News

Baker College Center for Graduate Studies officials announce the addition of a Master of Science in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology degree program beginning September 2011. The program will be offered online and is based on a practitioner-scholar model: the study of behavior in organizational and work settings and the application of the theories, methods, approaches and principles of psychology to individuals and groups in the workplace and other organizational settings. Psychology, the science of behavior, always references practical implications. A psychologist explores why people behave as they do and which internal or external conditions determine or stimulate behavior. I/O psychology practitioners focus on the same questions in relation to human behavior in the workplace.

“Baker College continually updates its program offerings to meet the demands of today’s professionals and the marketplace,” said Michael E. Heberling, Ph.D., Baker College Center for Graduate Studies president. “I/O psychology is the fastest growing and highest paid specialization in psychology, and the career opportunities are numerous.”

I/O psychologists work in many areas of the organization including:

• Employee testing, selection and promotion, training and development, attitudes and satisfaction and motivation
• Organizational development – change management, surveys, job design and evaluation, team building, workforce planning, cross-cultural and diversity issues, impact of technology on the workplace, customer service issues
• Human resource management – legal issues, workplace health, compensation and benefits, employee behavior and issues, work-life programs, performance evaluations and assessments
• Research – design and methods, data analysis and statistics, statistical models

Students enrolled in Baker’s new master’s degree program will learn to apply the theory and principles of industrial/organizational psychology to a practice designed to develop leaders, managers, teams and organizations based on theory and principles grounded in scientific research.

“The diversity of the skill set that our students gain from a master’s degree in I/O psychology will provide them with increased marketability and growth in their selected career path,” said Dr. Lori La Civita, Baker College Center for Graduate Studies and Baker College Online dean of psychology programs, and a practicing I/O psychologist.

Baker’s new master’s degree program has been approved and regionally accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. It uses as validation for its learning outcomes the guidelines and competencies recommended by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc. (SIOP), and the American Psychological Association (APA).

For more information about the new Master of Science in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Baker College, contact the admissions department at 1.800.469.3165, or visit the website.