Industrial/Organizational Psychology

The Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology Doctoral Program trains individuals to be both scientists and practitioners. We believe that a strong grounding in basic and applied research skills and the theoretical underpinnings of I/O psychology are essential for both academic and applied work. The goal of the I/O psychology program is to continue to enhance its national reputation as a center of scholarly excellence in I/O psychology by conducting high-quality basic and applied research. Consequently, faculty and student collaboration in ongoing research projects is strongly emphasized.

The program has a major emphasis on academic research-based training with the objective of placing students in academic careers. However, in addition to academic positions, our graduates are qualified for positions in research organizations, government agencies, corporations, and consulting firms. Concerning the placement of our graduates since 2000, approximately 40% are currently in academic positions and 60% are in applied and research positions.  Some academic placements include University of Illinois, University of Central Florida, Rice University, Northern Arizona University, DePaul University, Oklahoma State University, University of Chile, Kansas State University, Eastern Kentucky University, and University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Some research and applied placements include Pearson, Select International, United States Special Operations Command (U.S. Air Force), VA Boston Healthcare System, ACT, American Institutes for Research, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc., IPR Pharmaceuticals (AstraZeneca PLC), Google, and State Farm Insurance. Over the last decade, all of our students have accepted jobs immediately upon graduation. We are very proud of our alums!

The domains of I/O psychology represented in the program includes the areas of testing and personnel selection, criterion development, training, performance appraisal, individual differences, organizational commitment, occupational health, workplace diversity, group processes, decision-making, and conflict. Our faculty consists of a renowned group of scholars. Consonant with this, the I/O psychology program was ranked 6th in terms of research productivity based on publications in the top 10 I/O psychology-oriented journals (Beiler et al., 2014). In addition, it was ranked 6th in terms of presentations at the annual conferences of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Beiler et al., 2014). Finally, the department was ranked 6th in terms of the number of publications between 1986 and 2008 in the premier I/O psychology journal, Journal of Applied Psychology (Mahoney et al., 2010).

I/O Psychology Faculty and Doctoral Students (Fall 2023)

Not pictured: Stefan Dumlao, Elizabeth Jenkins, Ellen Hagen, Zach Traylor, Jessica Walker, Ashleigh Williams, and Linden Wooderson.

Greatest Hits and Accomplishments!

We are very proud of the ranking of our Industrial and Organizational Psychology PhD program as the 7th best graduate program in the country! This ranking was generated by the U.S. News & World Report magazine that details the top 50 best graduate education programs in the U.S. Way to go, I/O!!! You can read all about it here !