Okay, so I’ve been thinking about going back to school for a while now, and I’ve always been fascinated by how people think and behave, especially at work. That’s how I stumbled upon Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology. It’s all about making the workplace better, you know? More productive, happier employees, that kind of thing. Since I’m in Canada, I figured I’d look into programs here. Here’s how that whole process went down.
My Deep Dive into I/O Psych Programs
First, I started with a basic internet search. I just typed in “masters in industrial psychology Canada” and see what popped up. I found a bunch of university websites and some general info pages about I/O psych. I spent a good few hours just clicking around, getting a feel for what’s out there.
Then, I started making a list. I jotted down the names of universities that seemed to have decent programs. My criteria? Honestly, at first, it was pretty basic:
- Did the program description sound interesting?
- Was it in a city I wouldn’t mind living in?
- Did the website look…well, not terrible? (You’d be surprised!)
Once I had a list, I dug deeper. I went to each university’s website and looked for the specific I/O psychology program pages. This is where things got real. I started comparing things like:
- Course Requirements: What classes would I actually be taking? Did they sound relevant? Did they seem overly theoretical, or was there a practical component?
- Faculty: Who are the professors? What are their research interests? Did any of them seem like someone I’d want to learn from? I even checked some of their publications, just to be super thorough.
- Admission Requirements: This was the scary part. What GPA did I need? Did I need to take the GRE? What kind of background were they looking for?
- Funding Opportunities: Grad school is expensive! I needed to know if there were scholarships, assistantships, or other ways to help pay for it.
- Program Length: How long would it take to complete the program? One year? Two years?
I created a spreadsheet (yes, I’m that person) to keep track of all this info. It helped me compare the programs side-by-side and see which ones were the best fit for me.
After all that research, I narrowed it down to a handful of programs that I was really excited about. I contacted the program coordinators at each university to ask some specific questions I had. They were all super helpful and gave me even more insight into what the programs were like.
Finally, I picked my top three schools and applied that I thought. This is where I’m at now waiting for the results anxiously.
Wish me luck!
