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The Implementation Plan for the Industrial-Organizational (I-O)
Graduate Specialization in the Department of Psychology

Approved by the Department of Psychology on April 26, 1994.
(Updated June 2005)

Introduction

This document outlines (a) the goals of the Industrial-Organizational program, (b) a brief history of the program, (c) the resources available to and administration of the program, (d) training/education guidelines and curriculum for graduate students, and (e) future considerations for ensuring the program's continued success.

Goals

We aspire to build one of the most effective I-O program in North America, based on the "scientist-practitioner" model. At present, the majority of North American graduate programs in I-O are located in the United States. Only 7 academic institutions in Canada (4 English-speaking and 2 French-speaking) offer Ph.D. programs in I-O. Given that Canada offers such few choices for individuals interested in pursuing doctoral degrees in these areas, we have the opportunity to build the strongest program in Canada and to develop a reputation throughout North America as a viable and well-rounded program that prepares competent scientists for the challenges of either academic or applied careers. We strive to “go above and beyond the call” in the quality of our research and practice. Our primary goal is to develop and promote the doctorate program in I-O and ultimately achieve accreditation, should the need arise, from the relevant governing agencies.

History

Development of an I-O Program

In 1987, faculty members and graduate students interested in these areas coalesced into an informal research interest group. On October 24, 1989 the Department voted unanimously in favor (25 for, 0 against, 1 abstention) of establishing I-O and Ergonomics as a formal Area Group in the Department of Psychology.

Active student interest in graduate training in I-O is reflected in that we have been able to recruit many excellent applicants to our program. A disproportionate majority of graduate students applying to the Department of Psychology's Experimental Graduate programs apply to the I-O program. Moreover, most of the applicants are ranked a 1 (excellent) or 2 (good) by the Graduate Committee.

To date, we have graduated 10 Ph.D. students and 31 M.Sc. students from our program.

National and International Visibility

The University of Calgary I-O program has become nationally recognized. The I-O program has been externally and objectively “benchmarked” as one of the top I-O programs in North America and the best in Canada (see article attached in The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, Vol. 39, No. 4, (April 2002)). In this recent rating of I-O programs, it was ranked 21st out of the 59 Ph.D. programs in North America. Our faculty members are or have been on the executive of the Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. In 1993, our program was one of five highlighted in a symposium on I-O graduate training alternatives in Canada at the Canadian Psychological Association. Our Program’s visibility is enhanced by scholarly activities such as conference presentations and publishing in top-tier journals. Our graduate students regularly present their research at national and international conferences such as SIOP, Academy of Management and CPA. Our program is presently listed on the website and in the directory for Graduate Training Programs in I-O Psychology and Related Fields (including the US and Canada).

Resources

Faculty

There is strong faculty support for the I-O Program, as indicated by the following individuals who are part of the I-O Area Group.

Space

The Departmental guidelines for the provision of space (adopted October 1, 1991) are consistent with our goals for the I-O Area Group. Additional considerations for space for our group will depend on the laboratory needs of any additional Area Group members.

Student Recruitment

As already indicated, the preponderance of graduate applicants to our program renders recruitment of outstanding student applicants non-problematic. We have many excellent applicants from whom to choose.

Support Staff

The Department's four secretarial/administrative staff, three members of technical services, and teaching technician provide support for faculty and student research and teaching activities.

Research and Training Materials

A comprehensive bank of tests/assessments/questionnaires has begun to be developed. It includes some of the more frequently encountered instruments used in applied settings for employee selection, job satisfaction, job analysis, group/team facilitation, etc. Additional materials will need to be acquired over the next few years.

Information Technology Resources

Current library resources are improving particularly with the increasing number of journals being available on the Internet. Information Technologies provides technical support for data storage and analyses.

Program Administration

The cooperative involvement of many individuals is necessary for the functioning of any graduate program. As is the case for all Departmental graduate programs, final administrative authority rests with the Department Head, Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Studies Committee. The positions described below are specific to the I-O program and together comprise the administrative structure responsible for program planning, education, and day-to-day management. To provide sufficient administrative continuity, the normal terms for these positions will be at least one year, and more likely two years. None of these positions have "release time" attached to them. We also have established a formal mechanism to ensure graduate student input into the Program’s structure and processes.

Area Group Representative: Responsible for the effective representation of the I-O area group to the Department, including presence on the Department's Performance Review Committee. This individual normally serves a two-year term.

Program Director: Responsible for ensuring that the I-O program provides excellence in training graduate students for academic and/or applied work, representing the I-O program in the University and in the community, and overall program administration and evaluation. The Program Director may also serve as the Area Group Representative.

Director, Creating Organizational Excellence (COE): Oversees all of the activities of COE including personnel and budget-related matters. This individual reports to the Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Social Sciences and to the Full Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

I-O Student and COE Representative: One graduate student is responsible for representing the interests of the graduate students in the program. This individual a) serves as a liaison between the Program Director and the graduate students, b) serves as a liaison between the COE Director and the graduate students, c) is responsible for representing the interests of the graduate students at COE meetings, and d) assists in identifying graduate students to work on COE projects.

Ph.D. Internship/Practicum Coordination: Responsibility for internship student placements in optimal working environments, evaluation of student performance, and internship program evaluation and management is shared by all faculty members.

Graduate Training/Education in I-O Psychology

Guidelines and Accreditation

I-O Psychology is an applied area with the broad objectives of creating both high performance organizations and employee well-being. Guidelines for graduate training in I-O Psychology have been put forward by the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP) of the American Psychological Association (1985) and the Canadian Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (CSIOP) of Canadian Psychological Association (1989). Although neither of these two associations presently offers formal program accreditation, there is the possibility that they will in the future. It is anticipated that these published guidelines will be used for accreditation purposes, so it is in our best long-term interests to examine them carefully and implement the guidelines as fully as possible. The content and number of courses is not highly prescribed. The goal of education and training of graduate students is to foster "competencies" in a variety (i.e., 22) of areas. Exactly how each program ensures competency in their graduate training is largely determined by the individual department in which I-O programs operate. The I-O Area Group plans to apply for program accreditation when the accreditation processes are formally in place.

In addition to the requirements specific to the I-O programs, APA recommends that students be exposed to four broad areas of psychology (Biological, Cognitive, Social and Individual Differences) in addition to their specialized training. Thus, the students in the I-O program are expected to participate in all four of the Department's "core" graduate course offerings (more than is required by the Department). As well, as stated in the Department's "Information Guide for Graduate Students", the Department's graduate program emphasizes research skills. Students in the I-O program are required to conform to Departmental policy by the execution of “top-flight” theses and dissertations.

Ph.D. Internship/Practicum

Our goal is to train Ph.D. level scientists equipped for both academic and applied work. We expect to develop scientists first, and we are of the view that any "real-world" experience must be based on a rigorous academic program so that the students can utilize the scientific method in their applied experiences. We do, however, believe that students should have the opportunity to engage in applied work during their graduate studies. In the scientist-practitioner model, students need to be exposed to both the research and practice aspects of I-O. Any applied experiences should involve students who are trained scientists with a firm knowledge base in I-O theory and research.

We have an internship/practicum program with industry and research centres in Canada and the United States. Specifically, internship students would have the opportunity to be placed in a corporate or government setting for a fixed period of time (ideally for 6-12 months) during the early stages of their Ph.D. training. The internship is optional for the students, so that those students wishing to prepare solely for an academic career could spend their time engaging in more academically-oriented experiences. Our students have been successful in securing excellent internship placements (e.g., GTE, IBM, Hay Group Consulting).

Creating Organizational Excellence (COE)

We have established Creating Organizational Excellence (COE), a Research Unit of the Faculty of Social Sciences. This is a multi-disciplinary organization. Its mission is to apply research to building excellence in professional development and organizational performance. COE provides applied research, services, and training to local organizations. Faculty members act as project leaders and involve students in completing the projects. Involving the students as members of a team to help solve an I-O related problem in the field with the instructor’s supervision, is encouraged for both M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. The students gain consulting and research experience, and their earnings assist to defray costs of attending research conferences. We look to COE to generate alternative resources of revenue for graduate student training. In all respects, COE has been successful in carrying out its mandate.

Curriculum Plan

We have developed a plan that (a) allows the program to meet the teaching requirements of an accreditable Ph.D. program in I-O, and (b) enables us to contribute our share to the teaching load borne by the Department at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Specifically, we were sensitive to how our proposed curriculum and course offerings would have an impact on our ability to contribute to the Department through teaching the I-O undergraduate courses (Psyc 421 and 423), as well as more general "service" courses (e.g., Psyc 312, 411, 407, 615, 617). In addition to general core and methodological courses, the program requires seven half-year graduate courses in the I-O area (Psyc 639 and six rotating Psyc 739 seminars to be offered each year). Responsibility for these courses is shared by all Area Group members. Other Department/Faculty graduate course offerings that may be relevant to students in the I-O Program will be examined on an ongoing basis to determine those that would assist students in their education while reducing the resource claims made on the Department. It is our position that students should take advantage of the expertise in related fields (e.g., students interested in strategic management or industrial relations would find graduate courses in Management relevant to their particular program).

Sample I-O Psychology M.Sc. Graduate Student Program

Sample I-O Ph.D. Graduate Student Program

I-O Psychology Ongoing Program Evaluation

The program in I-O Psychology is evaluated on an annual basis by the Area Group. The evaluation addresses, but need not be confined to such issues as, the course curriculum, accreditation, faculty teaching effectiveness, student progress, research achievements of faculty and students, internship program, our physical, financial and human resources, training, accomplishments of the past year, goals for the coming year and identification of barriers to program development.

Our most recent formal evaluation (1996) was conducted as part of an external review of the Experimental Graduate programs of the Department of Psychology. Two independent reviewers identified the I-O program as (a) one in which the students felt a high sense of identity and cohesion, (b) an exemplar Program for other areas within the Department, and (c) one of the strengths of the Department.

Appendix

Thesis and Dissertation Research Proposal Meetings (Proposal Seminar)

Objectives

The purpose of the Proposal Seminars is to assure the student and thesis/dissertation committee members (including the supervisor) that the proposed research is ready to be executed.

It clarifies our expectations of students in terms of the final document, as well to bring consensus to issues of concern regarding the research process.

The research proposal document will also ensure that a substantial amount of work on the final thesis or dissertation document has been completed before the data collection actually begins.

Committee Composition

The committee will be chaired by the student's supervisor. The task of the supervisor is to ensure that the document is prepared, take notes on the questions and comments provided during the proposal seminar, and ensure that the questions posed to the student during the seminar are relevant to the research. At a minimum, the committee members are expected to attend the proposal seminar.

Documentation

The research should be discussed with and approved in principal by each committee member prior to the write-up of the document. The document will include: 1) a formal introduction, including the theoretical framework the student operates from and the hypotheses to be tested, 2) a complete methods section, including all measurement and procedural information, 3) an "analyses to be carried out" section, 4) a section on the "theoretical and practical implications" of the thesis work, and 5) any relevant tables, figures and references. The typical length of the document will be 30-40 pages.

The document will be circulated to committee members at least two weeks in advance of the proposal meeting. Normally the document will be prepared in accordance with APA style guidelines. Exceptions to these guidelines must be discussed and approved by the student’s supervisor.

The Proposal Seminar

The student, committee members, and all interested parties are invited to attend the proposal seminar. The student will give a presentation of the proposed research (about 30 – 40 minutes). This presentation should focus on the specific hypotheses and proposed methodology of the research. Members of the committee will ask questions of the student. The supervisor is also free to ask questions of the student. After all questions by the committee members have been exhausted, other members of the audience are free to ask questions in the remaining time. It is expected that the proposal seminar will take no longer than 2 hours to complete.

After all questions have been answered, the student and others who are not part of the committee will be asked to leave the room while the supervisor and committee members evaluate the proposal. The supervisor and committee members will then meet with the student to discuss the results.

Proposal Evaluation and Follow-up

The proposed research will receive one of four evaluation options. All members of the committee must agree on the option selected before indicating the decision to the student.

1. Complete the research as proposed.
2. Make some minor revisions to the hypotheses, procedure, and/or method and then complete the research (supervisor alone is expected to assure that the changes are made).
3. Make major theoretical and/or methodological changes to the document, submit it to the committee members for feedback; if acceptable, then complete the research.
4. Make major theoretical and/or methodological changes to the document. Present the new document to the committee, and engage in a second proposal meeting.

If options 3 or 4 are selected, the committee will set a time limit as to when the additional work must be carried out. This time limit will be agreed upon immediately following the decision.