Psychology at work - the boom in organisational psychology
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(c) iStockphoto.com/Lise Gagne |
The Master of Organisational Psychology at Macquarie University continues to grow in popularity as institutions and practitioners become increasingly aware of the importance of psychology and people issues in the workplace.
What is organisational psychology?
"Organisational psychology is about using psychological principles and methods to better understand psychological aspects of the workplace, in order to enhance organisational effectiveness, productivity and individual wellbeing," lecturer Dr Ben Searle explains. "Our Masters program develops knowledge, skills and experience in organisational psychology through specialised coursework, a major research project, and 1,000 hours of supervised practice in real workplaces."
Core units
Students are required to take core organisational units as well as core psychology units. The core organisational units provide grounding in organisational psychology theories, human resource management, job analysis, organisational change, training, and statistical analysis.
Students also develop expertise in a specific field by working on a research project supervised by a member of academic staff.
Four professional practice units aim to develop practical skills that can be applied in the field. Classes feature presentations by organisational psychologists who discuss the nature of their work as well as career decisions they have made.
Skills developed
Apart from furthering their psychological knowledge, students will develop skills in a range of areas including: the use of psychological tests and surveys; conducting job analyses; management of change processes; the design, administration and evaluation of training programs; and the application of statistical analysis to organisational problems.
Supervised work placements
Students will gain experience in organisational psychology practice through four supervised work placements. A maximum of 600 hours of supervised practice may be obtained from any one placement.
Career prospects
"We have ongoing relationships with top companies who have offices in Sydney, and students will develop contacts with high profile organisational psychology and human resource executives in the course of their involvement in our program," says Searle. "Also, our Professional Practice classes include discussions of career development, including presentations from, and Q&A opportunities with, successful organisational psychologists, some of whom are graduates of our program!"
Graduates will be able to work as organisational psychologists in consultancies, large companies or government departments. Areas of work will include human resources management, training, job design, work place and career counselling, rehabilitation and occupational health and safety.
Entry requirements
To undertake the Master of Organisational Psychology, applicants must have completed, or be about to complete, the equivalent of a four year psychology degree.
As class sizes are kept small to maximise learning and teacher/student ratios, selection is based on academic performance, experience and reports from referees.
The program will take two years to complete for full time students and four years for part time students.
For further information on the Master of Organisational Psychology contact Program Director Dr Peter Langford: peter.langford@mq.edu.au or Lecturer Dr Ben Searle: ben.searle@psy.mq.edu.au
Visit the Department of Psychology Website: www.psy.mq.edu.au