academic catalogue

2023-2024 Catalogue

Psychology (PSY) Graduate Course Descriptions

PSY 502 Applied Research Design and Statistics.
Goal: To develop the students' ability to design research studies and conduct statistical analysis in applied psychology settings.
Content: A survey of research designs (experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational, etc) and statistical analyses (descriptive and inferential) in psychology. Students will learn how to conduct laboratory and field research with various data collection strategies (experiment, survey, simulation, case study, etc.). Students will utilize statistical analyses (t-test, ANOVA, correlation, regression, factorial ANOVA, multiple regression, etc.) to establish relationships between variables, test effect sizes, and develop quantitative, evidence-based conclusions. Students will also learn how to evaluate the quality of published research studies and how to communicate research findings to a lay audience. A computer lab component is included.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 4 hours.

PSY 503: Social Psychology in the Workplace.
Goal: To build student knowledge of social psychology theories and how they apply to job attitudes, group dynamics, and effective leadership in the workplace.
Content: An examination of social psychology research, theories, and applications that explain employee judgement, decision making, and attitudes toward work. Students will use established theories of group dynamics to explain team effectiveness and how group member interactions impact employee motivations, attitudes and behavior. Students will evaluate the role of leadership and how influence is used to motivate employees and optimize teamwork at all levels of the organization.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 3 hours.

PSY 504: Organizational Behavior and Theory.
Goal: To advance student understanding of organizational psychology theory, research and practices and how organizational dynamics impact human work behavior, motivation, attitudes, teamwork, and guide the employee work experience.
Content: A survey of organizational theory and scientific research on human behavior in the context of work organizations. Students will assess established work motivation theories and evaluate how organizational processes and structures impact the employee work experience. Students will analyze work attitudes, group dynamics, leadership, and team climate to understand management practices that foster a healthy and effective organizational culture. Students will explore the relationships between employee performance, team performance and organizational success.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 3 hours.

PSY 505: Human Resources and Personnel Management.
Goal: To develop student ability to use industrial psychology theory, research, and practices that drive the human resource management function within work organizations.
Content: A survey of industrial psychology theory, research, and practices and how they impact recruitment, selection, development, and management of personnel in work organizations. Students will utilize job analysis methods to describe critical job tasks, design performance assessments, and identify empirically valid predictors of performance. Also, students will determine how worker oriented analysis methods can be used to identify employee knowledge, skills, and abilities as well as guide future employee performance and development. Students will investigate how competency models are used to develop talented personnel throughout the organization and drive organizational success.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 3 hours.

PSY 506: Work Motivation and Occupational Health Psychology.
Goal: To build student understanding of human motivation in the workplace and how organizational processes impact the health, safety, and well-being of employees.
Content: An examination of employee motivation and how concepts of direction, strength, and persistence explain motivated work behaviors. Students will compare psychological perspectives on motivation and examine how job design, work processes, goal setting, incentives, and participative decision making are important to improving motivation. Students will explore organizational processes to understand how difficult work conditions impact physiological and psychological health. Students will evaluate work policies and practices that effectively mitigate the impact of hazardous materials, demanding schedules, workforce restructuring, harassment, incivility, and other demands of the modern workplace. Students will also explore concepts of positive stress, work-life balance, and professional growth to understand how work can improve cognitive and affective well-being.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 3 hours.

PSY 601: Applied Testing and Assessment.
Goal: Develop student skills and knowledge on the design, development and administration of assessments in the workplace.
Content: A review of individual differences theory and psychological assessments as they are used in personnel selection, performance appraisal, employee development, and other human resource processes. Students will analyze criterion development process and instruments used to assess the effectiveness and well being of employees, teams, and organizations. Explore the types of testing instruments and appraisal methods for evaluating knowledge, skills, abilities, personality, aptitude, and interest characteristics. Apply forms of measurement validity (face, content, criterion, construct) to identify, develop, and select tests and assessment in the workplace. Interpret and communicate assessment results in to professional audience in a work context.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 3 hours.

PSY 602: People Analytics.
Goal: Examine the role of statistical methods, workforce analytics, and research in evaluating individual, team, and organizational effectiveness.
Content: A survey of workforce analytics, statistical methods, and organizational research using R statistical software. Explore the application of data collection, cleaning, and management processes to large data sets. Test analysis of variance, linear regression, factor analysis as statistical models for analyzing individual, team, and organizational effectiveness. Review practices for interpreting, deploying, and communicating analytics to support data driven decision making in organizations.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 3 hours.

PSY 603: Employee Training and Development.
Goal: Investigate training as an organizational process for employee learning and development in the workplace.
Content: Employee training and development is a process of meeting both organizational and employee needs for learning in the workplace. Review training needs analysis from task, person, and organizational perspectives. Evaluate learning theories and methods of instructional design that ensure transfer of training. Compare traditional, technology based and blended training methods as optimal approaches to training program delivery. Apply training evaluation criteria to evaluate employee learning, program effectiveness, and organizational results. Consider career development and how informal learning supports employee development and organizational planning.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 3 hours.

PSY 604: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace.
Goal: Assess diversity, equity, and inclusion as a set of ethical best practices for leading multicultural organizations.
Content: Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are concepts that express the value of humans in the workplace. DEI programs are quickly emerging as an optimal approach to addressing implicit biases in the workplace and society. DEI concepts can be utilized along with traditional human resource practices to create supportive team climates and organizational cultures. The course will examine how I-O psychology practices can be designed to enhance the well-being of individuals, human rights, and working conditions in organizations worldwide. Following the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, students will examine ethical interpersonal skills and human resource practices needed for effective leadership in multicultural, global work environments.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 3 hours.

PSY 608: Organizational Development and Consulting.
Goal: Evaluate organizational development theory, concepts, and practices used to manage the change process and the consultant role in designing change interventions.
Content: Growth and change within organizations can present unique challenges to individual employees, large groups, and the entire organization. Organizational development integrates theories, concepts, and practices from many areas of industrial organizational psychology to design and manage change interventions. These interventions utilize training, socialization, attitude change, team building, survey feedback, job redesign, restructuring, and system changes to help organizations address positive and negative forces for change. Consultants can work internally or externally to the organization to build supportive relationships with key leaders. They utilize problem solving, decision making, and communication skills to diagnose challenges, design survey instruments, manage change intervention processes, and evaluate intervention effectiveness. Students will utilize the 'Top 10 Work Trends' survey from the Society of Industrial Organizational Psychology to analyze organizational development intervention designs.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 3 hours.

PSY 620: Practicum/Internship Capstone Project.
Goal: Integrate knowledge, skills, and abilities from prior classes to develop a project proposal that diagnoses an organizational problem and provides potential solutions through an organizational intervention.
Content: Students will work on a capstone project that integrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities they gained from prior courses in the MAIOP program. Students identify an organization willing to support their project and deliver an applied project proposal. The proposal will diagnose a human resources problem and provide detailed plan for solving the problem. Specifically, students will develop an applied consulting project proposal that utilizes industrial organizational psychology theories, concepts, and practices to diagnose an organizational problem/challenge, identify potential solutions, design an intervention process, and plan a program evaluation. The capstone course can be completed as a practicum for those with prior professional work experience or as an internship for those seeking their first professional experience. Project proposals will be provided to the organization as a pro bono (no fee), external or internal consulting service.
Prerequisites: Admission into the graduate program.
Credits: 3 hours.

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