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Master’s Degree Program in Industrial-Organizational Psychology
About I-O Psychology and Our Program
Welcome – In our program you will learn to apply your psychological knowledge to improve the workplace by earning your I-O Psychology M.A. degree! Applications will be accepted in October 2025 (deadline of January 15, 2026).
About our program:
- Follows the "scientist/practitioner" model, with a combined emphasis on research and practical applications
- Designed to complete the I-O Psychology M.A. in 2.5 years
- Accommodates working adults; most classes are in the evenings
- Alumni work in government, business, and consulting positions
- GRE not required for this application cycle
Admission Requirements & Application Instructions
*last updated in July, 2025
I-O Program Coursework
The I-O program at Sacramento State was designed with heavy influence from the 2016 Guidelines for Education and Training in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, published by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. While we cover all 24 major competency areas in the SIOP Guidelines to some degree, we give more emphasis to some than we do others—a strategy that is common and fully expected in master’s programs according to the narrative of the SIOP Guidelines. Our current curriculum includes the following courses:
- Research Methods Classes:
- PSYC 200: Methods in Empirical Psychology
- PSYC 202: Survey of Contemporary Statistical Methods in Psychological Research
- Measurement Classes:
- PSYC 206: Tests and Measurement
- PSYC 205: Measurement Methods for Psychological Research and Practice
- Core I-O Classes:
- PSYC 269: Analysis of Work and Employee Selection
- PSYC 267: Training & Employee Development
- PSYC 216A: Current Literature and Applications in Industrial-Organizational Psychology
- PSYC 216B: Current Literature and Applications in Industrial-Organizational Psychology
- Elective:
- PSYC 294: Cooperative Research (or any other 200-level course)
- Culminating Experience:
- Master’s Project
Suggested Undergraduate Preparation
An undergraduate degree in psychology is strongly preferred. Some general preparatory coursework, especially relevant to prospective applicants who were not psychology majors, is listed in the following document: Relevant Undergraduate Coursework at CSU-Sacramento. In addition to what is listed there, undergraduate coursework in industrial and/or organizational psychology is preferred and coursework in psychological testing is very helpful. While not strictly required for admission, these preferences are in place to help students get the most out of their graduate training. Prior work experience is also helpful, but again not required. We appreciate different types and degrees of preparation for graduate study, whether it be primarily academic or experiential.
Applying to our Program
Admission Requirements & Application Instructions | Sacramento State
Frequently Asked Questions
Our curriculum is designed for students to take two graduate-level classes per semester. All of the I-O core classes are held in the late afternoons/early evenings, so that should allow for flexibility with your work hours. However, in the first year there will be one method course in the fall and one in the spring that are typically held earlier in the day (one day per week).
We will not be requiring the GRE for the 2025/2026 application cycle.
We accept students into the program each academic year. The next application deadline will be January 15, 2026, to begin classes in Fall 2026.
We look to accept 7-10 students for each cohort.
No, the CalStateApply system will only allow students to apply to one graduate program per CSU campus.
In addition to our Financial Aid resources, all of the students in our previous cohorts have held relevant jobs while completing their degree requirements. Occasionally the faculty will also have limited access to instructional student assistant funds they can use to hire students for activities like grading student work and development of course materials.
In recent cohorts, 3 out of 4 students have finished all degree requirements on schedule, while overall about 9 out of 10 have completed their degrees.
Our program allows students to opt into one of two tracks: the research (thesis) track and the applied (portfolio) track, depending on their desired focus. Students are required to determine their chosen track within their first year of the program.
No, the MA I-O program is not designated a STEM program.
International students are welcome to apply. Please see the International Graduate Applicants webpage for more information.
TBD
Where Our Students and Alumni Work
We have compiled a list of employers where current students and alumni work or have worked. If you are an alumnus viewing this page and want to add to the list, please let us know!
Public Sector:
- CPS HR Consulting
- California Department of Consumer Affairs
- California Contractors State Licensing Board
- California Board of State and Community Corrections
- California Department of Justice
- California Judicial Council
- CalHR
- CalTrans
- Hawaii State Judiciary
- City and County of San Francisco
- City of San Jose
Private Sector and Consultancies:
- Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.
- PSI Services LLC
- ioPredict, Inc.
- Pearson
- Blue Diamond Growers
- Plansee Group
- Raytheon Technologies
- InsideTrack
- Deloitte
I-O Program Faculty
Related Professional Associations
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)