Curriculum

Narrative Discussion of the I/O Curriculum:

Students in the I/O Ph.D. program take courses which satisfy general departmental core requirements (29 hours); I/O content requirements (37 hours) and master’s and doctoral research (14 hours). This totals to 80 hours.

Departmental Course Requirements:
Each student is required to take 29 hours of coursework which satisfies the departmental course requirements. These courses (listed in A through D in the table above) are intended to provide a common base for all three Ph.D. programs in Psychology as a discipline.

Industrial/Organizational Psychology Course Requirements:
The I/O Psychology Ph.D. program requires 37 hours in course content courses (E through I in the table above). The 37 hours are divided into three segments. First, there are three required courses for students in the I/O Psychology Ph.D. program. These are the Advanced Industrial, the Advanced Organizational Psychology courses and the Professional Issues in Psychology courses. Second, students are required to take two courses (minimum of 6 hours) in each of three Industrial/Organizational content areas- Industrial Psychology, Organizational Psychology, and Quantitative Methods. Finally, students must take a total of 12 more hours in I/O psychology relevant courses. These 12 hours may be in any of the three I/O content areas listed earlier.

Students may choose their coursework from a large selection of courses offered in the Psychology Department, College of Business and other departments at Auburn University. Choices of coursework should be made in consultation with your advisor. Examples of courses that may be taken are provided in the table above. This list is not exhaustive. Students should, however, consult with their advisors or the I/O Ph.D. program area head before taking any class outside of the Psychology Department. This is to insure that such courses fulfill one of the I/O Ph.D. program requirements.

Master’s Thesis and Ph.D. Dissertation Research: Each student is required to take a minimum of 14 hours of coursework which satisfies the departmental Master’s Thesis and Ph.D. Dissertation requirements. Psychology is a research science. The master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation are used to insure each student is a competent researcher in Psychology. The two courses required are listed in A in the table above.

General Doctoral Exam:  Each student must successfully pass the general doctoral examination. This doctoral examination consists of two parts—(1) Written Exam (either Major Area Paper or Written Preliminary Examination) and (2) Oral defense of the written examination.

Exemption from Required Courses:  Students may request exemption from specific required courses based upon the completion of similar graduate level work at Auburn or elsewhere. Approval of substitutions/exemptions is secured via an "Exemption from Departmental or Program Requirement" form signed by your major professor, program director, the teacher who most recently taught the course from which you seek exemption, and the department Chair. Students seeking this exemption must provide an official transcript showing completion of the course(s) upon which they are basing their exemption request and must demonstrate mastery of the required subject matter in a manner to be determined by the relevant faculty members.

Exemption from the Master's Thesis:   Students who enter the program with a Master's Degree and Master's Thesis from another program may request exemption from the thesis requirement. Students seeking such exemption should discuss it with the program director during their first semester in the program and should secure approval as soon as possible (but no later than the end of their second semester) via an "Exemption from Departmental or Program Requirement" form signed by your major professor, program director, and the Department Chair. Students seeking this exemption must provide an official transcript demonstrating that they earned the Master's degree and secured official approval of the thesis upon which they are basing their exemption request. The suitability of the thesis as a basis of exemption from our thesis requirement will be assessed in a manner to be determined by the relevant faculty members.

These requirements are subject to change but students retain the option of graduating under the curriculum that was in place at the time they initiated the program.

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Last updated on August 14, 2007