Master's level training in industrial/organizational psychology: A case study of the perceived relevance of graduate training.

Abstract

Describes the job requirements faced by graduates of a terminal master's level industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology program and their perception of the relevance and adequacy of course work to job demands. A survey of recent graduates indicated virtually all are able to find jobs in the area of their training at reasonably competitive salaries. Graduates view the majority of courses as well targeted toward skills they regard as useful for employment. Courses emphasizing traditional personnel psychology, training, and measurement are most valued. In light of the limited resources addressing I/O training content at the terminal master's level, results provide guidance for the content of master's level personnel psychology programs.

An Interactive Classroom Demonstration of Propositional and Analogical Representation

“…Students see the relevance of the thesis to competencies such as organizing skills, written communication skills, and problem-solving skills, but they may not see how the thesis helps to develop skills such as oral communication, organizational survival skills, and interpersonal skills (Kottke, Shultz, & Riggs, 1994). Erffmeyer and Mendel's (1990) findings appear to be partially supported by the foregoing results, thus reinforcing the need to educate students and faculty on the benefits of completing a thesis. Requiring a thesis may incur substantial costs.…”

“…Competencies Developed by the Thesis Erffmeyer and Mendel (1990) and Lowe (1993) questioned the pedagogical value ofthe thesis in terminal master's programs in I/O psychology. These authors noted that students place a relatively low "usefulness" ranking on the thesis, compared to course work in I/O and internship placements.…”

“…These authors noted that students place a relatively low "usefulness" ranking on the thesis, compared to course work in I/O and internship placements. Furthermore, the thesis requires substantial commitment of time and effort for the student as well as for the faculty adviser (Erffmeyer & Mendel, 1990). These conflicting outcomes beg the question, "What compelling pedagogical purpose does the master's thesis serve that is not obtained in other forms of training?"…”

“…By tailoring the thesis process to the student's needs, we can increase the perceived relevance of the master's thesis on the part of the student (cf. Erffmeyer & Mendel, 1990) and ultimately increase its value-added benefits (Halpern, 1988 To gauge how graduate students in I/O psychology perceive the relevance of the master's thesis to the six competencies mentioned earlier, we asked 21 graduate students (representing two master's-level I/O classes, fall 1992 entering class of 12 and fall 1993 entering class of 9) to rate which (if any) of the six competencies were likely to be developed during the thesis process. Results were as follows: organizing skills, 100%; problem solving, 86%; oral communication, 71%; written communication, 90%; interpersonal skills, 43%; and organizational survival skills, 67%.…”

Student Perceptions on the Counselor Education Exit Requirement Experience

“…In addition, students have been surveyed about the graduate environment's support for professional character and professional values development (Fagan, 1997), research training (Phillips & Russell, 1994), multicultural training (Constantine, Ladany, Inman, & Ponterotto, 1996), general training needs (Brown-Wright, Dubick, & Newman, 1997;Rimmer, Lammert, & McClain, 1982), and necessary skills (Erffmeyer & Mendel, 1990;Walfish, Polifka, & Stenmark, 1984). Texts have been published ( Anderson, 1998;Nerad, June & Miller, 1997;Delamont, Atkinson, & Parry, 2000) describing many aspects of the graduate student experience.…”