Hi. This is my first blog post and I’m really excited to start a conversation about the people processes important in organizations and small groups. This field is called Organizational Psychology.
Here’s something I’ve been working on. It is a new Master’s program at Southern Oregon University in beautiful Ashland, Oregon and we are trying to build our program.
Program Overview
The training & development field holds exciting potential for those who wish to work in organizations. Leaders in nonprofit and for-profit organizations increasingly acknowledge that training develops skills, enhances productivity and quality of work, and builds worker loyalty (Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2004-05). The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that such human resource-related positions are expected to grow 21-35% by 2012.
There are many exciting career possibilities within the field of Organizational Psychology. With a master’s degree, like the OTD degree at Southern Oregon University, one has many choices when it comes to job opportunities.With this degree one could start off their career working as an HR specialist. They could also focus their career on working for a consulting firm, teaching at a university or devoting their life to research in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) psychology. The pay ranges for this degree start at about $30,000 and work their way up to about $40,000. If one chooses to move up to management, the salary could reach about $50,000 to $80,000
Meeting this demand, the Organizational Training and Development (OTD) track of the Master in Applied Psychology Program offers a two-year sequence of courses leading to an MS degree in Applied Psychology. This program is a member of the Council of Applied Master’s Programs in Psychology.
The OTD track will prepare you for professional positions in organizational settings, specializing in group facilitation, training, staff development, managing change, or organizational development functions. Emphasis is also placed upon interpretation and application of empirical research.
OTD courses are offered in a small classroom format that affords personal, individualized attention to each student.
