoon, at 3 p.m., or as announced, so as not to conflict with scheduled courses. Colloquia meeting times will be posted in the main office, and may also be announced over e-mail. Although topic areas may not be directly related to your area of study, this medium is provided to add breadth and variety to your training.

BROWN BAGS

In addition to departmental colloquia, all students are expected to participate in program area “brown-bag” seminars (informal research discussions) and informal meetings within their specialty areas. Occasionally, these will involve interdisciplinary contact with members of other academic departments or off-campus agencies. Check with the Area Coordinators for more information on the Engineering, Cognitive, Cognitive Aging, I/O and Quantitative Brown Bags.

Transfers of Graduate Credit

First-year graduate students with previous graduate credit not acquired at Georgia Tech may wish to obtain transfer credit for that work. Graduate courses taken either as an undergraduate or graduate student (in the United States or Canada) that were not used for credit toward another degree may be considered for transfer credit. Students who wish to be considered for transfer credit should obtain transcripts and syllabi for the appropriate courses. In consultation with their advisors, they will determine whether the courses are germane to their program of study. After approval by the graduate coordinator, the form will be submitted to the registrar for incorporation into the students' permanent records.

Basic Requirements

A student may transfer a maximum of 6 semester hours of course work. The courses for which transfer credit is sought must be graduate level courses taken at an accredited institution in the United States or Canada and not used for credit toward another degree. The student must supply a current transcript for this evaluation.

Procedures

The steps which must be followed in all cases are:

1. The student must confer with the graduate advisor to ascertain whether the courses to be transferred are a logical part of the student's graduate program.

2. If the courses are appropriate, the student will deliver to the school that teaches such courses a copy of the current transcript, necessary descriptive materials including catalog descriptions, and textbooks used for evaluation. The graduate coordinator will determine the equivalent Georgia Tech course and the number of credit hours accepted. The graduate coordinator will then send the form directly to the registrar with a copy of the student's Approved Program of Study attached.

Transferring More Than 6 Hours

If the student wishes to transfer more than six hours, a petition must be submitted to the graduate committee including statements of possible justification for the granting of such a petition, transfer credit forms, and the recommendation of the student's school director.

Credit by Examination

Testing out of a course is an alternative to obtaining transfer credit. If a student has taken a course corresponding to a course taught by the School of Psychology, and is confident of his/her knowledge of that particular area of psychology, the student is encouraged to petition the Graduate Coordinator to allow him/her to test out of the course. This procedure is as follows:

1. The student should petition to the Graduate Coordinator by providing him/her with a course syllabus, course readings, grade in course, instructor, and institution.

2. The Graduate Coordinator may contact the Professor who taught the course at the other institution in order to evaluate whether or not the course material is comparable to the course offered in the School of Psychology.

3. The Graduate Coordinator will contact the Professor who taught/teaches the class in the School of Psychology in order to receive final approval.

4. The student will be notified of the final decision.

5. If the decision is positive, and the student has completed the appropriate forms and paid the appropriate fees, the student will be given an examination covering the course material.

Institute Criteria for Good Standing

Each student within the School of Psychology must maintain at least a 3.0 overall GPA measured on a 4.0 scale. If a student’s cumulative GPA drops below 3.0, (s)he will be placed on probation for two academic semesters. During this time (s)he will be expected to raise this GPA to the minimum criterion level of 3.0. Failure to raise a deficient GPA within this time period will constitute grounds for termination from the graduate program. For any one semester, if the GPA is at or below 2.0, the student may be placed on probation or dropped regardless of the overall GPA.

Graduate Course Offerings

Consult the Georgia Tech catalog for a listing of the graduate courses offered by the School of Psychology. A listing of courses tentatively scheduled to be offered each semester is available in the Psychology office. Graduate seminars vary from semester to semester. Other courses may be taught on an as-needed basis.

Course listings for each semester are published by the Institute in the OSCAR (On-line Student Computer Assisted Registration). The OSCAR is available before the pre-registration period each semester for the next semester's courses. A calendar on the registration website provides the pre-registration schedule.