I-O Psychology grad program third in nation: U.S. News & World Report

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Bowling Green State University’s longstanding reputation in the area of Industrial and Organizational Psychology has garnered it the number three position in U.S. News and World Report’s 2014 listing of best graduate programs in the discipline, up a notch from last year.

U.S. News lists Ph.D. programs ranked best by department chairs and senior faculty. BGSU’s program shares the honors with programs at Michigan State University, the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and the University of South Florida.

“Industrial and organizational psychologists strive to make workplaces more efficient, pleasant, and productive through research and application,” according to the publication.

The goal of Bowling Green’s graduate program is to prepare students for careers as active contributors to the psychology of work.

"I have been excited to be a part of the Bowling Green IO psychology program for 16 years,” said Dr. Michael Zickar, a professor and chair of the Department of Psychology. “The program has a long history starting with Pat Smith and Bob Guion in the 1960s and we have worked hard to maintain and grow the reputation over the years.”

Among the program’s outstanding faculty is Ohio Eminent Scholar Scott Highhouse.

According to Highhouse, approximately half of the program’s students go on to jobs in industry or as external consultants. “We have former students in organizations like Procter & Gamble and Kellogg’s, as well as in consulting firms like Development Dimensions International and PDRI,” he said. “They are often engaged in developing employee assessment and selection systems or instituting organizational training and development programs.”

The remaining students in the program enter academia as tenure-track faculty. “In the last five years, students have accepted positions at Kansas State University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Connecticut, to name a few,” Highhouse said.

Zickar added that it is gratifying to see the program’s graduates go on to become leaders in both academia and the private sector.

“Our national society has an early career award for academics and a separate award for practitioners (i.e., people who work in government or private industry),” he said.  Last year, for the first time in the history of both awards, both winners were BGSU alumni (Dr. Mo Wang who is at University of Florida for Academics and Dr. Jennifer Geimer at Human Resources Research Organization)."

To view the rankings, visit http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/industrial-organizational-psychology-rankings

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(Posted March 15, 2013 )