Master of Science In Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychologists are versatile behavioral scientists specializing in human behavior in the workplace. I/O psychologists facilitate responses to issues and problems involving people at work by serving as advisors and catalysts for business, industry, labor, public, academic, community, and health organizations.
The Master’s of Science in Industrial/Organizational (MSIO) Psychology program is a rigorous, 36-unit program designed to prepare students to enhance organizational performance and human well-being in professional settings. Students learn and develop skills through seminars, practicum experience, engagement in research, and development of a professional portfolio or a research thesis
Important Dates For Fall 2025
- University and Department applications deadline: December 2, 2024
- Transcripts deadline: December 20, 2024
- Financial Aid CSULB Priority deadline: see CSULB's Financial Aid and Scholarships page
- First day of Fall 2025 Instruction: August 25, 2025
*Note: The GRE General Test will not be required for the MSIO Fall 2025 application. If applicants submit GRE scores, these will not be considered in our review of applications.
Admissions Requirements
- You must have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from a four-year accredited college or university, or a bachelor’s in another area and the equivalent of four lower division and eight upper division CSULB courses (please see Non-Psychology Bachelor’s Degree web page)
- Minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.5
- Prerequisite coursework must include the following CSULB courses (or equivalents, to be determined by Psychology Dept.):
PSY 220 Research Methods
PSY 310 Intermediate Statistics (requires Introductory Statistics)
PSY 314 Psychological Assessment
PSY 351 Social Psychology or PSY 381 Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology or PSY 453/553 Principles of Group Dynamics
Application
Download a
The following documents must be submitted via the CalState Apply website
- University application ($70 fee)
- Statement of Purpose
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Document
(Please refer to the MSIO Course Description pageto fill out this form.)
- Last 60/90 Units GPA Computation Form
- Psychology GPA Computation Form
- Three Letters of Recommendation and associated Recommendation Form (Instructions for submission are on the CalState Apply website). Recommendations from faculty are preferred, and at a minimum should constitute 2 of the 3 letters.
- Unofficial transcripts from schools other than your Bachelor's degree-granting institution (see below) where you took Psychology courses. *Note: Applicants who took courses at CSULB must upload unofficial CSULB transcripts to their Cal State Apply application even if CSULB is the degree-granting institution.
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Submit official transcript from Bachelor's degree-granting institution:
Either by Mail:
Enrollment Services/Admissions
CSULB
1250 Bellflower Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90840-0106
Or Electronically:
Official transcripts may be submitted electronically directly from a US college or university to ES-IDPTrans@csulb.edu
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*International Students: Please be sure to contact the International Education office for
university application procedures.
Tuition and Fees
Please refer to the university’s webpage on Tuition and Fees. Tuition and fees will depend on each student’s residency status and semester unit load. Typically MSIO students take three courses (9 units) per semester, for a total of four semesters.
Graduate Assistant (GA) Positions
GA positions are available on a competitive basis. Successful Psychology applicants who accept a program offer and are eligible to work in the US will be invited to submit a GA application.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
Links to information about Scholarships and Financial Aid are listed here.
Candidates in this program are responsible for observing the general requirements stated in the University Catalog as well as requirements specified by the Psychology Department. Please email MSIO.PSY@csulb.edu for more information.
The MSIO Program features a 36-unit full time, four-semester curriculum, with either a Professional Portfolio or Thesis as the capstone project. Students must maintain both a minimum cumulative and program GPA of 3.0 and successfully defend their capstone project.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE
1ST FALL SEMESTER
- PSY 582 – Research in Industrial Psychology
- PSY 585 – Personnel Psychology
- Statistics or Elective
1ST SPRING SEMESTER
- PSY 515 – Test Construction
- PSY 581 – Organizational Psychology
- Statistics or Elective
2ND FALL SEMESTER
- PSY 683 – Issues in Organizational Development
- PSY 686 – Issues in Training
- Statistics or Elective
2ND SPRING SEMESTER
- PSY 688 – Practicum in Industrial Organizational
- PSY 699 – Directed Research/Portfolio and Elective
OR - PSY 698 – Thesis (6 units)
Curriculum subject to change
Gino Galvez
Associate Professor
PhD, Portland State University
Dr. Gino Galvez received his B.A. degree in Psychology from California State University, Northridge and his Ph.D. degree in Applied Psychology from Portland State University. Dr. Galvez serves as the Director of the Center for Evaluation and Educational Effectiveness (CEEE) and has over 15 years of experience conducting mixed-methods evaluation research for grant-supported projects and community-based organizations. In addition, Dr. Galvez has played key roles as an investigator or lead evaluator on multi-year grant-funded research projects (e.g., National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education). Broadly, these research projects have focused on examining interventions that broaden participation in the STEM fields. More specifically, he has examined brief writing interventions, low-income, first-generation status and underrepresented student success, undergraduate research training programs, the role of mentoring, and the development of noncognitive factors (e.g., science identity). In the department, he teaches courses in Test Construction, Research Methods, Qualitative Methods, Social Psychology, and Industrial-Organizational Psychology.
Christopher Warren, Professor
Ph.D., Tulane University
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
The first domain of research I conduct involves individual performance, specifically counter-productive or other deleterious behaviors such as sexual harassment. I also do a little work in psychometrics focusing on ways to best measure concepts such as creating and validating measurement scales. I also do applied work which mostly involves the assessment of educational programs, vocational guidance, and educational strategies but recently has included investigations into the barriers individuals face due to stereotypes or other systematic pathways of job segregation or unemployment.
Amy Wax, Associate Professor
Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
My research interests broadly include diversity in the workplace, teamwork, and social network analysis. Currently, my stream of research investigates women’s issues and LGBTQ issues at work. Refer to the Wax Lab website for more information.
David Whitney
Professor
PhD, Michigan State University
Dave Whitney earned his BS degree from Union College in NY, and his MA and PhD degrees in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Michigan State University. As a faculty member at CSULB since 1995, Dr. Whitney has taught graduate courses in personnel selection, test construction and employee training, as well as undergraduate courses in statistics, testing, Autism Spectrum Disorders and I-O psychology. In addition to interests in employment testing and employment coaching, his research examines factors that facilitate employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. He is also a co-author of Measurement Theory In Action. While he enjoys his adopted home of Southern California, his childhood roots are reflected in his undying (and some might say undeserved) devotion to New York Jets football.
Dr. Dave Whitney
MSIO Graduate Advisor
email: Dave.Whitney@csulb.edu
