The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

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Organizational Degree Programs at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology appears in our ranking of the Top 10 Ph.D. in Industrial Organizational Psychology Online.

Industrial and organizational psychology looks at the issues that impact workers and their lives in different settings. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is one of the main graduate institutes for psychology majors today. It offers a variety of degree programs in this area. Students can earn a Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology through its campus in Washington DC or Irvine or Los Angeles, California. This program is also available in Chicago, Illinois and Dallas, Texas.

Graduate students will spend two to three years in the program depending on whether they enroll part-time or full-time. The courses they take will help them look at workers and determine their needs. They’ll learn how to design products to address those needs. These classes include:

  • Training: Theory, Design and Evaluation
  • Organizational Attitudes and Survey Development

The first course shows them how to identify and evaluate the needs of workers. The second course teaches them how to create surveys to find those needs.

The college gives students two different options on how they will wrap up their studies. They can take Thesis I and Thesis II and work with an advisor as they create a thesis. Students with an interest in the thesis track must get approval from the chair of the department before taking either of these classes. The college allows students to do two internships instead. They must get approval from the department and work in a position involved directly in IO work. The college asks that they do 300 hours of work each semester.

An online certificate in industrial and organizational psychology offers an alternative for students who have a psychology degree and want to learn more about this field. This program lasts for just five months and includes courses such as:

  • Organizational Behavior
  • Organizational Culture
  • Design and Management and Leadership

There is also a dual degree program available for traditional and online students. They can earn their MA degrees in industrial and organizational psychology with a second degree in legal studies. The college offers these programs on its campuses in:

  • Washington DC
  • Los Angeles
  • Chicago

About The College of Professional Psychology at Chicago

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is a graduate school that offers degrees in different fields of psychology. A group of psychology professionals working in Chicago saw the need for a training college in the city. They created plans for the college in 1977 and opened its doors two years later. Enrollment grew so quickly during its first few years that it had to build a new campus and move there by 1980. Most of the courses offered during those early years were more practical in nature and helped students become better practitioners. It took many years before it added programs for those not yet practicing. Students can now earn graduate and doctoral degrees in psychology and some certificates through the college.

Better known as The Chicago School, it now has a campus in Chicago called its Midwest campus. Most of the campus is in an old building that dates back to 1914, but some courses are also available across the street in another building. The college has other campuses in the east and the south in Washington DC and New Orleans, Louisiana. After announcing plans in 2008 to move west, the college opened campuses in Los Angeles and Irvine, California. All campuses offer some of the same programs, though The Chicago School also offers its more than 4,500 enrolled students access to online programs.

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Accreditation Details

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was the first organization that granted accreditation to The Chicago School. It continued renewing the college’s accreditation over the years. Some of the graduate and doctoral programs available from the college have APA accreditation as well.

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Application Requirements

Students who meet all The Chicago School’s entrance requirements and have a bachelor’s degree from an institute with regional accreditation can apply to the college. It has an online application that requires students to create an account and then log in with their account details. This application has several sections but is easy to complete. They will pay the $50 application fee after completing it.

One of the main requirements for students is an essay. This essay must answer several questions and be between 500 and 750 words. The college asks that they create three pages with their words double-spaced. They will:

  • explain the goals they have after finishing the program
  • what they want to do in the field
  • any IO psychology experiences they have
  • how The Chicago School can help them

Students will provide a resume and a test score too. Those applying to the internship track program have transcripts that show they took at least one statistics and psychology course in the past. Students applying to the certificate program should submit:

  • the application
  • their official transcripts
  • a recent resume

Students also need to pay the college’s application fee.

Tuition and Financial Aid

The Chicago School does not charge different rates for online and traditional students. However, it does charge different rates for some of its programs. Most graduate students will pay $1,164 per credit hour in its Master of Arts and Master of Science options. This is the same rate that it charges students in its certificate programs. Some of the campuses in the system may charge different rates.

Students qualify for financial aid packages based on where they attend school and other factors. Students living in California may qualify for a Cal Grant. Most students will use at least one federal loan while in college. The nine scholarship funds at the college provide students with $1,000 or more that they get at the beginning of their enrollment.

Those working as teaching, research and other types of assistants promise to work at least 10 hours each week and get $10 an hour. These students cannot work more than 20 hours a week for the college. Special tuition rates are available for students majoring in industrial and organizational psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, including:

  • members of law enforcement
  • teachers
  • veterans

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