Business is one of the fastest-growing areas for the application of professional psychology as organizations increasingly recognize the impact that human factors can have on overall organizational effectiveness. Industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologists and business psychologists apply the principles of both psychology and business to effectively guide organizations and individuals to success.

Sometimes described as part psychologist, part consultant, and part teacher, I/O and business psychology professionals provide a range of services. They conduct technical job analyses to identify the specific knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal characteristics necessary for success in particular jobs. They administer psychometric tests to better understand employees’ unique attributes and build optimal workforces. Additionally, they design performance appraisal and staff training models and provide coaching to managers and executive leadership, to ensure fairness, maximize motivation, and advance organizational priorities.

I/O and business psychology professionals work at organizations large and small, both nonprofit and for-profit. They work in human resources, organizational development, management, and consulting, creating more positive work climates and fostering individual and organizational success.

The program faculty of the Business Psychology Department is uniquely comprised of business and psychology professionals. By design, our faculty crosses disciplines and is diverse in education and experience, representing the areas essential to our conceptualization of business psychology. Faculty members have degrees in I/O psychology, business, clinical psychology, and organizational development. Blending their multi-disciplinary perspectives and approaches provides for more integrated learning across fields.

Psy.D. in Business Psychology

• Offered in Los Angeles and Chicago.
• Flexible scheduling options that meet the needs of working professionals. The Chicago Campus offers the Psy.D. program in an on-ground format with classes meeting daytimes or evenings. Beginning fall 2010, the Business Psychology Psy.D. will also be delivered in a unique format, which students attend classes on campus just one weekend a month, and complete the balance of their coursework online.
• Three to five year program. Students may enter the program with either a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
• Curriculum integrates industrial and organizational psychology, clinical psychology, and business coursework, preparing graduates to assume high-level responsibilities in today’s global, multicultural business environment. Students gain advanced knowledge of theory as well as application related to rightsizings, mergers and acquisitions, strategic repositioning, project management, change consultation, and executive succession planning.
• Students benefit from exceptional theoretical classroom training coupled with a broad range of real-world learning opportunities, including two supervised internships and an applied dissertation.
• Students benefit from an innovative and uniquely supportive dissertation model, ensuring that they reach key milestones in a timely fashion. Students take three courses (spread over three semesters and entirely one-on-one with their faculty supervisors) during which they complete a dissertation proposal, dissertation draft, and then the final dissertation and oral defense.
• New! Chicago students may now choose from two specialized tracks:
  1. The I/O Track provides students with a broad foundation in the discipline of I/O psychology, equipping graduates with essential assessment, intervention, and consultative skills to help leaders and organizations solve problems, enhance performance, and manage the complexities of today’s work environment.
  2. The Consulting Track prepares students to apply the principles of business psychology in consulting environments, helping to improve individual, group, and organizational functioning in both for-profit and nonprofit settings.

M.A. in Industrial & Organizational Psychology

• Offered in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Grayslake, Illinois
• Program is convenient for working professionals. Los Angeles students attend classes just two evenings a week. Chicago students have tremendous flexibility of day, evening, weekend, and online coursework. Grayslake students enjoy a unique blend of online coursework and intensive weekend classes.
• Two years full time or three years part time.
• Students benefit from exceptional theoretical classroom training coupled with a broad range of real-world learning opportunities, including two supervised internships. The I/O and Business Psychology Department has developed formal partnerships with dozens of organizations nationwide to assist students in finding their two required placements. Chicago School I/O students secure internships at sites ranging from large international marketing research companies to small boutique consulting firms and nonprofit social service agencies.
• Students gain a foundation in research and statistical methods, enabling them to approach problems critically in an applied setting, develop and implement surveys, design interventions, and create selection and performance management systems.
• New! Chicago and Grayslake students may select a Human Resources Concentration--a specialized track aimed at preparing students to be successful and impactful HR professionals. This unique program is the nation’s first and only master’s level I/O program acknowledged by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) for following its recommended minimum standards for HR degree programs. Students in this track take several specialized courses (such as Strategic Human Resource Management, Managing Organizational Diversity, and the SHRM PHR/SPHR Certification Preparation Course), preparing them to sit for the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification exam offered through the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI).
• Through a unique educational alliance with Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, Chicago Campus graduates may also earn an M.B.A. in an accelerated time frame.

M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology: Applied I/O Psychology

• Offered in an online-blended format.
• Complete in as little as 20 months.
• Designed for students working in fields such as human resources, training and development, consulting, professional administration, or marketing, who wish to advance their current careers by learning strategies for improving individual and group performance.
• Students learn techniques for improving personnel selection and development processes, assessing organizational weaknesses and designing appropriate interventions, resolving conflict, and understanding cross-cultural intelligence.

Certificate in Applied Industrial & Organizational Psychology

• Offered in an online-blended format.
• Completed in as little as five months.
• Appropriate for professionals working in virtually any field, who wish to gain practical knowledge about industrial and organizational psychology and learn to apply that knowledge to their current professional challenges.
• Students may apply their certificate credits toward earning a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology.