*This is one of the outside of class stories I had to write for class.

I decided to write about

the new masters program SDSU will be adding.
SDSU Adds New Masters Program
South Dakota State University announced a new masters program for the psychology
department that will start in the fall of 2016.
The new masters program is industrial and organizational psychology, which is the first
masters program offered in the psychology department at SDSU.
Industrial and organizational psychology is a type of work and applied psychology, Kevin
Mahoney, an assistant professor of industrial and organizational psychology said.
The terminal masters degree in industrial and organizational psychology is designed to
prepare students for the work place, Dennis Papini, the dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences said. So the focus is on providing students with knowledge and practical
information about how to improve organizational efficiency and productivity.
Because of experience with such a quality program at Middle Tennessee University, when
coming to SDSU, there was a chance to see what the business climate of the state was
and what the economy was driven by, and soon there was a realization that there was an
opportunity for this type of masters program, Papini said.
The masters program has been in the works for the past two years, Mahoney said, which
is when he started at SDSU.
Some topics involved in industrial and organization psychology include personnel
selection, using math and psychological principles to help organizations identify qualified
candidates for work, performance appraisal, and evaluating employee performance, and
to improve the quality of the work experience, Mahoney said.
There are 150 of these masters degree levels of industrial and organizational psychology
programs in the U.S, Mahoney said, but this is the first one in South Dakota.
Students would be able to get jobs as a practitioner as a human resource specialist,
Mahoney said. This would use statistics to help organizations improve their processes,
personnel selection, analysis, help improve the training of employees, and development.
Whenever I explain industrial and organizational psychology, I use the example of
moving from a competitive to a cooperative workplace, Mahoney said.
SDSU has had to add a number of classes for the new program, Mahoney said, which he
and Bradley Woldt, the psychology department head, have been working on. It is a whole
new curriculum.

Since the program has been added, the psychology department has hired one new
professor, to help develop the program, Papni said, and there are hopes to hire one more
by fall of 2016 and a third professor will hopefully start in fall 2017.
The new masters program is anticipated to bring in students from outside of SDSU,
Mahoney said, not only from South Dakota, but also surrounding states.
Before adding the masters program to the curriculum at SDSU, there were several
students who had expressed interest in studying industrial and organizational psychology,
Papini said, but at the time there was no such program offered to students.
Students had to leave SDSU to further their education in psychology and were then
applying at different programs all over the country, Papini said.
As I visited with these students, Papini said, it was clear that they didnt really want to
leave South Dakota, but if they wanted to advance their careers, they had to go away to
those programs.
Before SDSU decided to add the new masters program to its psychology department,
Papini said, USD, which offers two masters programs in psychology, was the only other
place in South Dakota that offered masters programs for students.
I think this is an important event for the department of psychology, Papini said. And
its an important event for the college and the university, and I think it will elevate the
college as the academic engine of the university.
The new masters program is a good opportunity for students and the school, Molly
Wermers, a psychology undergraduate student said. It is a growing field and so it gives
students a chance to get involved and the college is giving students a chance to stay in
South Dakota.
She has an interest in applying for the masters degree, Wermers said. She would not
need to leave South Dakota and it would be close to home and there are professors she
already knows who would be teaching some of the classes and be in a place you are
already familiar with.
She has talked to other students who have had the same interest she has had in industrial
and organizations psychology, Wermers said, so hopefully more students will stay at
SDSU.
I think it was a very good idea to add this program because we dont have a program
like that here in Brookings, or anywhere in South Dakota at all, Wermers said.