About the Program
Graduate students in Psychological Sciences are expected to become qualified researchers and experts in their selected area of concentration and to acquire a broad and in-depth background of the field in general. The graduate program provides comprehensive training leading to the Ph.D. with one of the following six degree options: Clinical, Cognitive, Industrial-Organizational, Mathematical and Computational Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, and Social Psychology.
Industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology is interested in people in the workplace and how work affects people’s lives more broadly. This knowledge of human behavior in organizations allows I-O psychologists to solve workplace problems and enhance workplace well-being, fairness and productivity. Applying psychological theories and principles, the industrial component of I-O psychology focuses on selecting and training workers, and the organizational component focuses on creating a conducive environment for workers. The field of I-O psychology is leading the way in understanding future of work and big data trends.
Ranked No. 7 in the world by U.S. News and World Report, Purdue University’s I-O psychology program is also one of the oldest, having conferred its first degree in 1939. Additionally, Purdue’s I-O psychology program has graduated more PhDs and produced more Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) fellows than any other.
Graduate students are admitted to work with a primary faculty member who will serve as their mentor. Heavily research-oriented, graduate training is based on a science-practice model, so students are trained as both researchers and applied scientists, equipped to work with organizations on human resources-related issues. Graduate students will also have opportunities to gain teaching experience in the program.
All graduate students are admitted with funding and will have guaranteed funding for five years, provided they are making strong progress toward their PhD. An admitted student will typically work as a graduate teaching assistant for 20 hours per week during the academic year and receive a nine-month stipend and tuition waiver. Students may also receive funding during summers if they obtain a teaching assistant position or if they are employed as a research assistant.
Program Website
Required Courses (xx credits)
Statistics Courses (6 credits)
Select statistics courses from either the PSY list or the STAT list.
Seminar Course (xx credits)
Students must enroll in the seminar course each semester.
Industrial-Organizational Psychology Seminar (6 credits)
Students must enroll in 6 credits of any I-O Pscyhology graduate seminars. This cannot be a course listed under the I-O Area Courses.
Industrial-Organizational Psychology Courses (12 credits)
Electives (9 credits)
The Department of Psychological Sciences requires three graduate courses outside the student’s major area. At least one of these courses must be a graduate course offered within the department. Two courses may be from outside of the Department (e.g. an Interdisciplinary Neuroscience course, a HDFS course, a Sociology course). Students will typically satisfy the requirement through other topic areas offered within the department. These courses must be approved by the student’s advisory committee.
Thesis Research (xx credits)
The Master’s thesis is an original research project that typically involves the use of empirical data. The Master’s committee consists of at least three faculty. The student’s Major Professor will serve as Chair, and at least one of the two of the remaining members must be from within the I-O area. The third member can be from within or outside the I-O area and can be from within or outside of the Psychological Sciences Department.
The Master’s process involves a proposal and a defense. The proposal consists of a written document describing a potential research project, and a meeting in which the committee evaluates the project for approval. The defense consists of a written document (the Master’s thesis) describing the completed research project, and a meeting in which the committee evaluates the document, candidate’s presentation, and the candidate’s knowledge of the topic. The Master’s defense is typically completed by the end of the third year.
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