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Department of Organizational Sciences & Communication

Columbian College of Arts & Sciences

PhD in I-O Psychology

Tara Behrend lecturing in front of a class of I-O psychology students sitting at a table

The Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology delves into areas including personnel selection, training and development, work motivation and leadership.

Working closely with advisors, PhD students often win awards for their research, and many present each year at conferences held by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Academy of Management.

Resources

For prospective applicants: In general, individuals applying to the IO Program should have GREs in the 50th percentile or higher, UGPAs of 3.0+, meaningful research experience (research assistantships, honors thesis, presentations and/or publications, etc.), and interest areas that match those of the faculty. Admitted students' scores are usually notably higher. We evaluate all candidates holistically, looking at their entire application before making admissions decisions. Further information about IO Programs, standards and requirements is available on the SIOP website. 

Research Labs

Shop Lab: Study of Hard Organizational Problems

SHOP Lab

Professor David Costanza’s SHOP Lab conducts research on hard organizational problems. Hard problems are ones that defy simple solutions, where theoretical support or existing models are lacking, whose study requires complex data sets, that use advanced methods and statistics, and in general are hard to figure out. Graduate and undergraduate research assistants work in the SHOP Lab on projects including high-potential leadership (what is potential anyway?), generations and generational differences (hard to study something that doesn’t exist), the impact of leadership on organizational outcomes (the connection is distal at best), and career paths (modeling individual, cohort, organizational, and macro factors simultaneously affecting individual career outcomes). For info on SHOP, contact [email protected].

Leadership & Diversity

Leadership and Diversity Lab

Dr. Lynn Offermann’s Leadership and Diversity lab examines leadership and team issues with a particular interest in how these play out in diverse contexts.  The world of work is increasingly populated by people from many backgrounds and individual capabilities and styles who need to work together collaboratively to achieve organizational success, and we examine how best to make that happen.  Graduate and undergraduate research assistants work on projects including examining the dynamics of inclusive leadership, virtual leadership and communication, multidisciplinary teams, and racial and LGBTQ+ concerns in the workplace. For more information, contact [email protected].

 
SOHAL Lab logo

SOHAL Lab

Dr. Yisheng Peng’s Stress & Occupational Health Across the Lifespan (SOHAL) Lab generally examines stress and occupational health issues across the lifespan. His first line of research focuses on aging and older workers issues, such as risky and protective factors of older workers’ occupational health, late career development, family caregiving, etc. His second line of research focuses on the impacts of social work environment (e.g., workplace mistreatment, emotional labor) on employees’ well-being and work outcomes. Graduate and undergraduate research assistants work on projects including college student workers (e.g., health behaviors, career development), ostracism/isolation, and proactive work behaviors. For more info, contact [email protected].

From Classroom to Career

A group of four students in business suits smiling at a conference

Real-World Applications

Employers of all sizes seek industrial-organizational psychologists who can help guide organizational change. This work might include:

  • Conducting research on employee retention and turnover
  • Improving products through strategic customer surveys and feedback
  • Advising leaders and team as they think through difficult decisions or craft company philosophy around topics such as diversity and inclusion
Office of Personnel Management

Internships

Many students also choose to pursue optional internships in the Washington, D.C., area. The department has ties to many local and national organizations, providing plenty of internship opportunities. Past internship employers include:

  • Army Research Institute
  • Federal Management Partners
  • Fors Marsh Group
  • GEICO
  • ICF
  • Mariott
  • Personnel Decision Research Institutes
  • U.S. Office of Personnel Management
  • The World Bank

"I was able to earn trust from co-workers because of my subject matter expertise in the I/O area and basic research methodology. The program also really set me up for success [with] opportunities such as my fellowship at the Army Research Institute."

Kaitlin Thomas
PhD ’17, I-O Psychology

 

Course Requirements

The following requirements must be fulfilled:

The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate Programs.

The following requirements must be fulfilled: 72 credits, including 42 credits in required courses, 12 credits in elective courses, and 18 credits in dissertation research.

Required
Methods/statistics
ORSC 8261Research Methods in Organizational Sciences
PSYC 8231Development of Psychometric Instruments
Three graduate-level statistics courses
Industrial/organizational psychology core
ORSC 6212Current Issues in Personnel Testing and Selection
ORSC 6214Personnel Training and Performance Appraisal Systems
ORSC 6297Special Topics
PSYC 8243Seminar: Psychology of Leadership in Organizations
PSYC 8245Seminar: Organizational Behavior
PSYC 8260Psychology of Work Group Development
PSYC 8291Theories of Organizational Behavior
Psychology breadth
One course from the following:
PSYC 8253Social Cognition *
PSYC 8254Social Influence *
PSYC 8255Attitudes and Attitude Change *
One course from the following:
PSYC 8203Experimental Foundations of Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition *
PSYC 8204Experimental Foundations of Psychology: Biological Basis of Behavior *
Electives**
12 credits in elective courses selected from the following:
ECON 6219Managerial Economics
ORSC 6209Management Systems
ORSC 6216Theories and Management of Planned Change
ORSC 6217Productivity and Human Performance
ORSC 6241Strategic Management and Policy Formation
ORSC 6242Organizational Communication and Conflict Management
ORSC 6246Comparative Management
ORSC 6248Strategic Human Resource Planning
ORSC 8265Current Issues in Organizational and Occupational Health
PSYC 8203Experimental Foundations of Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition *
PSYC 8204Experimental Foundations of Psychology: Biological Basis of Behavior *
PSYC 8211Community Psychology I *
PSYC 8253Social Cognition *
PSYC 8254Social Influence *
PSYC 8255Attitudes and Attitude Change *
PSYC 8256Introduction to Survey Research
PSYC 8257Current Topics in Social Psychology
STAT 2118Regression Analysis
STAT 3119Design and Analysis of Experiments
Dissertation
PSYC 8998Advanced Reading and Research (taken for 3 credits)
PSYC 8999Dissertation Research (taken for 15 credits)
*Can be used as an elective only if it is not chosen to fulfill the breadth requirement.
**The list of electives is not exhaustive. At least 3 credits must be taken in a course outside of the PSYC designation.