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