Master of Science, Option in Industrial/Organizational Psychology

This full-time program was established specifically to encourage qualified individuals to advance their formal education beyond the bachelor’s degree in areas that emphasize the value of human resources in the industrial community.  The program is conceived as leading to a terminal M.S. degree, but some of our students successfully pursue doctorate education.  Perhaps due in part to student interest in organizations, the majority of students are employed part time during the program.  Such employment can facilitate understanding of Industrial/Organizational theory and provide the opportunity for practical applications of material discussed in the seminars.  

A practicum course enables students to implement I/O knowledge and skills in an organization.  The capstone of either a portfolio/research project or a traditional thesis provides the opportunity for students to display the culmination of their research and analytical skills. 

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IMPORTANT DATES FOR FALL 2023

• University and Department applications deadline: December 1, 2022
• Transcripts deadline: December 21, 2022
• Financial Aid CSULB Priority deadline: March 2, 2023
• First day of Fall 2022 Instruction: August 22, 2023

*Note:  Due to COVID-19, the GRE General Test will not be required for the Fall 2023 application to all of the Psychology Department's master's programs.  If applicants submit GRE scores, these will not be considered in our review of applications.

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

• You must have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from a four-year accredited college or university, or a bachelor’s in another area and the equivalent of four lower division and eight upper division CSULB courses (please see Non-Psychology Bachelor’s Degree web page)
• Minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.5
• Prerequisite coursework must include the following CSULB courses (or equivalents, to be determined by Psychology Dept.):

PSY 220 Research Methods
PSY 310 Intermediate Statistics (requires Introductory Statistics)
PSY 314 Psychological Assessment 
PSY 332 Cognition or PSY 333 Psychology of Learning
PSY 351 Social Psychology or PSY 381 Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology or PSY 453/553 Principles of Group Dynamics

APPLICATION

Download a MSIO Application Checklist

The following documents must be submitted via the CalState Apply website

*Attention Mac users:  You must download Adobe Acrobat Reader to complete all fillable PDF forms for the application.  Although Mac Preview appears to save the information correctly, the forms are blank when opened. 

• University application ($70 fee)
  
• MSIO Department Application for Admission
• Statement of Purpose
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• MSIO Prerequisite List(Please refer to the MSIO Course Description page to fill out this form.)
• Last 60/90 Units GPA Computation Form
• Psychology GPA Computation Form
• Three Letters of Recommendations. MSIO Department Letters of Rec Form (Instructions for submission are on the CalState Apply website)
• Unofficial transcripts from schools other than your Bachelor's degree-granting institution (see below) where you took Psychology courses.  *Note:  Applicants who took courses at CSULB must upload unofficial CSULB transcripts to their Cal State Apply application even if CSULB is the degree-granting institution.

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Submit official transcript from Bachelor's degree-granting institution:

Either by Mail:
Enrollment Services/Admissions
CSULB
1250 Bellflower Blvd.
Long Beach, CA  90840-0106

Or Electronically:
Official transcripts may be submitted electronically directly from a US college or university to ES-IDPTrans@csulb.edu

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*International Students: Please be sure to contact the International Education office for
university application procedures.

TUITION AND FEES

Please refer to the university’s webpage on Tuition and Fees.  Tuition and fees will depend on each student’s residency status and semester unit load.  Typically MSIO students take three courses (9 units) per semester, for a total of four semesters.  

GRADUATE ASSISTANT (GA) POSITIONS

GA positions are available on a competitive basis.  Successful Psychology applicants who accept a program offer and are eligible to work in the US will be invited to submit a GA application.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND FINANCIAL AID

Links to information about Scholarships and Financial Aid are listed here.

Candidates in this program are responsible for observing the general requirements stated in the University Catalog as well as requirements specified by the Psychology Department.  Please email MSIO.PSY@csulb.edu for more information. 

Learning Outcomes of the MSIO Program 

Program Requirements and Curriculum Tracks  

The MSIO Program features a 36-unit full time, four-semester curriculum, with either a Professional Portfolio or Thesis as the capstone project.  Students must maintain both a minimum cumulative and program GPA of 3.0 and successfully defend their capstone project. 

SAMPLE SCHEDULE 

1ST FALL SEMESTER

• PSY 582 – Research in Industrial Psychology
• PSY 585 – Personnel Psychology
• Statistics or Elective

1ST SPRING SEMESTER

• PSY 515 – Test Construction
• PSY 581 – Organizational Psychology
• Statistics or Elective

2ND FALL SEMESTER

• PSY 683 – Issues in Organizational Development
• PSY 686 – Issues in Training
• Statistics or Elective

2ND SPRING SEMESTER

• PSY 688 – Practicum in Industrial Organizational
• PSY 699 – Directed Research/Portfolio and Elective
  OR
• PSY 698 – Thesis (6 units)

      Curriculum subject to change

Gino Galvez
Associate Professor 
PhD, Portland State University

Dr. Gino Galvez received his B.A. degree in Psychology from California State University, Northridge and his Ph.D. degree in Applied Psychology from Portland State University. Dr. Galvez serves as the Director of the Center for Evaluation and Educational Effectiveness (CEEE) and has over 15 years of experience conducting mixed-methods evaluation research for grant-supported projects and community-based organizations. In addition, Dr. Galvez has played key roles as an investigator or lead evaluator on multi-year grant-funded research projects (e.g., National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education). Broadly, these research projects have focused on examining interventions that broaden participation in the STEM fields. More specifically, he has examined brief writing interventions, low-income, first-generation status and underrepresented student success, undergraduate research training programs, the role of mentoring, and the development of noncognitive factors (e.g., science identity). In the department, he teaches courses in Test Construction, Research Methods, Qualitative Methods, Social Psychology, and Industrial-Organizational Psychology.

Christopher Warren
Associate Professor
PhD, Tulane University

Chris Warren went to the University of South Florida for his undergraduate studies, completing a thesis as a McNair Scholar focusing on the effects of caseworker turnover in home intervention programs. Chris went on to graduate studies in New Orleans at Tulane University, completing a masters thesis on the outcomes of emotion regulation at work, and a doctoral dissertation on affective reactions to the way organizations manage various stakeholders. Joining the CSULB faculty in 2006, Chris has taught numerous courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, including Research Methods, Group Dynamics, and Organizational Training, and has supervised a number of thesis projects on topics ranging from psychometrics to counterproductive work behaviors. In addition to research, he has done program evaluation for the department and its courses, graduate programs, and the university. Through service-learning courses, and as a consultant, Chris has also done team-building and development work for academic programs, research consortia, and local organizations such as the City of Anaheim and YWCA. Chris enjoys hiking, cooking, and tennis in his (hypothetical) free time.

Amy Wax 
Assistant Professor
PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology

Amy Wax received her B.A. in Psychology from Occidental College in 2010, and received her M.S. and Ph.D. in I/O Psychology from Georgia Tech in 2013 and 2015.  Her research interests include diversity in the workplace, teamwork, and social networks. She has published in journals such as Organizational Psychology Review and Small Group Research. At CSULB, Amy instructs classes at the graduate (e.g., Organizational Development, Organizational Psychology, Social Network Analysis) and undergraduate levels (e.g., Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology). In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis and ukulele.
https://amymwax.wixsite.com/waxlab
Amy Wax CV 

David Whitney
Professor
PhD, Michigan State University

Dave Whitney earned his BS degree from Union College in NY, and his MA and PhD degrees in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Michigan State University. As a faculty member at CSULB since 1995, Dr. Whitney has taught graduate courses in personnel selection, test construction and employee training, as well as undergraduate courses in statistics, testing, Autism Spectrum Disorders and I-O psychology. In addition to interests in employment testing and employment coaching, his research examines factors that facilitate employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. He is also a co-author of Measurement Theory In Action.  While he enjoys his adopted home of Southern California, his childhood roots are reflected in his undying (and some might say undeserved) devotion to New York Jets football. 

Dr. Chris Warren
MSIO Graduate Advisor
email:  MSIO.PSY@csulb.edu