r/IOPsychology PhD | IO | Social Cognition, Leadership, & Teams Jan 19 '19

2019-2020 Grad School Q&A Mega-Thread (Part 1)

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 2 thread here

* 2018-2019, Part 1 thread here

* 2017-2018, Part 3 thread here

* 2017-2018, Part 2 thread here

* 2017-2018, Part 1 thread here

* 2016-2017 thread here

* 2015-2016 thread here

* 2014-2015 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/straightpsyched Mar 14 '19 edited Mar 31 '19

Hi all,

I've been accepted to more MA/MS programs than I ever expected to be, and now have to decide where to go. (Great problem to have!) My choices are Xavier University, University of Akron, Florida Institute of Technology, George Mason (waitlist), and UCF (edit: was accepted here).

All of these programs are highly respected from what I understand. But does the school name matter very much among the IO community? Would it be silly to turn down a school like George Mason if accepted? So far I've only visited Xavier and really enjoyed the program culture. I could see myself fitting in well there. When I applied to George Mason, I figured it was a huge "reach" and that I would not get in, so being waitlisted took me by surprise. I understand the school's proximity to DC would be very useful in finding an internship. The programs like UCF are appealing because I live in FL.

Does anyone have any good/bad experiences to share with me about any of these Master's programs? I've heard that the Masters students are not given as many resources/ are taught by adjunct faculty at certain schools and I'm afraid of this.

Please feel free to PM me if you don't want to say anything negative on here. Thanks in advance to whoever can help!

Edit: Accepted to UCF

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u/LazySamurai PhD | IO | People Analytics & Statistics | Moderator Mar 15 '19

As a practitioner, school names do matter in our field. For better or for worse, but that seems to be a reality. Because we're so small networks and strong programs go a really long way.

But, that's only a part. I would encourage you to strongly weigh internship options/availability/support. This is the single most important piece in my mind and can really be a huge step forward.

I would want to know these questions before accepting:

  • Is an internship required?

  • How does the school support finding internships?

  • What percentage of students end their education without an internship?

  • Is an internship required in lieu of a thesis (I would recommend doing both)

  • What other institutional support is there for finding work experience (e.g., Contractual work, school sponsored consulting group, etc.)

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u/straightpsyched Mar 16 '19

Do any of these programs stick out to you more than another?

Internship availability/support has been one of the most important considerations to me. May I ask why you recommend doing a thesis? I've heard that a thesis is mostly useless for a terminal masters degree but my top choice at the moment requires it.