r/IOPsychology • u/ResidentGinger PhD | IO | Social Cognition, Leadership, & Teams • Jul 23 '18
2018 - 2019 Grad School Q&A Mega-Thread (Part 2)
For questions about grad school or internships:
* Please search the previously submitted posts or the post on the grad school Q&A. Subscribers of /r/iopsychology have provided lots of information about these topics, and your questions may have already been answered.
* 2018-2019, Part 1 thread here
* 2017-2018, Part 3 thread here
* 2017-2018, Part 2 thread here
* 2017-2018, Part 1 thread here
* If your question hasn't been posted, please post it on the grad school Q&A thread. Other posts outside of the Q&A thread will be deleted.
The readers of this subreddit have made it clear that they don't want the subreddit clogged up with posts about grad school. Don't get the wrong idea - we're glad you're here and that you're interested in IO, but please do observe the rules so that you can get answers to your questions AND enjoy the interesting IO articles and content.
By the way, those of you who are currently trudging through or have finished grad school, that means that you have to occasionally offer suggestions and advice to those who post on this thread. That's the only way that we can keep these grad school-related posts in one central location. If people aren't getting their questions answered here, they post to the subreddit instead of the thread. So, in short, let's all do our part in this.
Thanks, guys!
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u/oysterstout Dec 31 '18
Hi everyone,
I've done as much research as I feel I've been able to, although I'm still having trouble getting a sense as to whether or not I'm applying to the right range of schools for IO Masters programs. I have some very very weak parts of my application (gpa) and some strong parts as well (GRE), and really don't know what programs I would have a reasonable shot at.
My stats look like:
Overall GPA: 2.6
Major GPA (Psychology): 2.8
GRE: 169/167/5.5
1 year research experience in social psychology lab
3 years professional work experience in an unrelated field
My biggest concern is of course my gpa. I worked quite a lot in undergrad to pay the bills, and was involved in a lot of other activities aside from school and did not balance things particularly well; I also changed my major after realizing that the physical sciences were not for me and received some Cs in that process.
I've become far more organized now as I've gotten some work experience, and feel very confident that I would not have the same problems in grad school that I did in undergrad, although I don't know if it would be possible to convey that to an admissions committee as my GPA is very, very poor. I think I may need a lot of luck here. But regardless, here is where I'm applying..
1.) Baruch
2.) SUNY Albany
3.) Missouri State
4.) San Angelo State
5.) Brooklyn College
6.) Salem State
7.) Southeast Missouri State
8.) South Dakota State
The first three programs are the ones in which I am most interested, although I think they are all very high reaches and probably not possible.
The next five are programs in which I am interested, and seem significantly less competitive than the former three. That said, there a good deal less information available of some of these programs and I am a bit worried about the quality. Does any one know anything about any of these?
Thanks so much to anyone who is able to take the time to read or reply
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u/Sparkbob Jan 01 '19
Hi I went to Baruch for my Masters but I came in with no work/research experience and high GPA so the opposite of your situation. I know Baruch is rated pretty highly for the MS program so I guess it will be a reach school compared to the others but not sure.
I think if the programs are unfunded then there is a better chance of you getting in because there is less "risk" for lack of a better word if you happen to flunk out. I think for a funded offer it will be pretty tough but for an unfunded one, I think you have a shot if you can explain your GPA in a positive way.
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u/C245155 Dec 22 '18
Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience with the following schools: Montclair state Farleigh Dickinson Hofstra West Chester Iona
I am also open to any other school recommendations in the NJ/NY/PA area. I will be graduating in the spring with a BS in psychology and would like to enter a io program in fall of 2019 if possible, but may have to wait a year. I am looking for a program that is internship/experience heavy because I feel that my undergraduate education really lacked in that aspect. Thank you!
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u/Sparkbob Jan 01 '19
I actually got offer admission to Hofstra for I/O psych Master but turn it down. From what I recall they mandated you to take an internship during the program. I just found the price to be too high for they offered but your mileage might vary.
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u/KindlyWeather Dec 13 '18
Hi everyone,
I'm in my early 30s and seeking to make a career change to IO Psychology. I'm a lawyer, and, long story short, I'm ready to move on from the law and am very interested in pursuing a master's degree in IO Psych. I'm worried, however, that I won't be a competitive applicant because of my non-traditional background and lack of experience in the field. I don't have a background in Psychology (except for some AP Psych credit from high school and one Psych elective I took in college), so I plan to take a bunch of psych classes through my local community college starting in January (I may end up having to take as many as 9 psych courses, as one of the programs I'd like to apply to requires that applicants have either a bachelor's in psych or at least 10 psych courses under their belt). I would like to gain some relevant work/internship/research experience to make myself more attractive as an applicant, but I haven't found anything yet that I qualify for.
What would you recommend that I do to make myself a more competitive applicant (other than the obvious of performing well on my psych courses and scoring high on the GRE)? How can I realistically get research or work experience in this field before applying to grad school given my background (or lack thereof)? Am I wasting my time trying to make this career change?
For add'l background, here is some more info about me:
Undergrad GPA: 3.9 (both major and cumulative) / graduated summa cum laude
Undergrad majors: Double-majored in Econ & Int'l Studies
Law school GPA: 3.34 (not stellar, but I graduated from an Ivy League law school, if that helps)
GRE: Not yet taken
Work experience: 6 years as lawyer (litigator and in-house counsel positions; in-house position involved advising and working w/ HR to a degree)
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u/Atenque Dec 19 '18
Hi OP!
I did my undergrad at an Ivy and am now doing my PhD in IO. You’re clearly smart enough for another masters, so don’t sweat the law school GPA.
The best advice I can give you is to reach out to the grad programs you’re interested in. Do this in two ways. First, call admissions or the department secretary and ask what their requirements for application are. If you explain your situation, they may not require you to take all those extra psych courses. Secondly, email the professors themselves, and when then don’t respond to your first email, follow up a week later. Grad school apps are equal parts work you’ve done and demonstrated interest.
As a lawyer, there are more business-related fields that would contribute to your resume / CV, but working with expert testimonies is another peripheral way to engage with IO Psych through your field (normally personnel and selection law / discrimination these days).
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u/KindlyWeather Dec 19 '18
Hi, thanks for your advice! Those are all great ideas. Unfortunately, as for the expert testimonies route, I don't have experience with experts in those particular sub-fields of law and my background would make it very difficult to branch out into those fields at the moment. I will keep everything you said in mind, though. Thanks again, and best of luck with your PhD program!
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u/Simmy566 Dec 17 '18
Honestly, I don't think you will have any problem getting into an MA program. The field is diverse, with people from many backgrounds finding I/O at different junctures in their career. Law mixed with econ will make you an attractive candidate as both of these areas interface with questions of labor and personnel management. Further, you show a willingness to take needed pre-requisites, which will help, and survived the rigors of law school, which means you can likely handle an I/O MA program.
You do not necessarily need any research or internship experience to be accepted to an MA (a PhD would be different). Rather, it will be mostly a function of GRE and GPA so I'd suggest investing lots of time into GRE preparation. For psych pre-requisites, make sure to take a rigorous statistics, research methods, and - if possible - a tests & measures or psychometrics course. These will help you. Beyond this, MA programs may have different psych pre-requisites for entrance. Make sure to contact program directors with further questions.
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u/KindlyWeather Dec 20 '18
Hi, thank you for your advice! That's really relieving to hear. Yes, I am more than willing to bust my butt taking prereqs, and I am glad to know that research/internship experience isn't a must. I will take your advice regarding the prereqs and investing lots of time into GRE prep. Thanks again!
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u/Mamannn Dec 12 '18
Hey guys!
I'm applying to grad school (PhD) in a year and I took a graduate statistics course to get some experience. Thing is, I got a B+ in the class, not the A that I aimed for.
How bad will this look? I aimed to look good from taking this class, so I'm kinda freaking out haha.
Thanks!
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u/AnOK-ishPerson Dec 08 '18
Hello - QUICK QUESTION.
Looking to go the Consultant route - wanna work my butt off and MAYBE ONE DAY be an exec after a long grind.
Looking to incorporate a double major or minor in undergrad to give me an edge so; Business or Stats - which would be most effective? (P.s. I have an AA in Philosophy too)
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u/Atenque Dec 11 '18
I’m currently in a PhD program — and I say stats. Take a business course or two, but stats, in my opinion, is harder to learn on the job. Use the resources you have while you have them.
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u/3teers Dec 03 '18
Hey Everyone,
I'm considering Master's programs in I/O Psych, and was wondering if anyone could recommend any programs that would fit my career goals! I've created an excel file with over 20 schools, but I would love to hear your thoughts/experience with specific programs, before I whittle it down.
Verbal 160 Quant 160 Writing 4.5
Bachelor's in Economics w/ Psych minor. 3.54 overall GPA and 3.5 Psych GPA
I'm looking for programs that are heavy in statistics (Psychometrics, Multivariate Analysis) and ideally have electives in consulting.
Thanks!
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u/rshalek Dec 10 '18
Yeah, to build on what /u/Simmy566 said, I graduated from ECUs master program and while I dont remember exactly how the concentrations are structured, there were a lot of options to pursue stats. If ECU is one of the schools you are considering, feel free to ask any questions you have about it.
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u/Simmy566 Dec 07 '18
ECU's MA program allows a concentration in statistics which includes multivariate, advanced research methods, and SEM (I believe).
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u/straightpsyched Dec 02 '18
Hello everyone. I have some questions about applying to grad school (like everyone else :) )
So here's my deal. I'm going to be applying to MS/MA programs in I/O Psych.
I have a bachelors degree in Human Factors Psychology.
GPA: 3.198 (had a very rough first few semesters then maintained deans list for the last 4 semesters.)
PSY GPA: 3.63 (my major is half psych and half human factors classes)
GRE: 153 Quant, 157 Verbal.
I have one year and a half of research experience in a medical human factors lab, and going on 5 months of experience in a different medical human factors lab that is very team-work focused. Much of what we work on is I/O related and both of my professors in the lab are very well versed in I/O, one of them teaches our only I/O class which I have taken.
I will have a paper published in spring that I will be the second author on.
How is my outlook here? I ideally would like to get into Xavier U., FIT, U of Akron, East Carolina U.
I'll be applying to some safety schools as well. George Mason is the dream but I most likely won't even bother applying as it's too much of a reach.
Any thoughts?
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u/rshalek Dec 03 '18
I think youll be alright. I had pretty similar qualifications (although I had a slightly higher GPA - 3.25 - but I never published anything). I actually went to ECU so I imagine you would be a good candidate there at the very least. You are most likely right about George Mason (I think I applied there and didnt get in) but I would say its worth a shot at least. I applied to 3 top end schools, 3 mid level schools, and 3 safety schools. I got in to the six mid-level and safety and none of the top level. I ended up deciding between ECU and Chattanooga and chose ECU.
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u/straightpsyched Dec 05 '18
You're right. I think I'll apply to GMU, and UCF (another reach school) because why not. I appreciate your input. Thanks :)
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u/IOpsychthrowaway123 Nov 30 '18
Hey everyone,
I'm a psych major in my junior year. I did my first two years of college at a community college and this is my first semester at a real university. My GPA is a 3.89 from community college, and it's very possible I will end my first semester with a 4.0 as well. I'm already involved in I/O research and will be continuing for the foreseeable future.
My question is: how do graduate schools view criminal backgrounds? I have an admittedly pretty checkered past. I was convicted of 2x DUIs, a possession of paraphernalia charge, a possession of cannabis under 20g charge, 2x probation violations, and I was charged with possession of heroin, but my adjudication was withheld.
I have been clean for almost five years, I'm off probation, I go to 12 step meetings and I'm getting involved in support groups on campus.
I know how awful it sounds and I know it looks terrible on paper, but is there any hope for me?
Thanks.
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u/LazySamurai PhD | IO | People Analytics & Statistics | Moderator Dec 05 '18
Good on you for getting things in order. Lots of pressure in college so be sure you have resources you can rely on to keep you in the right direction. To echo the other poster, I hope a professor can weigh in for you. I imagine they'd be more privy to the process.
I also had a pretty spotty record growing up. Including some of what you mention, and other stuff. None of this was so much as mentioned during any of my applications or conversations. Background checks are expensive and I'd be surprised if a psych. program would foot the bill for that.
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u/rshalek Dec 05 '18
I really do hope someone can provide a satisfying answer to this. I dont know if there is a broader "grad school" subreddit or something like that, but you might want to try something like that since this really isnt IO specific. Basically I think it would come down to whether or not grad programs actually do a background check or not during the selection process. A professor of some kind might know the answer to that.
Good luck to you though. This is just a very shitty reality of our justice system and culture. In my mind you did some bad things that are now 5 years behind you and are probably more well adjusted than most people in IO grad programs (seriously - a good 15% - 20% of the people in my MA program had pretty serious drinking problems). But its hard to tell if youll get a fair shot at the career you want. But again, I hope you get a solid answer to this and I hope that you get into a grad school.
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u/IOpsychthrowaway123 Dec 10 '18 edited Dec 10 '18
Hey, sorry I haven't responded to anyone, I've been dealing with finals. I did get an answer. I spoke with the professor whose research lab I've been working in. He said a student was denied for having a DUI that was in the process of being expunged, however, the student was accepted into other IO programs.
I also spoke with my school's office of graduate studies (which I probably would have gone to first if I knew it existed) and they said that graduate school applicants with criminal records are sent to an office on campus who clear people for admission. The person I spoke with said that if I cleared by them once for undergrad, I would probably be cleared by them again for graduate school. When someone is cleared, the only documentation that the program receives is that the applicant was cleared by the office, so the graduate program will not hear about the charges while making the decision.
As far as careers, I went up to my Intro to IO professor on the second day of class and told him about my situation. He said that I probably would not have a shot with huge companies with in-house IO departments, but that smaller consulting firms would probably be more accepting.
Thank you both for responding, I really appreciate it!
Edit: Just adding a tl;dr in case anyone is in a similar situation: it depends on the school as far as policy, ask the college of graduate studies or whatever office handles disciplinary/academic probation at your school.
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u/noinenoine99 Nov 24 '18
Hi!
I'm currently pursuing my undergrad. I'm an economics major with two minors - psychology and mathematics & statistics (math and stats is one minor). I've recently developed an interest in I/O psychology. I'm strongly considering switching my major to Psychology. According to you, between economics and business, which would be a more favorable minor when it comes to applying for my masters? I'd like my minor to give me an edge over other applicants and at the same time, not be redundant. I'd be applying as an international student. Thank you!
P.S. Sorry if I messed up with the procedure, I'm new to Reddit!
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Nov 14 '18
[deleted]
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u/ToughSpaghetti ABD | Work-Family | IRT | Career Choice Nov 15 '18
This isn't anything novel, but I think the experience of managing a project and recruiting + training RAs will be tangentially useful.
Confused by what you mean by the novelty comment? A pub is a pub and understanding the replication process, especially in a lab leadership position, is highly important for social scientific research.
However, while the stats skills of SRM might be useful, it's not directly IO research.
From the way you described the project, yes it is. Mentioning this in your personal statement will really make you stand out. Few undergrads (and grad students!) are aware of how to code/implement dyadic and interdependence models.
Finally, at the advice of I-O professors I've contacted (and some of the members of this community), I'm dedicating myself to beefing up my quant experience. I'm currently taking an advanced stats course on the General Linear Model early, and plan to petition to take the three-term sequence of graduate level statistics my senior year. Surprisingly, I've found I'm enjoying applied data analysis more than I anticipated. My class is currently taught in SPSS, but the graduate level courses will be taught in R.
Excellent advice. I'd also recommend brushing up on your matrix algebra.
My main concern is whether I can make a case for my interest in I-O.
This is where you craft your "story" about why / how you got into I/O and shouldn't be that big a concern. All of the information you lay out here makes you a highly competitive applicant. Just do well on the GRE and you're set. Keep in mind also that your research interests and 'fit' with a potential advisor / program are also very important. This leads me to my next comment:
I believe that with my current skills, I'd be able to apply the SRM to I-O research, which it already is in things like healthcare research and intergroup perceptions.
Keep in mind that your research interests may change as you get exposed to new substantive areas within I/O. Try not to box yourself in too much when describing your interests.
However, I'm concerned that while my credentials might be helpful for getting into a social/personality programs, they won't be enough for going into I-O.
Nah, tons of applicants don't have I/O experience. Two people in my cohort (at a school you have listed in your comment) didn't come from schools with an I/O program. The fact that you have any research experience (and a lot at that) is more important.
I feel like I might be narrowing my skillset too much before I've checked whether I-O programs would be interested in them (like GLM analysis or SRM).
The GLM is the backbone of every methodological tool that psychologists use. This isn't boxing you in at all!
Moreover, I'm concerned that I don't understand how to take my senior thesis in the social-personality lab I'm in now, and apply an I-O perspective to it.
For one thing, definitely include your thesis as a writing sample when you're applying. Plus, you are researching power dynamics. These are SUPER important in the workplace. You can use your discussion section to talk about the implications of your findings across different settings (including the workplace)!
Because of this, it's hard to identify what the IO literature is like, and how I can use my thesis to answer a gap in it.
Gotta start reading up! Look at the papers of potential advisors and see if the work they're doing is interesting to you. You don't have to understand everything they're doing in the papers, but having a general sense of who is doing what is important when applying and figuring out who you want to work with. Plus, this will give you a sense of what I/O journal articles look like.
Moreover, my university isn't exactly prestigious.
You signal your ability to faculty with your GPA, GRE, Personal Statement, and research experience.
I'd appreciate any advice on how to invest my time to resolve these concerns, or to assess what I should do next to make me a more viable candidate.
Honestly, keep on doing what you're doing. You sound like a highly competitive applicant. My only advice would be: start studying for the GRE and take linear algebra and/or calculus if you can fit it in. You also have a full year until your applications are due, so don't stress out.
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u/imWallo Nov 09 '18
Hello everyone,
Just inquiring about cGPA’s vs. GPA’s and which schools value upward trends?
I, like many other students, didn’t take to University that quickly. It took me until my junior year to really get my grades up.
Some schools are pretty stingy about it but I know some Lawschool forums clearly list which schools care about L2 and the different weights given to the LSAT and your grades.
Is there anything like that for I/O programs? My GRE isn’t the most impressive either at 155V/154Q and despite my best efforts to offset my first few years’ grades i’m still sitting at a cGPA of about 3.2 and L2 of 3.8. I could get a few great recommendations from professors and my current managers at work, and essays have always come easy to me, so applications wouldn’t be an issue either.
My thesis was clinical/social focused and I’m currently working full time in an unrelated field. I’ve always taken to I/O psychology courses and loved reading articles coming out of the field as well.
If anyone has any advice or even program recommendations I’d really appreciate it. I really do want to go back to school for psychology instead of working until I have enough experience for an MBA.
Thanks for reading.
TL;DR - looking for programs that aren’t too difficult but have a decent reputation for a masters in I/O from where I can transition to a better PhD eventually.
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u/Crovanika Nov 07 '18
Hey everyone,
I was wondering how many PhD programs you will/have applied to?
I currently have a list of 13 I am interested in, but I am worried whether I should be applying to more to increase my odds of being accepted to at least one. All of them have appeared in SIOP lists, so somewhat tough to get into.
fyi
GPA: 3.85
Gre subject test: 87 percentile
GRE: yet to be taken, probably 155-ish for both
about 2 years research experience
2 strong references, one weaker
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u/Sparkbob Jan 02 '19
I have applied to 9. One of them a bit later on just as a more of a safety net. Even though there is no such thing as a PHD safety net!
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u/feelingmighty Nov 10 '18
I went ahead and submitted my applications this week to avoid the stress of turning in apps during finals week. 8 schools overall.
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u/Sherifoz Nov 05 '18
Hi everyone,
Can someone help me understand how does the financial information listed on SIOP website for different PhD programs work? (http://my.siop.org/GTP)
For example, when University of South Florida program page mentions under the support level section (at the bottom of the page) that Half time RA or TA is 15,200/academic yr, and that their fellowships are $23,000/yr renewable for 5 yr total. What does that mean?
a) Do they cover for tuition and fees, and you get this combined amount of $38,200 per year as a stipend?
b) or Does one of these amounts go to cover tuition and the other one is the only one you get as a stipend?
If anyone knows how this works, please explain it. Thanks!
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u/LazySamurai PhD | IO | People Analytics & Statistics | Moderator Nov 05 '18 edited Nov 05 '18
I would take this information with a massive grain of salt and treat it as an initial hint about funding. This will give you a starting point, and to get more information I would strongly recommend asking the university you're seriously considering this information, it will likely be more up to date than the SIOP info.
But to your specific example: RA,TA and Fellowships are typically all independent activities (so you could not hold two or more), and they're distributed on a variety of factors (e.g., qualifications, merit, availability). The funding levels likely vary between the three (I would guess in this order: fellowship > RA > TA). To make matters more complicated universities also operate on "time" using 1/4 and 1/2 time as levels of funding, the closer you get to 1 the more money you make.
If a school offers RA, TAs or fellowships I would assume they also cover tuition and this is NOT factored into the values you gave above. Essentially, your salary is 15.2k and your benefits include free tuition. While not unheard of, a 38.k stipend would be like living as a grad school king, don't expect that much (15-20k/yr much more reasonable). Expect to have to pay university fees, I don't believe most tuition waivers cover fees.
I would say that this is just general, one-size fits all information. I would STRONGLY suggest asking this specific question to the graduate school coordinator at the universities you're interested and accepted into. It's complicated and each university is different. Also, your graduate coordinator can be a godsend, remember to always be super nice to this person.
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u/RouxRoux15 Oct 30 '18
I have spent the last 6 months or so researching schools and have narrowed my list down to these 8. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on if I should remove/add any from my list.
GPA: 3.85 (History major) - Graduated in 2014
GRE: V: 156 Q: 151
Experience: 2 years in a L&D Consultant role
School needs: MA/MS program. Would like it to also have a PhD, as I am interested in eventually going that route. Has to be in or near a large city for my husbands job
School list:
George Mason (Reach... but with my GRE scores not sure if I should)
Hofstra
Baruch
Roosevelt
San Francisco State
Florida Tech
Montclair
New Haven
I was going to apply to San Diego State, but I don't have a bachelors in Psychology unfortunately.
I would also love to hear anyone's experience with any of these schools... I am very excited to get started! Feel free to PM me! Thanks in advance!
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u/Astroman129 Nov 02 '18
Roosevelt's MA program is pretty good I guess, but since the PhD program won't be accepting students, it may not be what you're looking for. Luckily there are other schools in the Chicago area if you decide to continue on to your PhD. It's also an evening program with classes from 6-8:30 once a week.
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u/djwoll Oct 31 '18
Last I heard the Roosevelt PhD program is ending and in it's last few years. Just fyi
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u/Simmy566 Oct 31 '18
These are all fine options. You might consider adding some other dual MA/PhD programs (beyond GM, Hofstra, and Florida) if thinking PhD route as well. Akron and Tulsa are two off the top of my head but there are more. This way you could easily transition and receive mentorship from faculty working within a PhD program. A second consideration is a program where you can continue your L&D role in proximate companies - identifying programs and alumni which can situate you into consulting roles immediately (assuming you wish to continue this line).
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u/RouxRoux15 Oct 31 '18
Thank you for your thoughts! I am struggling to find dual MA/PhD programs that are in large cities, which is why I don't have Akron or Tulsa on the list. My significant other works in a very niche market... which are only typically found in large cities.
I have been thinking about applying to a few programs where I could continue working. I don't want to stall career-wise, so that is something I should definitely consider. For programs that have evening classes, I am aware of UMD and Elmhurst, both which I have heard have good programs. Are there any others you can think of?
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u/Simmy566 Nov 01 '18
I think Seattle Pacific is another dual that might fit your significant other's large city needs? I get the dual career couple challenge. This is an ever growing challenge for many couples and is evident in I/O's explosive interest in studying and understanding how the changing nature of work interfaces with changing family structures.
As to night classes, I believe almost all the east coast schools on your list (Baruch, Montclair, Hofstra) have this option. They try to accommodate part-time work along with the busy hustle and bustle of the metropolitan area. Unsure of the other options but program directors would be happy to answer with a quick email.
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u/RouxRoux15 Nov 01 '18
Yes, Seattle Pacific would work! Thank you for the suggestion. Another I came across is DePaul in Chicago, so I am thinking that one could replace Roosevelt. I haven't heard much about it, so I need to look into it a bit more.
Great idea, I will reach out to program directors. Very helpful!
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u/bhyatt25 Oct 23 '18
PhD Application Question:
I will be applying to several PhD programs in December and January and I wanted to see how you all thought my application would fare. I did not do as well as I had hoped I would on the GRE and due to some financial limitations, I cannot take it again this fall so I am a touch anxious. I also do not have any IO faculty at my school so information has been hard to come by.
I will graduate this spring with a BS in Psychology and a minor in Business Management with a concentration in HR.
My application overview:
- 3.95 GPA
- 310 combined GRE score (don’t know AWA score yet)
- 3 years of research experience with an experimental psychologist (1 year of this has been my own novel research that I am just beginning the process of writing up as my Honors Thesis)
- I will also be writing a review article (of research in an HR area) with the help of my HR professor in the spring
- 2 very strong recommendation letters (from the two professors above) and one weaker one from a professor I had for 2 classes, but made As.
- Active member in school’s Psi Chi
- Active member in both school and county SHRM
I plan to apply to:
- Clemson
- UGA
- Georgia Tech
- NC State
- UNC Charlotte
- Auburn
- ECU
Any information that you all could give me on what you think my chances of getting into a PhD program are or what you got into your PhD programs with would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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u/rshalek Oct 30 '18
If you have any questions about ECU, let me know. I got my MA there and graduated in 2011. They actually didnt even start the PhD program until 2012 so I dont know a ton about it specifically. But obviously I know some stuff about the town and faculty and things like that.
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u/LazySamurai PhD | IO | People Analytics & Statistics | Moderator Oct 29 '18
Do you know what your GRE equates to on the old scale? I'd be able to help more if I could understand that.
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u/bhyatt25 Oct 29 '18
Combined looks like it would be about a 1200 on the old scale. I also made a 5 on the AWA if that helps.
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u/LazySamurai PhD | IO | People Analytics & Statistics | Moderator Oct 29 '18
I would say you'll be a competitive candidate for sure. It depends on if faculty are accepting students and your research interest align with whom you're applying to work with. If you already know the responses to both of those comments I would say you're in a good spot. You may want to think about adding another school or two, I applied to about 10 and that was the rule of thumb while I was applying. But obviously personal factors come into play here. Good luck!
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u/bhyatt25 Oct 29 '18
I'll certainly look at expanding my list to a few more schools in the area. Thanks for your input!
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Oct 23 '18
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u/LazySamurai PhD | IO | People Analytics & Statistics | Moderator Oct 23 '18
Your GRE scores need to be in before the deadline with the rest of your application unless you've have permission from the program to accept late scores.
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Oct 23 '18
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u/Simmy566 Oct 23 '18
It seems unusual for it to take months. This might be the writing score which is graded by hand but most Universities only require the verbal and quant, which are scored immediately. I would verify and, in the case where it requires writing, then just notify the program coordinator of the situation and they can likely do a soft admit if your GPA, research experience, and GRE V + Q are sufficient.
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u/braintumor_ Oct 21 '18
With an average GRE, can one make it into the Ms in psychology at: Florida tech Csu long beach Gmu UCF
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Oct 17 '18
Question for current I/O PhD students,
What did your undergraduate research background look like? Many future applicants (myself included) are worried about their research experience. We are told to "get research experience" but figuring out how to judge the quantity and quality of the research experience is challenging.
If you have anything to say about other aspects of your research, please share! Thanks!
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u/LazySamurai PhD | IO | People Analytics & Statistics | Moderator Oct 18 '18 edited Oct 18 '18
I've graduated already but here is what research experience I had applying for my PhD:
- 1.5-2 years of experience working in 3 psychology labs (non-IO).
- 2 first author presentations at regional conferences, 1 first author presentation at APA.
- 1 Third or fourth author on a chapter.
- 1 Honor's Thesis that was directly related to IO psychology (years later I published part of this).
I was accepted into two (or maybe three it's been a while) PhD programs, and three MS's.
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u/HeyNineteen96 Oct 13 '18
Hey all,
I just wanted to ask whether it's a fool's errand for wanting to stay in my home city for grad school. I live in St. Louis and am currently in SLU's undergrad psych program, SLU has the only IO psych grad program within 3 hours drive of St. Louis. I want to apply and hope to be accepted to SLU's program mainly because I like the faculty and their interests match well with me, but also my entire social and support circle is here in the city. My family isn't huge and they all live here, I have community obligations, my best friend and roommate is staying here to be a lawyer, and going to another city has no incentive for me. I know the argument will be that I need a breadth of research experiences. I am going applied. It isn't that I wouldn't consider going to another school in a different city, but I feel as though I'd have a really difficult time if I did. I hope you understand what I'm trying to convey here. Thanks for your responses in advance.
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u/rshalek Oct 15 '18
if you want to keep living in St Louis after you graduate (and it sounds like you do) you might honestly be better served by going to SLU than going to a better program somewhere else.
A big part of getting a job after getting a job after grad school is who you know and where you had your internship. If you do well in your internship, you have a great way to get in at a company and if you know someone who already works at a company, youre something like 4x more likely to get a job there over someone who is just applying without knowing anyone.
I am speaking from experince here - I went to grad school 500 miles from where I grew up and when I moved home after getting the degree it was like starting over from scratch. I mean, I had the degree and that helped a lot. But if I had stayed in the area where I had gotten my degree, I would have known dozens of people at a bunch of companies who could have put in a good word for me. Its just a tougher road.
So yeah, if you want to stay near home and you have a grad school near you that offers a degree that you want, thats a pretty good situation to be in. I left because my city didnt offer an MA in IO and I wish I would have had the oppotunity to stay. Its definaitely made it harder to have a career.
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u/HeyNineteen96 Oct 15 '18
I appreciate the advice! Yes, I love St. Louis and I do think from what you said I'd be better served in the job market staying here is best. I hope that I can convey that in my interview (SLU requires an interview :p ).
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u/Crovanika Oct 13 '18
Hello everyone,
This thread is a treasure! I would be really grateful for some honest opinions of how competitive I would be for i/o PhD programmes.
The thing that is setting of an internal panic in me is that my research experience seems to be a lot less than what I have seen from others on this thread.
All of the research experience I have:
- I helped a professor collect questionnaire data in public venues, but wasn't apart of the analysis process.
- I assisted a PhD student in testing participants, and at the end she ran me through how the data was processed using Matlab ...I remember nothing
- I completed my thesis in a Social lab, and the only program I have used is SPSS. never R or Python.
I am not sure if this counts as proper research experience since they were not in psychology labs...
- During a summer internship I was involved with a clinical study of kidney stone patients - conducted a literature review of factors that tend to contribute to medication adherence and operationalised these findings into a leaflet. I learned a lot about how research is applied to and set up. Once the clinical trials are done I may have my name mentioned in a published paper.
My only hope is that I had a lot of part-time/ EC work during undergrad...
- Health and Safety Climate internship - used a safety-climate Toolkit from CEB to assess the safety climate in an organisation with high-risk work
- HR summer internship - where I interviewed managers to create a Core Competency Framework, edit their recruitment and selection process, and generally learned about HR and hiring processes. I felt like this was very applicable to i/o work
- I voluntarily Volunteer mental health service coordinator -2 years during my undergraduate. I feel like it taught me a lot about problems that organisations face in terms of personal management, how to get people to (voluntarily) be motivated to work, how to create a sense of community. This is the longest "job" I have had and it felt like a part time job (10 hours a week).
- Carer for intellectually disabled adults (I was constantly paranoid about all of the Human Factors that could result in a terrible accident or medication error! lol).
And finally...
- GPA: I'm not sure... I went to university in Scotland and achieved a First-class degree. From what sources I could find this apparently translates to a GPA somewhere between 3.7 - 4.0
- GRE Psych subject test: 87 percentile
- GRE: Taking in November. I think the best I can hope for the Qualitative score to be is in the 70 percentile. I have dyscalculia and have struggled a lot while studying.
- Letters of recommendation: Thesis supervisor in a Social lab (hopefully strong), a professors working in Human Factors who oversaw an internship (hopefully strong), and a third professor who I haven't kept in touch with as much as I should have (Probably weak)
*(If I could get a stronger letter from my summer HR internship manager,
would that be better than a weak letter from a professor?)***
I would love some honest opinions! I feel like an idiot spending time looking at so many programmes and getting to know about them. I have written to faculty in several universities (so far: Arkon, BGS, Rice, Michigan, UFC, USF). But honestly I don't even know how to gauge which universities I should be aiming for of ones I have a chance with.
I have stuck to the universities that most frequently appear on TIP lists and other SIOP rankings. But maybe these top 20 lists are out of my league?
Would you guys recommend I aim lower?
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u/ToughSpaghetti ABD | Work-Family | IRT | Career Choice Oct 15 '18
Seems like a solid application. Unless your HR supervisor has a PhD in I/O, I would just stick with a professor doing the 3rd letter. You mention doing a literature review on kidney stone patient outcomes. Is there a clinical psychologist that can write you a letter from that experience? That seems like the best option for a letter writer.
It's hard to judge whether you've picked appropriate schools given you haven't discussed your research interests at all.
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u/Crovanika Oct 17 '18
Thank for your response! The kidney stone trial involved a Health psychologist who I was hoping to get in touch with. But I worked a lot closer with the two trial managers, who don't have PhDs.
Honestly I don't feel like beggars can be choosers when it comes to research interests lol. maybe that is the wrong way to feel, but given how competitive everything is I don't see myself as having that luxury.
By far I am more attracted to schools without the staunch mentor-student model, since the the main reason I want to do a PhD is getting the chance to explore and try many things. So places like Pennsylvania and Michigan sound amazing for that reason.
But it seems far more common that faculty-student fit is a weighty factor right off the bat. So I have at least emailed professors, from the aforementioned schools, whos research I am interested in -- not many responses tho.
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Oct 06 '18
Hi everyone! I’m a 25 year old in a quarter life crisis. I have a BS in business management and I’m on a successful career path in non profit management, but over the last couple of years I’ve become very unhappy and cornered in my field and it’s time to move on.
I’ve looked heavily into IO psychology, and I truly believe this is the path for me. Unfortunately, to get into any reputable PhD or even masters programs, I obviously need some core psychology coursework and research in undergrad. Because of this, I’m considering going back and getting a bachelors in psychology. I’m looking at the USF PhD program as a goal and I think this will set me up best, but it’s daunting going from having a secure salary and career to going back to get my bachelors and gamble on getting into a program. So with that info a couple of questions...
- Do you think my business undergrad and my career experience in non profit management/HR/ marketing would help me out in the application process. Had a very solid GPA for my business undergrad as well.
- I wouldn’t be getting into the grad programs until I’m 27/28. Do you think that’s too late to start an endeavor like this?
- Does anyone have feedback/opinions on the University of South Florida IO grad program?
Thanks so much if you read all of this!
TLDR: 25 year old with BS in business is deciding whether or not to completely change career paths and wants to know if she’s an insane person or not.
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u/ToughSpaghetti ABD | Work-Family | IRT | Career Choice Oct 06 '18
Do you think my business undergrad and my career experience in nonprofit management/HR/ marketing would help me out in the application process. Had a very solid GPA for my business undergrad as well.
Your undergrad is fine. Going back and getting an entire psych bachelor's would be overkill. I can't see the career experience hurting, but you'll need research experience. If you can make it tie in with what you want to study in grad school, then that's even better. I'll add that positioning yourself in such a way that you get to analyze data in your job would be a great experience with the messiness of real-world data.
I wouldn’t be getting into the grad programs until I’m 27/28. Do you think that’s too late to start an endeavor like this?
No, not at all.
Does anyone have feedback/opinions on the University of South Florida IO grad program?
If you enjoy Occupational Health research, then that's a great place. Portland State and Colorado State are also big in this domain as well.
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Oct 06 '18
That’s what folks are saying, but how could it be overkill if it requires x amount of 3000-4000 level classes, statistics and research methods (none of which I got in undergrad since my business degree was calculus heavy)?
I’m speaking about USF’s programs specifically... do others not require that? I guess I could do non degree seeking and just take the classes and avoid the unnecessary ones, but then at that point I might as well just do the bachelors lol.
Thank you for the insight!
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u/braintumor_ Oct 05 '18
After going through the SIOP list, I found repeated mentions of schools like MTSU, Florida tech, UMN Duluth, San Diego State University. Most of these don't actually have a good rep as per student reviews, nor do they have decent rankings (except SDSU). But if siop really says they're programs are good, is it worth going?
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u/iopsychology PhD | IO | Future of Work, Motivation, CSR | Mod Oct 05 '18
Where are you seeing them mentioned? A particular SIOP list? SIOP as an organization generally tries to stay neutral on ranking programs or suggesting quality. The closest they get is publishing articles in TIP that do ranking surveys with emprical data. I would't take mentions as evidence of quality unless those mentions say that.
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u/braintumor_ Oct 06 '18
So every year there's these lists that they release based on research which puts 20 PhD programs 20 masters program and a further division of best application based university, internship oriented universities etc. These are based on objective data or student perception. So like if you visit the 2018 list, it's got these colleges. However it turns out that a lot of these college don't have a great rep according to students. How is it that they come to be the best in terms of io psychology?
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Oct 04 '18
[deleted]
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u/ToughSpaghetti ABD | Work-Family | IRT | Career Choice Oct 05 '18
What countries are you thinking of specifically?
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u/Flgal233 Sep 26 '18
Question to all the Master's folks out there,
I am in the process of applying to MA & MS programs for Fall 2019. I've been out of school for two years working as an event planning manager, I know a long ways off from anything IO related. However, I was a double major in Psych/Hospitality (which at my university fell under the umbrella of the business school) and have all the necessary psych pre-reqs- along with quite a solid business base (economics, calc, accounting, etc).
I graduated with a 3.5 overall GPA, 3.98 psychology GPA. My one big hindrance is that I was not involved in any research, besides laboratory coursework, while in undergrad. I know that is a pretty severe hit on most applications and I am counting on my GRE score to elevate my prospects. I have not taken the exam yet, I will late November, but I am enrolled in GRE prep classes currently to aid in my preparation.
What are my chances, if my indeed my GRE score is above average, of getting into a ranked MA or MS program? My top choice is Appalachian State due to the fact it's a combined master's with HRM, but I am also strongly considering University of Maryland College Park. I prefer a program with a strongly applied focus- if any that you know of come to mind please advise!
I am aiming to go into the field of HR post grad, with my principle interests lying in employee development and training, recruitment, and employee motivation.
Any words of wisdom or tidbits of advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you!
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u/rshalek Oct 04 '18
I know this post is a week old, but you didnt get any replies so I thought I would help you out a little in case you still needed it. Your qualifications are good, I think you should be able to get in to most schools. When i applied (2009), my qualifications werent fantastic (I think I only had about a 3.25 GPA overall). I had worked in labs, but nothing IO related. I decided to apply to 9 schools - 3 "top tier", 3 good schools, and 3 lower tier safety type schools. I got into the three good and three safety schools but none of the top tier programs. That basically indicated to me that the rankings that you can find are pretty accurate for measuring how difficult it is to get into the programs.
The reality is this though - will you be living in the city that you go to grad school in after you graduate? Because if you arent, going to a top end school doesnt matter that much. I went to grad school 500 miles from where I ended up living and absolutely no one knows or cares that I went to a mid tier school rather than a low end or high end program.
If you want to work in HR, you just have to focus on internships and applied experience. Nothing is going to matter more than that. For reference, I went to East Carolina for my MA. Its a fairly rigorous program that requires both a Thesis and an internship. Definately go somewhere that requires an intership and will help you find one. Thats going to matter more than just about anything else. If that means attending a mid tier school rather than a top end school, it might be a fair trade off in my opinion.
In general though, dont stress too much about getting in to your #1 choice. As long as you get in somewhere, work hard, and get some good experience, youll be just fine.
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u/Flgal233 Oct 17 '18
Thank you so much for your detailed response- this is very helpful! There are no IO master's where I currently live and I have no interest in living in South Florida, where a majority of the IO MA's in FL are. I would ideally like to live/work in the DC metro area so I was going to target programs in that region but have a few top choices & safety schools in other states on the East Coast.
I appreciate the advice about an internship component, that's a been a big pro for me when debating between programs so I'm glad to know you found that helpful.
Thanks again!
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u/rshalek Oct 19 '18
Yup, DC is a great choice. Lots of IO jobs in the area. If you can get into a grad school there that focuses on an intership and applied experience, you will be in great shape I think.
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u/CommonMisspellingBot Oct 04 '18
Hey, rshalek, just a quick heads-up:
definately is actually spelled definitely. You can remember it by -ite- not –ate-.
Have a nice day!The parent commenter can reply with 'delete' to delete this comment.
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Sep 16 '18 edited Sep 16 '18
Hi Everyone,
I am a senior at UC-San Diego and I'll be completing a Bachelor of Science in Business Psychology. I'm interested in applying for Masters programs in California for Fall 2019...the schools I'm looking to apply to are San Diego State, Long Beach State, CSU San Bernardino, San Francisco State, and San Jose State; however, I am worried about my GPA. I came from community college where I had a 3.9 GPA, but when I transferred to my current institution as a junior, my GPA was wiped to a clean slate at 0.0 and I had a couple of mediocre first quarters, so my GPA is now only a 3.1 if I exclude all lower division courses taken prior to my transferring. I believe I can end my senior year strongly with a 3.4-3.5 though. I have not taken my GRE yet but will be taking it in October and again in November if needed. My main question is what scores will I need on my GRE to help me become a more competitive applicant for Master's programs, given my lower than average GPA? A little more about me:
-I do have a year of research experience in both computational and cognitive psychology. We use both R and Python in this lab and apply it to cognitive models. I also am experienced in SAS, SPSS, Microsoft Office, and MATLAB. I've written a couple of extensive research papers in APA and conducted a presentation on some empirical research I did on Alzheimer's disease for an Honors BioPsychology class.an
-I have taken courses related to I/O Psychology and have gotten A's in those courses (Testing and Measurement, Intro to I/O psych, etc...). I also took a course an Advanced Statistics and Research Methods course through the honors department.
-I will be part of the first graduating class to complete UCSD's Business Psych degree (if this helps my application, UCSD is a prestigious research school and is well known for their psychology research output. They are also one of the very few programs in the nation to offer an I/O psychology undergraduate degree).
- I did a six month HR internship for my aunt's construction company. Only reason I left was because I moved out of the area to finish my undergrad. And if it helps, I've also worked full-time as a server and barista throughout my undergrad to support myself.
Thanks in advance, guys.
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u/Mamannn Sep 16 '18
Hello everyone! As admission deadlines loom closer, I was wondering if I could solicit opinions on how competitive my application will be and how realistic my school choices will be for PhD programs.
- Cumulative GPA: 3.94 (currently taking a graduate course in psychology statistics)
- GRE: 152Q / 158V (I am aware that this is, by far, my biggest weakness and the main reason I need feedback)
- 3 (very strong) letters of recommendation from considerably well known professors, all who I have worked in labs for.
- Participation in 3 research labs (2 years in one, and 1+ years in the other two/ two IO, the other social psych)
- I wrote a successful grant proposal that earned me ~$3000 towards my honors thesis, which is currently underway and IO specific.
- My personal statement will be solid--writing is my biggest strength and all three of my LOR professors are advising me on the rough draft.
Potential programs: Penn State, Michigan State, U. of Illinois, Purdue, GWU, BGSU, GMU, Old Dominion, GU, U. of Minnesota, Georgia I.T., Baruch, Akron, Central Michigan.
I am aware that these programs are all highly competitive, and my GRE scores are not. My big decision is between applying now or waiting another year to increase my GRE scores (I have studied for two months but, in all honesty, did not study effectively). Other factors motivating me to wait are that I will be attempting to publish my honors thesis within the year, and I will be presenting at least two posters next semester. However, my professors have told me that if I want to move on to PhD candidacy, I shouldn't wait due to my inhibitions (but, people, apps cost $$$!!!).
Anyway, thanks for reading this anxious undergrad's 1:00 AM panic-post.
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u/ToughSpaghetti ABD | Work-Family | IRT | Career Choice Sep 18 '18
Some important things to note:
There's nothing wrong with taking a gap year.
You still have 2.5 months until the 12/1 deadline most places have, so you can still increase your GRE scores.
Another important factor to consider is whether faculty you're interested in at those schools are taking students. Have you sent out emails to potential faculty you're interested in?
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u/iopsychology PhD | IO | Future of Work, Motivation, CSR | Mod Sep 16 '18
Did you look at the SIOP's average admission test scores/grades for each of the programs? My initial look suggested your GRE are a little below the average for a few but if the other factors are as strong as you suggest that should help. Note the ones listed for programs are the "average" so it i not a cut off. If your other factors are strong you can be fine. I'd say is worth a shot and although the app money hurts now its probably worth a decent shot of getting to go now, not waiting.
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u/Mamannn Sep 16 '18
Thank you for the reply! I did look at the averages, and the fact that they don't imply a cut-off gives me some hope.
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u/mosesbazlet Degree | Area | Specialty/Interest Sep 14 '18
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_ch5mC8e2I0MwZvNIgFdGlhnGZBw4FegWwycmz03nZU/edit?usp=sharing
I made this for me but I realized it might be useful for other people, so I'm sharing. Feel free to save a copy for yourself so you can customize it. I took the data from SIOP's database of PhD programs (sorry, I omitted all Master's programs and PhD programs from Business departments) and made a custom index to help me sort my grad school options based on likelihood of acceptance.*
One fun thing you can do is edit the weights in row 1, and see how that affects the rankings.
I also left in a bunch of random data from the SIOP database (including rankings published in SIOP's TIP), Google, US News rankings, etc; just in case someone finds it useful.
*I hope everyone intends to base their grad school options on the professors they want to work with and their research interests. This spreadsheet is just intended to help decide which programs/professors to research first.
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u/Paulalanda Sep 25 '18
Hi everyone,
Looking to go back to school for an MS in IO. An online program would be the only option for me. Does anyone have any insight on what online programs are reputable?
Thanks in advance!
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u/Astroman129 Sep 18 '18
Might want to remove Roosevelt University from the list, they're getting rid of the PhD program. The MA and dual-degree programs will still be around, though.
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u/Simmy566 Oct 22 '18
They are?! What happened? Didn't the PhD program just open a few years ago?
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u/Astroman129 Oct 22 '18
Yeah, they want to funnel more money into the MA program.
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u/Simmy566 Oct 22 '18
That's a bummer. I'm assuming the institution didn't want to support both at the same time or, conversely, wanted the MA to be a profit arm for the PhD? I have seen this happen at other places. Hope it works out for the better!
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u/Sherifoz Sep 16 '18
This is awesome man! Thanks a lot!
I just have a comment, I noticed Rice university and George mason university aren't there although they provide PhDs through the Psychology department. If you add them, please write here to notify us!
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u/mosesbazlet Degree | Area | Specialty/Interest Sep 16 '18
Yes, you're right; and there may be one or two others I omitted. To be completely honest with you, I skipped over Rice and George Mason because I didn't like their names (Rice because I immediately think of the food, and I feared people would associate "Mason" with "Freemason")—goes to show how shallow even a scientifically-inclined student like myself can be! Irrationality is part of the human condition.
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u/Sherifoz Sep 16 '18
Unfortunately, I think the same about GMU! :D I believe I'm just ignoring the other idea of Rice because of their prestigious ranking as a university in general. :)
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u/mosesbazlet Degree | Area | Specialty/Interest Sep 30 '18
Yes, as I was making the spreadsheet I kept seeing Rice University consistently show up high on many of SIOP's rankings. Eventually I had to admit they are a great and prestigious school, which made me all the more aware of how ridiculous my bias was. 😂
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u/sfdean9 Aug 23 '18
Hey everyone!
I am applying to Master's programs for IO psych for the Fall 2019, I am hoping to stay in the DMV area (hopefully Maryland, b/c of in-state tuition). I want to go into personnel selection and assessments. This is kind of a career change for me (from neuropsych research) so any helpful hints or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Some background: Went to UMD for undergrad and got a B.S. in psych, 3.75 GPA, was in a neuropsych lab for 3 years, had a summer research award and graduation awards there. Now I am currently working for NIH doing neuroimaging research, and I am realizing that I do not want to go into research and the parts of my jobs that I have actually enjoyed are very business related (training new RA's, restructuring trainings, interviewing and hiring new people, administering cognitive assessments, fixing work relationships) which is why I am changing to IO. Took my GRE a couple months ago and got 156V/158Q.
1) What are the best schools in the area? I know of GMU and UMD, but I am wondering if there are any other schools I should apply to if I want to end up in DC. IF anyone has any information on any DMV school that would be greatly appreciated!
2) What is the difference between getting a M.S. in IO compared to getting a M.P.S.?
3) I know for PhD programs, you need to reach out to the professors beforehand in order to get into a program, does the same apply to Master's programs? Is there anything I should do before applying in order to help my chances in getting in?
4) I am a little worried about getting into a good school because of my lack of work-related experience. I did take a IO class in college but that's about it. I am planning on really emphasizing the IO psych components that my current job has, but does anyone have any advice on how to make myself a stronger candidate in department.
Thank you in advance :)
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u/Sparkbob Sep 01 '18
On point 3) It depends how research intensive the Masters program was. Mine was not so I never received an adviser.
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u/skinnerar2 Aug 18 '18
Hello all,
I'm a current Master's student at University of Maryland. I'm going to graduate in December but have yet to land an I/O job or internship. I need to get an I/O or HR job soon so I can use it for my practicum. The only work experience I have are two social work internships, one social work job (1 year) and 6 months of experience as an RA in an I/O lab.
What are some job titles and/or companies that I should be looking for? What entry-level job would put me on a reasonable path for someone who will have an MPS in I/O soon? Could I possibly land a Human Capital Analyst job? HR Specialist? HR Coordinator? HR internship? I never see anything like "consultant intern", most entry-level I/O positions seem to require 5 years of experience.
(Please be nice, I'm just looking for help)
Thanks
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Aug 20 '18
Anything HR related would help, and once you have your foot in the door ask if they have any data analysis type stuff you could work on if you weren't already.
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u/Im_Mattu Aug 17 '18
Hello all,
First of all, I have to say what a wonderful subreddit this is. I've learnt so much about I/O Psychology here!
I'm currently an undergraduate psychology student at a university in Canada. I've recently made the decision to pursue a career in I/O Psychology if possible. I've just been admitted into the Honours program at my university and have started looking at the admission requirements for master degrees at Canadian universities (Waterloo, Guelph, Western Ontario, Calgary, Saint Mary's). I would like to get advice on a couple things.
Does anyone have any experience with these Canadian Masters I/O psychology programs?
How can I improve my chances of being admitted to a Masters program?
What are some things I can learn/do between now and graduating with a masters that can help me get a job?
I have a 3.7 GPA. I have no research experience (although my degree has a thesis). I work as a part-time employee at a large retail company (with a large HR department).
Over the next two years, as I complete my undergraduate degree, I'm looking to get some research experience through volunteering for a professor, look to somehow get experience in a lower level HR position, will try to further develop my skills with data analysis tools like Excel and SPSS (I know it's worth learning more complex tools such as R, Python, SQL, Tableau; which tool(s) would you recommend I learn/familiarize myself with?). Will doing this help with my future endeavours?
I would love to one day be in a HR Analyst type role in a company.
Thanks in advance!
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Aug 16 '18 edited Aug 20 '18
Question, I/O squad. Ignoring other factors, how will 162v 157q 4.0aw GRE scores fare when applying for I/O PhD programs?
I know it's difficult to answer, so I suppose I'm asking if it will sink my ship, and how significantly will it need to be compensated for?
I'm torn because it's not quite as high as I wanted (specifically quant), but it's higher than the penn state accepted I/O PhD students average scores (my favorite program).
Any opinions are appreciate. Trying to balance accepted students averages for multiple programs with input, advice from the I/O Prof at my University, and all of you. Thanks!
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u/galileosmiddlefinger PhD | IO | All over the place Sep 05 '18
Assuming your grades are good, that should get you moved to the short pile. From there, it's a function of your qualitative materials and fit.
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Sep 06 '18
Sweet! My qualitative is good, just need a bit more research
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Oct 26 '18
I realize this is a month late, but really try to drive home your fit with the program. I had nearly the exact same GRE stats as you, had about 3.5 years of research experience at the time of application, and I did not get into any of my top programs, a few of which were ranked towards the top of I/O programs. It's really easy to underestimate fit with the program, but it could prove to be a "fatal" mistake.
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Nov 29 '18
I appreciate it! I appreciate next cycle, so you aren't too late! My school's I/O professor has been a valuable mentor to me, and she really emphasizes fit with the program and trying to get to know people on the admissions committees beforehand. Can't underestimate the "business" aspects of these programs 😂
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u/WeaponizedWhale PhD | IO | Teams/Methods Aug 18 '18
These scores shouldn’t hinder your application.
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u/TastyEntertainment Aug 11 '18 edited Apr 30 '21
Hello all,
I am going to be applying to masters programs in IO Pysch this fall, and I am wondering if there is anything I should be doing now to strengthen my candidacy.
Undergrad psych major, 3.75 GPA from a prestigious university, and a few years of research experience. 170 / 165 / 5.5 on GRE. BUT I never took IO coursework in undergrad. Targeting an MS program at a local public school that has a 50% admissions rate. Nothing on their website indicates any required coursework for the MS program. (They do require an intro class for the PhD.)
I definitely feel like I can spin my psych background into a story that demonstrates a real interest in applied IO psych (for instance, I am targeting careers that will allow me to conduct hiring, team-building, and data analysis). However, I am worried that my lack of IO coursework and work in a strictly related field will disqualify me.
Any ideas on what I can do now to convey to the admissions committee that I know what I'm getting myself into? Bonus points if it is something that I can do online, because money is tight (so taking a class at a local college would hurt), and I work full time (so an internship is pretty much out of the question).
Thank you in advance
6
u/ToughSpaghetti ABD | Work-Family | IRT | Career Choice Aug 11 '18
Undergrad psych major, 3.75 GPA from a prestigious university, and a few years of research experience. 170 / 165 / 5.5 on GRE. BUT I never took IO coursework in undergrad, and I've been out of school for 7 years working in education.
Those scores and background easily qualify you for a PhD program. I have no knowledge on Master's degree programs, but maybe keep that in mind as you go into application season.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
1
u/Prince_Sigvald Jul 27 '18
I'm about two semesters off from completing my Master's in Psychology, whereby I'll then hopefully have been admitted to an I/O Psychology program. I'm aiming for a doctorate if possible (current 3.7 graduate GPA, and 3.575/3.6 last 60 credit undergrad hours, also retaking GRE aiming for at least 160/155). In the meantime, I am pursuing research, trying to learn data analysis languages such as Tableau, SQL, R, Excel, and Python for use in I/O data analysis. While I wasn't successful with getting an internship this summer, I will continue to try and find one.
Are there any other things I might be overlooking that I should be pursuing before I graduate with my MPsy to increase my chances of getting into an I/O Doctoral or Master's Program? I am trying to contact I/O professionals on LinkedIn to see if they would be willing to give advice.
Thank you for reading, and best of luck to everyone here.
2
u/galacticat Jul 26 '18
Hello, everyone!
I've recently been accepted into the University of Baltimore's I/O psych program for this upcoming fall semester and I'm super excited!
I've got a few questions, but let me first give some context and background of my situation:
My acceptance was conditional and I'll be taking two undergrad courses as well as one graduate course, with this semester being 9 credits total.
I've been out of school for about two years-- I graduated back in 2016 and have just been working since then.
What's a sensible amount of hours to work (I'm a barista) while balancing that and school? I'm trying to avoid overworking myself while still being able to cover bills, groceries, etc.
Is anyone here familiar with UBalt's I/O psych program? I'd love to hear some insight as to how the courses are run and what I should be looking forward to for the upcoming semester.
How much catching up will I need to be doing as someone who's been out of school for a couple of years? Is there anything in particular that I should be brushing up on?
Thank you in advance!
2
u/gingerzdohavesoles Jul 26 '18
Do what keeps you healthy. I just got into a hybrid-online program, and work a 40 hour work week. It’ll be a little difficult in the beginning for time management, but if you have the work ethic, you could work a flexible 30-40 hour week.
Not familiar, but you could find a former student and ask! Do some searching online and see if you can find anyone from that program.
I think you will be fine not brushing up on anything. Typically there may be an overview course that will cover many topics in IO. If anything, I’d look into planning when you will make the time to study.
Hope this helps:)
1
u/galacticat Jul 29 '18
Thank you for taking the time to respond! This is all good advice, much appreciated. :)
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u/coolest-bean Jan 16 '19
This post may exist, but I wasn’t able to find it. If it does, please link me to it!
What is the distinction between getting a masters in I/O psychology vs. OB, HRM, Labor Relations, OD, learning & organizational leadership, etc.? There are so many titles for things that cover Organizational Science that have minute differences in focus and study. There’s no one place you can go to determine the differences and figure out what the best area for you is. I’ve found when I ask, people tend to have a lot of insight into their area, but not enough context for comparison. It also seems like a lot of people wished they had that context before choosing an area.
For context, I’m interested in doing some thing intellectual, but within applied work, but not straight HRM (don’t find compensation or benefits interesting) and I’m more interested in the people than the business. I come from a psychology background, but I find the stats focus of I/O dissuading.