Purdue I/O - FAQs

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Department of Psychological Sciences

Purdue University

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F A Q S	We are still in the process of gathering frequently asked questions and will be adding more questions below. If your question is not answered in the FAQs, you can find someone to answer your questions here. Posted: September 19, 2005 How difficult is it to get into Purdue’s I/O program? Purdue’s I/O program is considered a competitive PhD program. Admissions decisions are based on a variety of factors including quantitative and verbal GRE scores, overall GPA, psychology GPA, GPA over the last two years of undergraduate education, research experience and letters of recommendation. Further, these factors are compensatory, in that, being less qualified in some areas can be overcome by being highly qualified in other areas. As a general rule of thumb, most students admitted to Purdue’s I/O program score at or above the 75^th percentile in quantitative and verbal GRE scores, have strong undergraduate GPAs, strong letters of recommendation, and at least some prior research experience. For more information, see the SIOP website listing of our program. Should I take any specific courses to prepare me for grad school? No specific courses are required as prerequisites for our program. However, we encourage you to take as many of the following as possible during your undergraduate studies: an introductory I/O psychology class and any advanced I/O courses that are available, additional psychology classes, and as many statistics and research methods classes as possible. We understand that many colleges and universities offer no I/O courses. If that is the case at your university, we recommend that you read an introductory I/O text to help prepare you and to give you a sense of the research topics in which you might be interested. Below are a couple of texts that you might consider: Landy, F. J., & Conte, J. M. (2004). Work in the 21^st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Muchinsky, P. M. (2005). Psychology applied to work (8^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Are internships or other applied experiences available? Purdue is certainly a research-based program and does not have an internship built-in to the program. That being said, students who feel that applied experiences would bolster their education or contribute to their career goals are generally encouraged to seek applied experiences. Most students who take advantage of these opportunities do so outside of the Lafayette-West Lafayette area (e.g., Chicago, Indianapolis, Pittsburg, Cincinnati). The length of internships typically ranges from 3-12 months. What kind of funding is available to graduate students? Yes, Purdue guarantees a minimum of four years of full funding for all of its psychology graduate students. This includes a monthly stipend, tuition re-imbursement, and basic health insurance in return for service as a Teaching Assistant or a Research Assistant. Nearly all graduate students are able to live modestly on their stipend without taking out student loans or working on the side. Additional information on financial support is available here. Is the graduate stipend enough to cover monthly expenses? Yes, our stipend is sufficient to live on (but we all live like grad students; i.e., no excesses!). The bursar's office provides a tool to help prospective and current students to get a sense of how expensive living in Lafayette is. Use this academic year (2005-2006) as the starting date, "graduate appointment" for status, and "Liberal Arts" for the school. You can also use on-line calculators to compare the cost of living in Lafayette and other towns. While outside employment is not prohibited, it is strongly discouraged due to the rigorous time commitment required by our program. Students typically get ten-month funding, so they need to plan ahead for the summer. However, students have generally been able to manage their summer budget without too many problems. For example, in the past, some students have found part-time non-research related work on or off campus, or were able to obtain one of the few teaching assistant positions available during summer school. After students get their master’s, summer funding is generally easier to obtain. For example, there are university-wide research fellowships that they can apply for. Several of our students have obtained these fellowships. Finally, students can take-on additional teaching assistant duties during the school year, which increases their ten-month stipend. The availability of extra teaching assistantships varies according to departmental needs and is not available to international students due to restrictions on the number of hours they are legally permitted to work. Where will I live? Is rent reasonable? There are multiple choices for living accommodations. Detailed information about housing can be found through Apartment Finder and Apartment Locator. Rent is reasonable and depends on several factors. In particular, rent varies quite a bit depending on whether students live alone or with a roommate, live closer or further from campus, live in a newer or older complex, and live in complexes with greater or fewer amenities. Students can also live on-campus in the graduate dorms or in Purdue Village. Students who have lived in either place commented that it is a great way to meet new people. The graduate dorm, Hawkins Hall, contains actual dormitories. Students can either rent single or double rooms, and there are a few layouts to choose from. An alternative to dorms is Purdue Village, which is an apartment complex owned by Purdue. Many international students choose to live there since it is located on campus. Most tenants are families, but a lot of single students also live there. Is a car necessary? A car is helpful, but not necessary. Currently, three students in our program do not own a car. The bus system is reliable and well-developed around campus and free to students. Unfortunately, getting to some locations further away from campus can be tricky—it’s best to plan ahead and check the bus schedules given that some routes have infrequent service. Grocery shopping may be the hardest thing to do without a car, but students without a car always find a ride to the shops when needed. Information on public transportation in the area is available from CityBus. Where can I get information about life in the Lafayette area? We have gathered some information and links on the Lafayette/West Lafayette area for you on our Location Information page. The websites below will provide additional information: Lafayette Journal and Courier Lafayette On-Line Lafayette Convention and Visitor's Bureau City of West Lafayette

We are still in the process of gathering frequently asked questions and will be adding more questions below. If your question is not answered in the FAQs, you can find someone to answer your questions here.

Posted: September 19, 2005

How difficult is it to get into Purdue’s I/O program?

Purdue’s I/O program is considered a competitive PhD program. Admissions decisions are based on a variety of factors including quantitative and verbal GRE scores, overall GPA, psychology GPA, GPA over the last two years of undergraduate education, research experience and letters of recommendation. Further, these factors are compensatory, in that, being less qualified in some areas can be overcome by being highly qualified in other areas.

As a general rule of thumb, most students admitted to Purdue’s I/O program score at or above the 75^th percentile in quantitative and verbal GRE scores, have strong undergraduate GPAs, strong letters of recommendation, and at least some prior research experience. For more information, see the SIOP website listing of our program.

Should I take any specific courses to prepare me for grad school?

No specific courses are required as prerequisites for our program. However, we encourage you to take as many of the following as possible during your undergraduate studies: an introductory I/O psychology class and any advanced I/O courses that are available, additional psychology classes, and as many statistics and research methods classes as possible. We understand that many colleges and universities offer no I/O courses. If that is the case at your university, we recommend that you read an introductory I/O text to help prepare you and to give you a sense of the research topics in which you might be interested. Below are a couple of texts that you might consider:

Landy, F. J., & Conte, J. M. (2004). Work in the 21^st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Muchinsky, P. M. (2005). Psychology applied to work (8^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Are internships or other applied experiences available?

Purdue is certainly a research-based program and does not have an internship built-in to the program. That being said, students who feel that applied experiences would bolster their education or contribute to their career goals are generally encouraged to seek applied experiences. Most students who take advantage of these opportunities do so outside of the Lafayette-West Lafayette area (e.g., Chicago, Indianapolis, Pittsburg, Cincinnati). The length of internships typically ranges from 3-12 months.

What kind of funding is available to graduate students?

Yes, Purdue guarantees a minimum of four years of full funding for all of its psychology graduate students. This includes a monthly stipend, tuition re-imbursement, and basic health insurance in return for service as a Teaching Assistant or a Research Assistant. Nearly all graduate students are able to live modestly on their stipend without taking out student loans or working on the side. Additional information on financial support is available here.

Is the graduate stipend enough to cover monthly expenses?

Yes, our stipend is sufficient to live on (but we all live like grad students; i.e., no excesses!). The bursar's office provides a tool to help prospective and current students to get a sense of how expensive living in Lafayette is. Use this academic year (2005-2006) as the starting date, "graduate appointment" for status, and "Liberal Arts" for the school. You can also use on-line calculators to compare the cost of living in Lafayette and other towns. While outside employment is not prohibited, it is strongly discouraged due to the rigorous time commitment required by our program.

Students typically get ten-month funding, so they need to plan ahead for the summer. However, students have generally been able to manage their summer budget without too many problems. For example, in the past, some students have found part-time non-research related work on or off campus, or were able to obtain one of the few teaching assistant positions available during summer school. After students get their master’s, summer funding is generally easier to obtain. For example, there are university-wide research fellowships that they can apply for. Several of our students have obtained these fellowships. Finally, students can take-on additional teaching assistant duties during the school year, which increases their ten-month stipend. The availability of extra teaching assistantships varies according to departmental needs and is not available to international students due to restrictions on the number of hours they are legally permitted to work.

Where will I live? Is rent reasonable?

There are multiple choices for living accommodations. Detailed information about housing can be found through Apartment Finder and Apartment Locator.

Rent is reasonable and depends on several factors. In particular, rent varies quite a bit depending on whether students live alone or with a roommate, live closer or further from campus, live in a newer or older complex, and live in complexes with greater or fewer amenities.

Students can also live on-campus in the graduate dorms or in Purdue Village. Students who have lived in either place commented that it is a great way to meet new people. The graduate dorm, Hawkins Hall, contains actual dormitories. Students can either rent single or double rooms, and there are a few layouts to choose from. An alternative to dorms is Purdue Village, which is an apartment complex owned by Purdue. Many international students choose to live there since it is located on campus. Most tenants are families, but a lot of single students also live there.

Is a car necessary?

A car is helpful, but not necessary. Currently, three students in our program do not own a car. The bus system is reliable and well-developed around campus and free to students. Unfortunately, getting to some locations further away from campus can be tricky—it’s best to plan ahead and check the bus schedules given that some routes have infrequent service. Grocery shopping may be the hardest thing to do without a car, but students without a car always find a ride to the shops when needed. Information on public transportation in the area is available from CityBus.

Where can I get information about life in the Lafayette area?

We have gathered some information and links on the Lafayette/West Lafayette area for you on our Location Information page. The websites below will provide additional information:

Lafayette Journal and Courier

Lafayette On-Line

Lafayette Convention and Visitor's Bureau

City of West Lafayette