Occupational psychologists help to align human resources with organizational goals.
A Master in Occupational Psychology degree prepares the student to understand people and organizations. The courses taken in occupational psychology are grouped into eight key areas, each preparing the student to conduct research and apply social psychology and organizational theory to solve issues in the workplace. Upon completing all required courses and electives, students in most programs will also write a thesis. Upon graduating, students can expect to find jobs in human resources as occupational or business psychologists or as personnel managers.
Human Resources and Leadership
Students will take courses in human resource management principles aimed at teaching the student about the different theories, methodologies and practical applications of managing and leading people. Students learn about managing the employment relationships of individuals and studying the interactions of groups of people with their leaders or followers.
Career Development
Students of occupational psychology will take courses in career development to explore how people experience their careers, what provides them satisfaction and how they act with others in the context of their career. Students will learn about how people make career choices, career management practices, adult development, career transitions, impact of social networks on careers, career management intervention strategies and relationship theory and practice.
Motivation and Performance Theory
Understanding what motivates people to work and what increases productivity from individuals and social groups is central to occupational psychology. Students will take courses in motivation and performance theory to learn about the cognitive processes of motivation, identify and measure performance, define performance, the relationship between performance and key organizational factors such as rewards.
Selecting and Assessing Employees
Another key job performed by occupational psychologists revolves around assessing and selecting the right employees for the right jobs. Students will take courses to learn about the psychology of decision-making, the psychological processes involved in making selections and the methods used in job selection, such as the type of tests administered, interview strategies and ethical considerations.
Technological Design and the Workplace
With a technologically-driven environment, occupational psychologists need to understand how people interact with technology to improve job performance. Students will take courses to learn about the design of technology around humans, usability of technology, the human response to technology, technological communication media and impacts on the work environment, and the management of technological change.
Employee Development and Training
Occupational psychologists often develop and help implement training programs for employers. Students in a master's degree program will take courses in training design, development, assessment and evaluation. These courses will help prepare a student to assess the impact of training across an organization, while examining the techniques and methods utilized to determine efficiency.
Dynamics of Organizational Change
Courses under this heading usually include group work, where students will interact in groups to carry out projects to learn about applications of psychological theory to the workplace. The objective of such courses is for the students to learn and understand the dynamics of organizational change. Students will learn methods for analyzing the changing organizations and learn about best approach deliberate change in an organization.
Well-being and Work
In courses covering these topics, students will study the relationship between well-being and work. Students learn how worked is defined, the meanings and theories of well-being and associated intervention strategies.
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