Degree Overview: Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree in Organizational Psychology
Majors Overview May 22, 2015Get information about Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree programs in Organizational Psychology and their educational requirements, coursework, career choices, job and wage outlook, and continuing education choices.
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Programs in Organizational Psychology
Few schools, if any, offer organizational psychology programs leading to an MBA degree. Schools more commonly offer Master of Science (M.S.) or Master of Arts (M.A.) degree programs in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. The psychology of work-related issues is a primary focus of these programs; these include job satisfaction, organizational behavior, and employee engagement. A more research-oriented curriculum may be studied by students in the MS program than by those enrolled in an MA program. Both programs require practicum experience or an original thesis.
Educational Requirements
Admission criteria typically require incoming students to hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited school. Majors in psychology may be preferred. Schools expect applicants to have completed an undergraduate statistics class and several undergraduate courses in psychology. While seeking admittance to competitive graduate psychology programs, incoming students are expected to have high GPAs and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores.
Coursework
Coursework includes instruction about organizational systems and occupational safety. Students become adept at working with human resources on pre-screening and testing job applicants. They explore issues related to job satisfaction, stress reduction, productivity and motivation. Core coursework may cover topic areas such as:
•Organizational training
•Behavioral analysis
•Performance evaluation
•Personnel selection
•Professional ethics
•Human resources management
•Workplace attitudes
•Research methods
Career Choices
An I/O psychologist can help achieve higher productivity from workers, retain quality employees, create a more diverse workforce and implement non-discrimination policies and thereby improve the quality of workplaces. They may aspire for job titles such as:
•Executive coach
•Workplace trainer
•Consultant
•Psychological research assistant
Job and Wage Outlook
Over the 2012 – 2022 decade, a job growth of 12% has been predicted for psychologists of all types (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). In 2012, these professionals brought in an average annual wage of $69,280.
Continuing Education Choices
Program graduates may seek continued education by pursuing a doctoral degree in industrial/organizational psychology that could lead to careers in academia or research. Coursework involves quantitative multi-level analysis and meta-analysis of data and emphasizes gaining of real-world experience through internship experiences. Students must write a dissertation and present original research findings at professional conferences before they can obtain a doctoral degree.
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