To help meet the growing need for human resources and talent management professionals, Missouri University of Science and Technology is offering a new master of science degree program in industrial-organizational psychology beginning spring 2014. The program was approved by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education in December.

“With an industrial-organizational psychology graduate degree, you will have the expertise you need to enhance workforce performance,” says Dr. Nancy Stone, professor and chair of psychological science at Missouri S&T. “Industrial-organizational psychologists develop assessments of people for selection and placement into jobs, effective training programs, strategies for organizational development, measurement of performance and ways to promote quality of work-life.”

In a report in the 2010-2011 Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the need for psychologists will grow 12 percent between now and 2018, but the need for industrial-organizational psychologists could grow as much as 26 percent.

“Students with strong statistical and research methods skills, which our graduates will have, will be in higher demand,” Stone says.

The program includes a thesis option, which is a good choice for students wishing to prepare to enter a Ph.D. program, but students may also choose a non-thesis option in one of three tracks – “Leadership in Technological Organizations,” “Psychometrics,” or “Human Factors.” The course is available in both the traditional classroom format and online.

The Leadership in Technological Organizations track will help students who are interested in going into managerial jobs in technological companies. Graduates will learn different theories of leadership and how they can be applied to help organizations be more effective.

Psychometrics is the measurement of psychological variables – the science of measuring. Graduates from this track will work on the development of tests and measurement tools in psychology used to help enhance employee selection, training and performance.

Human factors specialists design environments to meet the capabilities and limitations of humans. They study how people work and design things they can use to work more efficiently. The human factors option in the program will give graduates the skills they need to deal with a variety of human performance issues in many settings, including technological environments.

“The industrial-organizational psychology master’s program will provide graduates who can contribute directly to the economic well-being of both the state and nation by helping business, government and other organizations identify and develop a talented workforce,” Stone says.

More information about the master’s in industrial-organizational psychology is available online at psych.mst.edu/graduate/indorgpsych/.