What is Industrial and Organisational

(I/O) Psychology?

The science of people at work

Industrial and Organisational
Psychology is a specialist area that
applies psychological knowledge and
skills to the workplace, with the aim of
improving organisational effectiveness
and the quality of work life.
I/O Psychologists have knowledge and
skills in areas such as:
Selection and
assessment
Job analysis
Training and
development
Career development
and coaching
Organisational
development and
change management
Attitude surveys and
research on workplace
issues
Performance
development and review
Wellbeing, conflict,
stress and work
adjustment
Occupational health and
safety
Program evaluation
Consumer behaviour
and marketing
Advisory and advocacy
regarding workplace
issues


I/O Psychology Career Destinations
Human Resources/Organisational
Development
E.g. Department of Treasury and Finance,
RAC, WA Police Service, BHPBilliton, Rio
Tinto, Coca-Cola
General Management
E.g. Department of Health, Wesfarmers
Consulting
E.g. Chandler & MacLeod, Deloitte,
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, SHL
Academia
Salary expectations
Depends very much on which area
you enter

In a recent Australian survey (n=231)
Median 2006 salary for current full time
employees was $88,465 (range $22,000 -
$400,000, mean=$106,530)
Median 2006 graduate salary for those
starting work in the last 2 years was
$51,000 (range $10,000-$122,000)




Degree Offerings in I/O Psychology at
UWA
Master of Science (Industrial and
Organisational Psychology)
Master of Psychology (Industrial and
Organisational Psychology)
Combined MPsych/PhD (Industrial
and Organisational Psychology)
PhD


Master of Psychology (Industrial and
Organisational Psychology)
Intake of around 15 a year
Acceptance rate varies
Generally 10%-30% acceptance
depending on the quality of
applications
Coursework
Placements in Industry
Thesis
Coursework units
Selection and Assessment
Psychology of Training
Organisational Development & Work Design
Occupational Health, Safety and Well-being
Professional Issues in I/O Psychology
Statistics for Field Research
Research Methods in Applied Settings
2 Elective units (UWA Business School) e.g.
Organisational Behaviour, Accounting,
Advanced Human Resource Management,
Marketing Principles
Placements
125 days (1000 hours) in total
divided into 3 separate
placements of 42 days each
Individualised placements
depending on career stage and
interests
Individual and group meetings
within a peer coaching framework
Example Placement Projects
Development of internal communication
strategy for a government agency
Analysis of training needs and development
of training options for a diversified corporate
Selection and assessment for mining staff
Organisational culture survey development,
administration, analysis and report for
various organisations
Development of induction process for lateral
hires for a top 4 accounting firm
Development and evaluation of induction
program for overseas recruits in a state utility
and for mining clients
Analysis of exit interview data for a large
retail client
Example Placement Organisations
BHPBilliton
Chandler & MacLeod
ChevronTexaco
Coles
Department of
Consumer &
Employment
Protection
Department of
Environment and
Conservation
Department of Racing,
Gaming and Liquor
Department of
Treasury and Finance

IKEA
People Solutions
Perth Transit
Authority
PriceWaterhouse
Coopers
Prime Psychology
RAC
Talent2
Woolworths
Wesfarmers Energy
Western Power

Research Thesis
Example topics
Employee burnout
Flexible work
arrangements
Ethical codes
Work stress
Coaching
Turnover intention
Personality and
intelligence
Employee
engagement
Example participant
organisations include
ChevronTexaco
Department of
Environment and
Conservation
Main Roads WA
Office of Public Sector
Standards
OSA Group
Wesfarmers
Western Australian
Institute of Sport
Woolworths
More information about I/O Psychology
at UWA?
Browse the Schools I/O Psychology web
resources
http://www.psychology.uwa.edu.au/courses/postgraduate/
industrial
http://www.psychology.uwa.edu.au/research/industrial

Visit the College of Organisational
Psychologists WA (COPWA):
http://www.groups.psychology.org.au/cop/committee/wa/

Call or email Maria Puerta Francos in the
School of Psychology
6488 3247
Maria.Puerta@uwa.edu.au