Program Overview
Adler University’s online Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology trains students to be forward-thinking, socially responsible organizational experts who draw on scientific research to gain a deeper understanding of motivation and how to maximize human potential. Our graduates bring expertise in psychology, decision making, leadership, statistics, and research methods to workplaces, offering fiscally and ethically guided recommendations to shape culture and drive performance.
Our innovative doctoral curriculum combines our social justice-driven mission with the core concepts learned in an I/O master’s program. Applications are reinforced through real-world practice, preparing students to work with organizations addressing some of today’s most pressing issues.
Graduates of the Industrial and Organizational Psychology program go on to foster psychologically healthy environments in fields as diverse as consulting, corporate enterprise, nonprofits, academia, and the public sector.
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Student Outcomes
Earn your Industrial and Organizational Psychology Ph.D. degree fully online from an institution that shares your values of social justice and community-based solutions.
Graduates of the Industrial and Organizational Psychology program go on to foster psychologically healthy environments in fields as diverse as consulting, corporate enterprise, nonprofits, academia, and the public sector.
Careers in I/O Psychology
Our program prepares specialists in industrial and organizational psychology to work as internal and external consultants or full-time professionals in a variety of fields, including:
- Human resources
- Academia
- Employee relations
- Private practice
- Organizational change
- Learning and development
- Talent management consulting
- Occupational health and wellbeing
- Group dynamics and facilitation
- Leadership development and coaching
Gain the knowledge and skills to create real change in the workplace with small, collaborative classes taught by leading practitioners and scholars.
Our program offers extensive individualized advising and mentorship to ensure students develop their leadership capacity, a collective act that requires personal mastery and the ability to cultivate high-quality relationships. Students learn to identify and build on others’ strengths and talents to create authentic, generative relationships in service of a purposeful vocational life.
Unique to our institution is the Social Justice Practicum, a transformative, high-impact field experience completed by all Adler students to cultivate skills for becoming agents of social change. This goes hand-in-hand with the program’s core professional practicum tailored to students’ career goals. Through our partnership network, students gain real-world experience and build their professional reputation among those who are redefining work in the 21st century.
I/O Psychology Ph.D. Student Spotlight
Cheryl Magee, M.A. ’18
Online Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Cheryl Magee, M.A. ’18, has devoted her career to serving her community’s diverse and ever-changing needs. A student in the Online Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology program and a graduate of the online Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management program, Magee runs a nonprofit that provides critical social services to the greater New Orleans area. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to “moving people and places out of poverty.” Magee is the founder and executive director of Hope Center in Gretna, Louisiana. She started the organization out of her local church, and since opening in 2001, it has helped more than 9,000 people, including youth, veterans, and those who are homeless or unemployed.
Curriculum
Adler University’s fully online Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology is a 66-credit hour, post-bachelor’s program.
Program Requisites
Applicants are expected to have adequate coursework in the areas listed below. Applicants who did not graduate from Adler University’s Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology or an equivalent program will be assessed to determine whether they have adequate coursework in the following master’s-level course areas, with a letter grade of B or better. Students who have not completed prerequisite coursework will need to complete additional master’s-level courses within the first two course periods of the doctoral program.
Online I/O Psychology Doctorate courses
Find course descriptions and more information in the Adler University course catalog.
Requisite Coursework
Credit for these courses may come from the student’s M.A. degree
The Social Justice Practicum (SJP) is a first-year, non-clinical and non-discipline specific experiential practicum that begins in the second course period of the student’s program. Students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to utilize collective power and social justice strategies to build a more equitable society.
The Social Justice Practicum (SJP) is a first-year, non-clinical and non-discipline specific experiential practicum that begins in the second course period of the student’s program. Students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to utilize collective power and social justice strategies to build a more equitable society.
The Social Justice Practicum (SJP) is a first-year, non-clinical and non-discipline specific experiential practicum that begins in the second course period of the student’s program. Students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to utilize collective power and social justice strategies to build a more equitable society.
The Social Justice Practicum (SJP) is a first-year, non-clinical and non-discipline specific experiential practicum that begins in the second course period of the student’s program. Students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to utilize collective power and social justice strategies to build a more equitable society.
The Social Justice Practicum (SJP) is a first-year, non-clinical and non-discipline specific experiential practicum that begins in the second course period of the student’s program. Students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to utilize collective power and social justice strategies to build a more equitable society.
The Social Justice Practicum (SJP) is a first-year, non-clinical and non-discipline specific experiential practicum that begins in the second course period of the student’s program. Students gain the knowledge, skills, and perspectives to utilize collective power and social justice strategies to build a more equitable society.
This course explores the fundamental concepts of social science research methodology within the field of applied psychology.
Core Courses
This course provides an overview of the history of psychology as a whole and details the evolution of the field over time. Students will explore major ideologies, theories, theorists, and schools of psychology that have contributed to industrial and organizational psychology.
This course will examine current and historically relevant ethical, legal, and professional issues in the field of I/O psychology. The course will examine both how I/O professionals can identify and react to ethical, legal, and professional concerns in organizations as well as how I/O professionals are to behave and interact with organizations themselves.
This advanced course leverages change management theories and processes to consider the impact of change on organizations at large and groups within organizations.
This course focuses on how to use statistics to solve for complex human capital business issues. Multiple new analyses will be explored with a large focus of the course being prediction of outcomes from datasets.
This course details the process for conducting job and task analyses in organizations. This process is used across the I/O psychology field to get foundational information used for writing job descriptions, determining organizational career paths, and having a robust understanding of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and responsibilities of each role in an organization.
This course focuses on qualitative research methods and provides students with hands-on experience to prepare them for the initial stages of the research process. The course provides in-depth analysis and discussion on various qualitative research methods and design approaches in terms of their pros and potential cons when exploring a variety of research questions.
This course will cover quantitative research designs and provide students with practical experience in activities required to progress through the research process, building on concepts learned in IOP 708: Advanced Research Methods and Design I. Students will learn how to devise experiments to test hypotheses and how to evaluate the effectiveness of those designs.
This course explores the interaction of humans and various forms of technology within differing environments. Topics include technology and machine displays (for example, visual, auditory), motor skills, information processing, decision making, and biomechanics.
This course will explore the roles of leaders and managers in organizations and discuss viewpoints regarding the similarities and differences between each role. Students will learn about various leadership styles individuals possess and how those styles impact organizational culture and team dynamics.
This course will cover key talent management practices related to the Recruitment and selection of individuals for employment in various roles and organizations.
This course explores differentiated concepts of interpersonal behavior in small groups. Students will learn about research in the field of group dynamics as well as the applicability of that research to modern organizations.
This course evaluates theories, methodologies, and best practices for designing and implementing effective training programs in organizations. The course will cover major adult learning theories as well modern application of those theories in training designs and programs.
Comprehensive Exam
The purpose of this seminar is to assess students’ mastery of I/O psychology content delivered throughout the program and to gauge students’ readiness for future doctoral study.
Dissertation
The courses may be repeated multiple times for credit – a minimum of 12 credit hours are required.
This course provides support and structure throughout the dissertation process. Students will prepare and complete a prospectus, outlining their dissertation plan. This course will also guide students through the development, presentation and defense of a formal dissertation proposal. Students will collect and analyze data under the supervision of their Dissertation Chair.
Electives
Students will need a total of 9 elective credits.
This course prepares students to conduct survey research in organizations to measure employee or consumer attitudes. Students will learn how to design a survey, evaluate the reliability and validity of a survey, utilize statistics to analyze the survey data, and interpret and present survey results to clients.
In this course, students are introduced to the function and structure of groups to promote organizational effectiveness. The science behind group decision-making, process and communication are explored.
This course presents students with diverse strategies with relevance to the fields of coaching and consulting. Evidence-based coaching methods will be applied in a variety of contexts.
The course provides students with a thorough understanding of the role of a training and development practitioner. Students will be provided with an analysis of current best practices as they relate to adult learning, instructional design/ strategy, and program evaluation.
This advanced course will use the tenets of organizational behavior and organizational theory to explore the factors that most influence successful business decisions and interactions.
This course focuses on effective consulting by presenting students with common and unique business challenges and exploring possible solutions. Students will be presented with multiple data points on organizational challenges and be asked to find solutions for these challenges with a mock client.
This course presents students with information on major attitude theories in the field of I/O psychology. Students will explore the inputs to job satisfaction and employee engagement as well as other work attitudes and examine the impact of these constructs in the workplace.
This course focuses on how professionals engage in psychological testing in organizations with a broad scope of assessments of individuals and groups.
This course covers the impacts of talent management on individuals and within organizations as well as its impact on organizational culture and metrics. Topics will focus on how to create integrated human capital programs and processes and measure the effectiveness of those integrated designs.
This course will analyze the impact of common performance management practices as well as new trends and approaches in assessing individual and group performance within organizations.
This course presents a comprehensive, integrative, and practical perspective on contemporary leadership theories that have emerged over the past several decades. Additionally, the course explores how individuals can build their leadership capabilities while acting with authenticity, integrity, and creativity.
The purpose of this course is to move away from leader-centered theory to more integrated theory that includes the leader’s relationship with and influence on followers.
This course presents effective communication as an integral component of leadership strategy. A leader’s competence in this area will aid in developing a foundation for designing effective messages, both written and oral, from concept to delivery.
This course will introduce and advance students’ exposure to issues of accessibility, and the full range of human diversity including ability, language, culture, gender and age. The course will engage these different issues, addressing how different viewpoints can impact the interpretation and utility of knowledge.
This course will explore how innovation involves developing a consensus in multi-stakeholder groups, managing organizational change or leading the development of an innovative product or service. Innovation requires leadership that has vision, the ability to inspire and empower others, and courageously make strategic decisions.
The course will allow students to understand the process through which data becomes information, information becomes knowledge, and how knowledge can be exchanged and transferred among different stakeholders.
This course examines everyday issues facing organizations such as attracting, selecting, and maintaining a productive workforce in today’s competitive operating environment. Further, other nuances such as training and development, compensation, and employee performance evaluation will be discussed.
This course will examine the impact of resilient leadership on organizational sustainability. In particular, resilience will be explored on the individual, team and organizational level. Students will learn how to ensure their own health and productivity, as well as increase their accountability and adaptability.
This course will address current topics in the field of organizational leadership emphasizing socially responsible practice. Specific content to be covered will vary based on what is relevant at the time and will be specified prior to the semester in which the seminar is offered.
This course explores theories of change and impactful social movements as a means of preparing students to lead change processes. It examines the activities, contexts, challenges and ethics of community-based social change as they relate to organizations and institutional systems, work/task groups and individuals and the role of the community leaders in these processes.
This course explores fundamental leadership and management concepts at the individual, team, and organizational levels. This course will give students the opportunity to explore leadership and followership dynamics, as well as the role it plays in enhancing leadership capabilities and experiences.
This course explores organizational culture at the interface of theory and practice to bring clarity, context, relevance and understanding to the topic. Future leaders will be prepared to use their knowledge as a powerful tool in creating a sustainable high performance organization.
In this course, students will learn how to lead high performing teams that are collaborative, consistently learning, and able to achieve bottom line results. Specifically, students will learn best practices for composing a team and aligning individual and team goals.
Understanding how innovation occurs within and outside of individual organizations is essential for entrepreneurs, policymakers and researchers. Innovation the creation and implementation of a new product, process or service – occurs within complex systems and system characteristics can help or hinder innovation.
This course introduces students to the principles of individual assessment and their role in leadership development. Frameworks for conceptualizing the assessment process, specific strategies for assessing individual personality, cognitive ability, and workplace relevant behaviors will be considered.
This course introduces students to entrepreneurship and the development of the entrepreneurial mindset. Students will learn about the entrepreneurial process, skills required and the necessary resilience to meet their business goals.
Complex challenges and issues involve the interplay of a multitude of stakeholders, organizations and institutions. Students will be introduced to systems design, theory and methods to identify and design systemic interventions for social, policy, and business change.
This course examines the relationship between business and government, the influence one has over the other; how governmental policies influence the decisions of corporations, businesses and industries and vice-versa, and the economic and development issues arising in an increasingly integrated global economy.
In this course, students learn human resource practices and styles of management in public organizations. Topics include sociological, economic, and political science theories of organizational behavior and management within the public sector; the values associated with the five general models of public personnel systems are considered within a historical context.
This course introduces the knowledge and skills related to strategic management and leadership in government and public services including the articulation and aligning of organizational goals in accordance with the mission.
This course is designed to provide students with a solid foundation for the ethical practice of leadership and management in the public and nonprofit sectors.
Social Justice Practicum
200-hour internship to give students real world experience
A unique and proven program designed to give students real-world experience throughout their time at Adler University, the Social Justice Practicum is a required 200-hour internship that spans four courses (or terms for online programs). Every student is given a number of civic-minded categories to choose from. They submit their desired areas of interest. After which, they are assigned a specific and aligned community outreach site where they will work 8 to 10 hours per week.
Faculty Spotlight
Marianne Cabrera, Ph.D.
Program Director, Organizational Leadership programs
My teaching style and thought process revolve around integrating academic and practitioner-related concepts into the learning experience to help students best understand and apply what they are learning in both the classroom and in their every day life. In both online and classroom-based learning, I believe that communication and engagement are key to having a successful and effective learning experience. Developing relationships and understanding what the lessons mean to my students are a top priority for me, as I try to find ways to help them connect with the material in the course and in their overall learning in the program.
Online Learning Format
Adler University approaches online learning with the same commitment to academic excellence and student support that has been the hallmark of our 65-year history. Our innovative online graduate courses deliver an engaging, interactive learning experience designed to accommodate your busy schedule.
Online learning offers a great deal of independence and flexibility, but that doesn’t mean that you’re alone. Our online student body is supported by the same administrative and academic staff who serve our on-campus students. Your instructors are also available to answer your questions, provide more information, and connect you with additional resources to help you succeed. In addition, your cohort classmates will be a source of ongoing support and collaboration as you progress through your degree program, and well after graduation.
Admissions Requirements
Applicants to this program are required to have:
- A master’s degree, by the date of matriculation, in industrial and organizational psychology, psychology, business, or a related discipline. Applicants who did not graduate from Adler University’s Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology or an equivalent program may be required to complete the equivalency requirements in addition to the doctoral curriculum. (See Program Requisites below.)
- A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale) in their master’s degree. Successful applicants typically have a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale for graduate-level coursework.
- Two letters of recommendation from an individual who can speak to the applicant’s likelihood of success in a doctoral program.*
- A writing sample (e.g., a publication, report, or an essay or paper previously submitted as an assignment).
- An admissions interview.
*Applicants who are graduates or current students, in good standing, from Adler University master’s degree programs may have one letter of recommendation, the writing sample, and/or interview waived.
Program Requisites
Applicants are expected to have adequate coursework in the areas listed below. Applicants who did not graduate from Adler University’s Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, or an equivalent program, will be assessed to determine whether they have adequate coursework in the following master’s-level course areas, with a letter grade of B or better.
Course Areas and Equivalent Courses at Adler
- Organizational Theory (MIO 502) or Foundations in Organizational Psychology (MAOP 570).
- Organizational Development and Change (MIO 504) or Organizational Change and Development (MAOP 580).
- One graduate-level statistics course: Statistics (INDS 502) or Statistical Methods at Work (MAOP 525).
- One graduate-level research methods course: Research Methods (INDS-503) or Research Methods in Organizational Psychology (MAOP 546).
Tuition & Fees
Tuition for Adler University’s programs is charged each term according to the number of registered academic credits. The number of credits a student will register for varies by academic program and by term. To estimate the amount of tuition and fees that would be charged in a given term, please use our Tuition Estimator tool below, or read about tuition and fees for all Online programs.