Program: Industrial/Organizational Psychology, B.S. - Middle Tennessee State University

Apr 09, 2025

2018-19 Undergraduate Catalog

Psychology
615-898-5752
Judith Van Hein, program coordinator
Judith.VanHein@mtsu.edu

Industrial/Organizational Psychology deals with a variety of human resources and organizational issues, such as employee selection, training, job analysis, and employee motivation. The major in Industrial/Organizational Psychology is designed to (a) prepare students for entry-level positions in human resources departments in business and industries and (b) provide a background for students wishing to pursue graduate work in psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, or related fields.

At least 9 semester hours of upper-division level courses and 6 semester hours at any level in the Psychology major must be completed at MTSU. One minor is required. See advisor for an approved list of minors.

Admission to Candidacy

All students are required to be admitted to candidacy for the Industrial/Organizational Psychology major. To apply for candidacy, a student must have

completed at least 30 hours of coursework (not to include learning support courses);
completed the following General Education requirements: ENGL 1010; ENGL 1020; MATH 1530 or MATH 1710 or MATH 1730, or higher; and a science course with a minimum 2.00 GPA;
completed the following psychology courses: PSY 1410 and PSY 2210 with a minimum 2.00 GPA. (A grade of C- or better is required in PSY 1410 and PSY 2210.)

Candidacy will be granted three times per year-after the end of the Fall and Spring semesters and after the end of the Summer term. Students will have required advising every semester until they have successfully completed admission to candidacy.

The application for admission to candidacy is an online application. Applications should be submitted by students the semester after they have completed the above requirements.

NOTE: Students should follow the recommended sequence of courses for the freshman year on the academic map.

Academic Map

Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Industrial/Organizational Psychology, B.S., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

General Education (41 hours)

General Education requirements include Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.

The following General Education courses are required for this major:

PSY 1410 (Soc/Beh Sci)
MATH 1530, MATH 1710, or MATH 1730 or higher (Math)

Major Requirements (46 hours)

A grade of C- or above is required in all major core coursework.

PSY 1410 - General Psychology 3 credit hours (3 credit hours may be counted in General Education)
PSY 2210 - Psychology of Social Behavior 3 credit hours
PSY 3020 - Basic Statistics for Behavioral Science 3 credit hours
PSY 3070 - Research Methods 3 credit hours AND
PSY 3071 - Research Methods Lab 1 credit hour
PSY 3320 - Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 4260 - Introduction to Psychological Testing 3 credit hours
PSY 4270 - Personnel Selection and Placement 3 credit hours
PSY 4290 - Wage and Salary Administration 3 credit hours
PSY 4330 - Industrial and Organizational Training and Development 3 credit hours
PSY 4360 - Organizational Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 4370 - Motivation and Work Attitudes 3 credit hours
PSY 3230 - Abnormal Psychology 3 credit hours OR
PSY 3590 - Personality 3 credit hours
PSY 4040 - Introduction to Cognitive Psychology 3 credit hours OR
PSY 4480 - Learning Theories 3 credit hours
Choose 6 hours from the following:
PSY 4070 - Advanced Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences 3 credit hours
PSY 4340 - Human Factors Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 4380 - Group Dynamics 3 credit hours
PSY 4390 - Persuasion 3 credit hours
PSY 4610 - Adult Psychology and Aging 3 credit hours
PSY 4720 - Multicultural Perspectives in Psychology and Education 3 credit hours
PSY 4730 - Internship: Industrial/Organizational 3 credit hours

Minor (15-18 hours)

Recommended minors include Business Administration, Business Law, Management, Entrepreneurship, or Information Systems. See advisor for a complete list of approved minors.

Electives (18-21 hours)

Total hours in program: 120

Curriculum: Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Curricular listings include General Education requirements in Communication, History, Humanities and/or Fine Arts, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Social/Behavioral Sciences categories.

Freshman First Semester

ENGL 1010 - Expository Writing 3 credit hours (Comm)
HIST 2010 - Survey of United States History I 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2020 - Survey of United States History II 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2030 - Tennessee History 3 credit hours
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 3 credit hours
PSY 1410 - General Psychology 3 credit hours (Soc/Beh Sci)
MATH 1530 - Applied Statistics 3 credit hours (Math) OR
MATH 1710 - College Algebra 3 credit hours (Math) OR
MATH 1730 - Pre-Calculus 4 credit hours (Math) OR
Math course higher than MATH 1730 (Math)

Subtotal: 15-16 Hours

Freshman Second Semester

ENGL 1020 - Research and Argumentative Writing 3 credit hours
Natural Sciences 4 credit hours
PSY 2210 - Psychology of Social Behavior 3 credit hours
HIST 2010 - Survey of United States History I 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2020 - Survey of United States History II 3 credit hours OR
HIST 2030 - Tennessee History 3 credit hours
Humanities and/or Fine Arts 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 16 Hours

Sophomore Year

ENGL 2020 - Themes in Literature and Culture 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
ENGL 2030 - The Experience of Literature 3 credit hours (Hum/FA) OR
HUM 2610 - Foreign Literature in Translation 3 credit hours (Hum/FA)
COMM 2200 - Fundamentals of Communication 3 credit hours (Comm)
Natural Sciences 4 credit hours
Social/Behavioral Sciences 3 credit hours
PSY 3230 - Abnormal Psychology 3 credit hours OR
PSY 3590 - Personality 3 credit hours
PSY 3020 - Basic Statistics for Behavioral Science 3 credit hours
PSY 3320 - Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology 3 credit hours
General elective 3 credit hours
PSY 3070 - Research Methods 3 credit hours AND
PSY 3071 - Research Methods Lab 1 credit hour

Subtotal: 29 Hours

Junior Year

PSY 4260 - Introduction to Psychological Testing 3 credit hours
PSY 4360 - Organizational Psychology 3 credit hours
PSY 4040 - Introduction to Cognitive Psychology 3 credit hours OR
PSY 4480 - Learning Theories 3 credit hours
Minor course 3 credit hours
General elective or minor courses 6 credit hours
I/O PSY elective courses 6 credit hours
PSY 4270 - Personnel Selection and Placement 3 credit hours OR
PSY 4290 - Wage and Salary Administration 3 credit hours
PSY 4330 - Industrial and Organizational Training and Development 3 credit hours OR
PSY 4370 - Motivation and Work Attitudes 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Senior Year

PSY 4270 - Personnel Selection and Placement 3 credit hours OR
PSY 4290 - Wage and Salary Administration 3 credit hours
PSY 4330 - Industrial and Organizational Training and Development 3 credit hours OR
PSY 4370 - Motivation and Work Attitudes 3 credit hours
Minor courses 6-9 credit hours
General elective courses 15-18 credit hours