California Southern University

california-southern-university

Organizational Psychology Programs at California Southern University

California Southern University appears in our ranking of the Top 15 Industrial/Organizational Certificate Programs.

California Southern University offers a Master of Science (MS) in Psychology with a concentration in industrial and organizational psychology. It includes both business and psychology courses to teach students about office psychology and leadership in organizations. Majors must take five I/O psychology classes, including:

  • Interpersonal Conflict in the Workplace
  • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
  • Organizational Psychology

Students also take Consulting in Business, Education and Mental Health, which is a course that shows them some of the work that they can do. MS students also take general psychology classes that include:

  • Positive Psychology
  • Lifespan Development
  • Family Systems Theory
  • Advanced Human Sexuality

An online certificate in industrial and organizational psychology program allows students to study I/O psychology in greater detail after finishing a bachelor’s degree. The university lets students transfer all their courses into the MS program if they want to later. Students take six classes that are worth 18 credits, including Interpersonal Conflict in the Workplace that looks at the best ways to resolve issues between employees and employers. In Social Psychology, they learn how people interact with each other in social settings. Culture and Diversity in Counseling is another required class in the certificate program.

A Doctor of Psychology program is available from California Southern University and is designed for online students. It features a 33-credit hour core that includes:

  • History and Systems of Psychology
  • Cultural Diversity
  • Research Methods in Psychology
  • Ethical and Professional Issues and Cognition
  • Emotion and Motivation

Students also need to pick 18 credits of electives and have the option of choosing industrial and organizational psychology courses. Some of the program’s electives are:

  • Organizational Psychology
  • Cognition and Memory
  • Psychology of Stress and Stress-Related Disorders
  • Career Counseling
  • Positive Psychology
  • Supervision and Consultation

California Southern University also requires students to take a comprehensive exam and offers both practicums and internships.

About California Southern University

California Southern University is a private university known as both CSU and Cal Southern. Dr. Donald Hecht founded the university in 1978 after noting the lack of distance education options for students. He received approval from the California State Board of Education to offer degree programs through the mail. As a correspondence school, it initially assigned students workbooks that they completed over time and mailed back for evaluation and credit. The school went from offering only associate’s programs to bachelor’s programs and later graduate and doctoral tracks. It also added psychology, law and business programs to its curriculum in the 1990s.

CSU made the transition from correspondence classes to online programs while operating as the California Southern University for Professional Studies. Since becoming California Southern University, the university added more programs that include certificate options and transfer tracks. Many of the university’s students earn a lower-level degree or certificate and then transition to a bachelor’s or another advanced degree program. Cal Southern also established a School of Law that saw its first two graduates pass the law exam on their first attempt. The university had a campus in Anaheim up through 2007 and now operates out of Costa Mesa, California.

California Southern University Accreditation Details

Cal Southern has the regional accreditation that lets it evaluate transcripts to give students credits for the classes they already took and award financial aid to current and incoming students. The university’s regional accreditation comes from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Cal Southern maintained its accreditation for years since first earning it. Some of the university’s programs that hold accreditation from other organizations include those in nursing and business. It is also a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

California Southern University Application Requirements

The I/O Psychology certificate program has just a few steps that students need to follow when they apply. They will complete an enrollment application and pay a $75 fee. This application lets Cal Southern know that the student meets the basic requirements for enrollment. They also need to submit transcripts to show the university that they have a bachelor’s degree in any social science field such as psychology. Before they can register, they will also need to sign and date the enrollment application. Both graduate and doctoral students will use the same enrollment application, pay a $75 fee and submit their transcripts.

Graduate students can start the MS program at the beginning of any month because the university has 12 start dates. They need to make sure that Cal Southern receives all their documents before the term begins.  Transcripts and an enrollment application are needed. Also, the graduate program requires a personal statement of no more than two pages that includes their experiences and how those experiences will help them succeed in the program. Students applying to the doctoral program need to submit a personal statement too. Cal Southern requires that they have a master’s degree and a transcript that shows the applicant took six specific courses in counseling, therapy and other subjects.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Cal Southern students pay $545 per credit hour in the I/O Psychology certificate program. The university charges the same rate for the psychology graduate and doctoral programs too. This helps students determine how much it will cost to earn a full degree from CSU. Students also pay this same rate if they take a single class. CSU estimates that psychology majors will pay an average of $145 for the supplies they need in each class too.

Though veterans and military students need to pay a $75 application fee, they can qualify for a 15 percent discount on their tuition. CSU requires that students present documents to prove their status and may occasionally offer a larger discount to some students. Payment plans allow students to pay their estimated costs each semester or to make two equal payments each semester.

Another plan asks graduate students to pay $375 each month or to work out a reimbursement plan with the university and an employer. Some students may also qualify for financial aid when they complete the FAFSA. Any student who has not yet borrowed the maximum amount offered by the federal government can qualify for an unsubsidized loan or a PLUS loan. Both graduate and doctoral students in the organizational psychology programs at California Southern University can use private student loans too.

Related Resources: