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Frequently Asked Questions Program Details
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Other How large is the graduate program? There are five faculty members who advise students in the master’s program in I/O psychology and the doctoral program in behavior analysis. In any given year, there are 15-20 I/O psychology MA students in the program, and an additional 6-9 doctoral students specializing in I/O psychology in the behavior analysis Ph.D. program. Our current and recent students can be found on the Student page. How many classes do students usually take? Students usually take three 3-credit hour courses during the fall and spring semesters, which is a full-time course load for a graduate student. If students have a 20-hour assistantship, they sometimes take only two 3-credit hour courses during the fall and spring semester, and one 3-credit hour course in each of the two summer semesters. Students may elect to take fewer courses per semester, but that increases the time it takes them to complete the program. How long does the program typically take? Students who complete the practicum option in the program typically take 2 years to complete the program. Students who do a thesis typically take 2 1/2 to 3 years. Students who conduct theses typically continue their graduate training in our doctoral program in behavior analysis, and thus are taking doctoral courses while finishing up their theses. Am I required to do an internship? Students are not required to complete a 1-year internship. However, students admitted to the practicum option in the program must complete two 3-credit hour practicum courses. Students admitted to the thesis option do not have to complete any practicum courses, but most take one or two practicum courses as electives. How much do students and faculty publish in professional journals? Over the past five years, the five faculty have published a total of about 25 articles per year, and made a total of about 30 presentations per year at local, national and international conferences. Approximately 50% of our MA students publish each year with some authoring more than one paper, and approximately 85% present at least one paper or poster at a conference each year. How many students apply to the master’s program? How many are admitted? We receive about 30 applications per year and admit 7-10 students. Is there a doctoral program in I/O psychology at WMU? There is not a doctoral program in I/O psychology at WMU. However, students who want to pursue a Ph.D. enter our doctoral program in behavior analysis, often studying with the same faculty member who advised them in the I/O psychology MA program. Our behavior analysis program is flexible enough for students to pursue a specialization in I/O psychology. If I want a doctoral degree, should I apply to the I/O psychology MA program or the behavior analysis doctoral program? Students should apply to the I/O psychology MA program. When students are close to finishing their MA, then they apply to the doctoral program in behavior analysis. If students are admitted directly to the behavior analysis doctoral program, they complete an MA in behavior analysis, not I/O psychology. The requirements for the MA in behavior analysis are different that the requirements for the MA in I/O psychology. How diverse is your student body? About 13% of the MA students are ethnic minorities and 13% are international students. About 75% of the MA students are female. How many credits do students usually take? The program requires the completion of 36-credit hours. Students usually enroll in 9 credit hours during the fall and spring semesters. If students have a 20-hour a week assistantship, they may enroll in 6 credit hours a semester and still be considered a full-time student. Students often enroll in 3 credit hours during one of the two summer semesters. Do graduate students teach classes? Some, but not all, graduate students have the opportunity to teach undergraduate classes under the supervision of a faculty member. Typically, only advanced graduate students are assigned teaching responsibilities, although entering graduate students often assist faculty in teaching their classes. Students should meet with their advisor to discuss opportunities for teaching. What will I be doing as a teaching or research assistant? Assignments vary depending upon the faculty member and nature of the appointment. A full-time assistantship requires students to work 20 hours a week, assisting faculty with their teaching or research. Typical responsibilities of teaching assistants include holding office hours, tutoring students who are having trouble in a class, helping to grade papers and tests, conducting class discussions, and lecturing when the faculty member is absent. Typical responsibilities of research assistants include participating in research meetings, reading relevant articles and publications, recruiting participants, scheduling participants for experimental sessions, conducting experimental sessions, collecting and recording data, and analyzing data. Is the I/O program at WMU focused on lab or applied work? In general, the program balances research and applied work, in keeping with a research/practitioner training model. Students may, however, choose to focus more on research by conducting a master’s thesis (6 credit hours) or more on practice by taking 6-credit hours of practicum. In addition, students have 6 elective credit hours that may include additional research and/or practice depending upon the interests of the student. Is a master’s thesis required? There are two options in the program, a thesis option and a practicum option. The thesis option requires students to conduct a research thesis. The practicum option does not require a thesis; rather these students take two 3-credit hour practicum courses. How students are admitted? Students are admitted by the I/O psychology program faculty. Many aspects of a student’s background are considered when admissions decisions are made including GRE scores, GPAs, letters of reference, research and work experience, social and professional skills, and the extent to which the interests of the applicants match the program’s offerings and strengths. What are the average GREs and average GPAs of students who are admitted the program? We only require the verbal and quantitative sections of the GREs. Over the past 5 years, the average combined verbal and quantitative GRE score of admitted students was 1100. The average GPA of admitted students (on a 4 point scale) was 3.65. Is the psychology GRE sub-test required for admission? No. We require only the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE. Should I visit WMU while applying? If you would like to know more about the program and/or interact with faculty members prior to applying, then it is a good idea to visit WMU. However, it is not necessary. During the admissions process, we will contact you and invite you for an interview if you are being considered for admission. It is very important that you attend this interview, if you are invited. When will I know if I’ve been accepted? Letters notifying applicants of their status are sent by April 15. Can I choose a professor to work with or will I be assigned a professor? When you apply to the program, you are asked to identify the faculty member or members you would like to work with. The faculty member or members that you identified will determine whether they are willing and able to advise you. If they are not, then another faculty member may offer to be your advisor. Your advisor will be indicated in your letter of acceptance. Once in the program, you may change advisors if another I/O psychology faculty member is willing to advise you. Do I have to work with just one faculty member or can I join multiple research and/or applied projects? You may work with several faculty members, with the consent and knowledge of your advisor. Many of our students work with different faculty members on research and/or applied projects. We encourage it. Do faculty encourage their students to choose either academia or practice? Most faculty advise students in both the thesis option of the program and the practicum option in the program. That is, most faculty advise students who are planning careers in applied settings and students who are planning careers in academia (after obtaining a Ph.D.). However, some faculty do have preferences, and thus applicants should ask faculty about their preferences before applying to the program and choosing to work with a particular faculty member. Are students involved in professional conferences? Yes. Approximately 85% of our MA students present at least one paper or poster at a professional conference each year. In addition, many of our students work as paid or volunteer staff members at the annual conference of the Association for Behavior Analysis, whose international headquarters are in Kalamazoo. In addition, the administrative functions of the Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) Network are housed at WMU, and our students hold officer positions in membership, finance, marketing, and public relations. For more information visit the Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) Network web site. Is there access to computers or do I need to purchase a computer? You will need to purchase a computer, preferably a lap top computer with wireless capability because WMU is a wireless campus. Do graduate students typically live on or off campus? Graduate students typically live off-campus, although there are furnished and unfurnished apartments available on campus. WMU’s housing office helps students locate off-campus housing as well as on-campus housing. For more information visit the following web site: www.wmich.edu/housing. Current graduate students can provide excellent information about housing in the community as well. What is Kalamazoo like? Our graduate students describe Kalamazoo as a combination of a college town and city. Kalamazoo’s unique downtown showcases fine restaurants, markets, bars, and shopping. It’s not too big, but big enough so that you always feel safe, won’t get lost, and you can always find something to do. It’s located dead center between Detroit and Chicago, so you’ll also have access to big city cultural, musical, sporting, and entertainment events for a weekend or day trip. Grand Rapids is just 40 minutes away, which often attracts big events. The Kalamazoo area has excellent sushi, tapas, Thai, Italian, and Indian restaurants and several summer festivals annually. Plenty of culture and art can be found for those interested enough to look. It’s also close to Lake Michigan, whose beaches are reminiscent of the ocean.
How safe is WMU? WMU is widely considered a safe campus by its students. Feel free to refer to the WMU Department of Public Safety web site for more information, including the annual safety report. Do I need a car? Yes, you need a car. You need a car to get to and from campus and also to drive to the many organizations in the surrounding community that provide applied training to our students. Can I get a research or teaching assistantship? How many students get funding? Each faculty member has one full-time research or teaching assistantship available, and may offer students either a full-time (20-hours a week) or half-time (10-hours a week) assistantship. Only about 25% of MA I/O psychology students receive funding through the I/O psychology program; however, funding is often available in other units at WMU, at local businesses, and/or through the WMU Graduate College. Approximately 75-80% of our students at the MA and Ph.D. level receive some type of funding. For information regarding assistantships through WMU’s Graduate College, please visit the Graduate College’s web site at: www.wmich.edu/grad/funding/ For information regarding other funding, please contact the WMU faculty member you are interested in working with. The names and email addresses of the I/O faculty can be found on the Faculty page. Where are graduates employed? For over five years, 100% of our MA and Ph.D. graduates have secured relevant jobs. They are employed in human resource, performance management, process improvement, and environmental safety departments in business, industry, medical settings, and human service settings, and in consulting firms and instructional design consulting firms. Some of our recent graduates and alumni are spotlighted at on the Alumni page. How much is tuition per credit hour? Please see WMU’s Registrar’s web site: www.wmich.edu/registrar/tuition/ Can I get funding for travelling to conferences? Students may apply for up to $1,000 for research and travel to conferences through the Graduate College; however, funding is competitive and very limited. For information about this funding program visit the following web site: www.wmich.edu/grad/funding/ and click on “Graduate Student Research Grant” or “Graduate Student Travel Grant.” Can students work another job while completing graduate school? We do not recommend that students work more than 20 hours week while completing the program. There are three reasons for that. First, many of the required courses are offered during regular business hours, making it difficult for someone who works full time to complete the requirements of the program. Second, to take advantage of practicum, applied work, and applied research opportunities, students must be available to go to organizational settings during regular business hours. Third, many important extra-curricular educational activities take place during business hours. These include local, state, regional and national conferences, departmental colloquia, and laboratory meetings. Students who are not able to take advantage of these opportunities are placed at a serious disadvantage in terms of their training professional networking. There are times, however, that faculty are willing to admit full-time working professionals into the program. Thus, if you work full-time and would like to be admitted to the program, you should interact with the faculty member with whom you want to work before you apply. How much does it cost to rent a place in the Kalamazoo area? WMU’s housing office provides information about off-campus as well as on-campus housing. Please visit: www.wmich.edu/housing. A survey of our 2007 graduate students reveals that approximately half of them own and half of them rent. The average rental/mortage payment is $715 per month (ranging between $435-$1000) and about half our grad students split this cost with a roommate. Who do I contact for more information? Contact the chair of the Industrial/Organizational Psychology program: Dr. Alyce Dickinson, at alyce.dickinson@wmich.edu or 269-387-4473.
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