Industrial/Organizational Psychology
What is I/O Psychology?
Internship and Thesis
Application & Admission
Industrial-organizational psychologists contribute
to an organization’s success by improving the
performance and well-being of its people. An I-O
psychologist researches and identifies how
behaviors and attitudes can be improved through
hiring practices, training programs, and feedback
systems. Applying psychology to help individuals
have more satisfying work lives is a fulfilling
vocation. Some of the business strategies that I-O
psychologists assist with include:
Internship
• Internships present the opportunity to do professional work under the
supervision of a psychologist at ECU or one employed by the organization.
• Placements occur during the summer following the first year of course work.
• Students will be able to acquire new skills and apply concepts and techniques
learned in course work.
• Normally interns are placed on the companies payroll.
• Relocation is sometimes required for the summer internship.
• Admission to the program is contingent upon
meeting all requirements of the ECU Graduate
school. A completed application will include: the
Department of Psychology Basic Information
Sheet; GRE verbal, quantitative, and analytical
test scores; complete college transcripts; and a
minimum of two letters of recommendation (at
least one from a psychologist). Interviews are
occasionally requested.
•Recruit, hire, and retain the most qualified employees
•Develop fair, legal, and efficient hiring practices
•Design and implement new training programs
•Increase diversity in the workforce
•Develop performance management systems
•Minimize absenteeism
•Eliminate harassment and discrimination
•Increase motivation and dedication
http://www.siop.org/visibilitybrochure/studentbrochure.aspx
Thesis
• The Thesis is a professional research paper and an example of the student’s
research skills and ability to write an organized report. The student will
defend the completed thesis at an examination conducted by the thesis
committee.
• Topics for a thesis comes from work conducted during the internship,
research conducted in field settings and from lab-based research.
• Typical applicants score at or above 1000 on the
GRE (Verbal + Quantitative), and have at least a
3.0 GPA, both overall and in their major.
• Screening for admission begins March 1st. All
application materials should be submitted prior to
that date. Final decisions are generally sent out
in April.
• For course sequencing, it is recommended that
students begin during the Fall semester.
I/O Psychology Faculty and Students
Job Opportunities
Financial Assistance
Employment opportunities for those with a
Master’s degree in I/O psychology include public
and private sector jobs such as:
Personnel research
Wage and salary administration
Human resource development
Statistics
Personnel management
Job analysis
Quality assurance
Selection and placement
Training and development
John G. Cope, Ph.D.
Professor & I/O Program
Director
Research Interests:
Organizational selection,
disabilities in the workplace,
and the use of cognitive
models to analyze job entry
decisions.
Shahnaz Aziz, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests:
Workaholism, work/life
balance, job attitudes, jobrelated stress, and
organizational climate.
William Grossnickle,
Ph.D.
Professor (Retired)
Course Work
Research Interests:
Training, selection, and
performance appraisal.
PSYC 6430: Statistics & Research Design I
3h
PSYC 7431: Statistics & Research Design II
3h
PSYC 7000: Thesis
6h
PSYC 6420: Personnel
3h
PSYC 6327: Psychometrics
3h
PSYC 6343: Organizational Behavior
3h
PSYC 6465: Ethics
3h
PSYC 6521: Special Topics
3h
PSYC 6970: Internship
3h
Approved electives (at least 6 hours must
be taken from psychology)
15 h
Program Total
45 h
I/O Class of 2009
Jennifer L. Bowler,
Ph.D. Assistant Professor
Research Interests:
Employee creativity,
aggression, addiction, and the
development of alternative
measures of personality
Karl L. Wuensch, Ph.D.
Professor and ECU ScholarTeacher
Research Interests:
Attitudes towards animals,
developmental psychobiology,
paternal care, forensic psych.,
and multivariate statistics.
Mark Bowler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests:
Conditional reasoning and
personality, addiction, and
assessment centers.
I/O Class of 2010
• Research assistantships are generally available
for applicants. A letter accompanying the
application materials indicating the desire and
basis for needing financial assistance is
considered an application for an assistantship.
• Most full-time students have been research
assistants for at least part of their time here.
Besides providing financial assistance, the
assistantships also offer the opportunity to
improve communication and research skills.
Interested in the I/O Program?
If you are interested in applying to the I/O
psychology program at ECU please contact:
John G. Cope, Ph.D.
East Carolina University
Department of Psychology
Greenville, NC 27858
Phone: (252) 328-6497
Email: copej@mail.ecu.edu
More information about the application process
can be found on the I/O web site:
http://www.ecu.edu/psyc/grad/io
The Society for Industrial and Organizational
Psychology is also an excellent place to find out
about other programs and about the field:
http://www.siop.org