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Meredith College to Offer Graduate Program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Beginning in Fall 2018, Meredith College will offer a new graduate program in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology, a powerful combination of psychological science and business application.

Through the Master of Arts in psychology: I/O concentration, students will learn how to use scientific methods to understand employee behavior in workplace settings. The emphasis for an I/O practitioner is to increase the fit between the workforce and the workplace, and to help organizations function more smoothly in quickly changing work environments.

The Master of Arts program at Meredith, offered through the Department of Psychology and Social Work, is a two-year master’s degree that culminates in a full-time internship, developing graduates who are ready to enter the job market in a variety of industries and organizations.

“The graduate program in I/O psychology at Meredith is built on a scientist-practitioner model with the goal of producing students who want to enter directly into the workforce at the master’s level,” said Cynthia Edwards, head of Meredith’s Department of Psychology. “Meredith’s location near Research Triangle Park gives our graduates access to a range of corporations and research facilities that hire I/O professionals.”

Meredith’s I/O program meets or exceeds national standards set by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Courses include social psychology, psychological testing and evaluation, a three-part series on advanced statistical methods and research design, industrial psychology, organizational psychology, and courses through the Meredith MBA program.

One of the most lucrative careers in the field of psychology, the 2016 median salary for all categories of I/O practitioners was $82,760. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 19 percent growth rate for I/O psychology over the next decade.

Job titles for I/O practitioners include director of talent development, recruitment, selection, and retention specialist, and director of workforce planning. Tasks an I/O practitioner might undertake include employee recruitment, selection, and placement; employee training and assessment; organizational performance assessment and development; assessment and alleviation of occupational stress; and the improvement of group performance. An I/O practitioner might also help with employee disputes, as well as employee socialization and motivation.

Students in the I/O psychology program will benefit from the outstanding reputation of Meredith’s undergraduate psychology program, particularly in the areas of research methods preparation, the on-site autism clinic, and well-developed internship program.

Meredith psychology faculty have proven expertise in training students to become fluent in designing and implementing data-driven research through intentional, phased support. Instruction by faculty in Meredith’s AACSB-accredited School of Business provides additional rigor and guidance.

Learn more about Meredith’s graduate program in I/O psychology

Connect with the I/O psychology program via email at iopsy@meredith.edu.

Attend an Information Session

Melyssa Allen

News Director
316 Johnson Hall
(919) 760-8087
Fax: (919) 760-8330

allenme@meredith.edu