In this article, we propose a new criterion for use in evaluating and ranking graduate training programs in I-O psychology: their “interdisciplinarity,” which we conceptually define as the degree to which they contribute to and influence disciplines beyond I-O psychology, defined as publications in those disciplines and citations by those disciplines, respectively. We also present rankings of programs by their interdisciplinarity using various specific operationalizations and provide a listing of the secondary field of focus for all current individual I-O psychology PhD programs.  If you want to skip the details, you can find an alternative way of looking at the summary rankings and tables below in the web app found at https://tntlab.shinyapps.io/io_programs/, which provides the same data reported here plus summaries of individual faculty member I-O and interdisciplinary publication productivity, with the ability to filter, sort, and search.

Previous rankings of I-O graduate programs have often focused on “objective” criteria related to research outcomes including publication rate and conference representation. Our ranking is differentiated by ranking I-O PhD programs according to development opportunities offered to graduate students in three core areas: teaching, research, and applied practice. Current PhD students were surveyed regarding the development opportunities available to them in their respective programs. We then weighted these opportunities using ratings from current SIOP members with experience in I-O related careers. We found that, under this ranking scheme, the most highly ranked schools varied across the three development areas, suggesting that prospective students should consider their future development and career goals when assessing potential graduate programs. Further implications and limitations of our results are discussed.

Graduate program rankings occur within the industrial-organizational psychology community on a frequent basis. These rankings are calculated in a myriad of ways: research productivity of faculty (Levine, 1990; Winter, Healey, & Svyantek, 1995), number of faculty serving on editorial boards (Jones & Klimoski, 1991), number of student conference presentations (Payne, Succa, Maxey, & Bolton, 2001; Surette, 1989, 2002), expert opinions such as U.S. News and World Reports (1995; 2001), and finally - student perceptions (Kraiger & Abalos, 2004). Although all of the aforementioned methods provide valuable information to both incoming students and current faculty alike, we suggest that student perceptions provide a unique insight that can add value to the ranking of graduate programs, particularly for prospective I-O graduate students.

The SIOP 2018 conference is almost here! This year’s conference includes many new opportunities for learning and networking. Here is your guide to the highlights in Chicago! For additional detail on sessions and speakers, see the Conference Program article in the January 2018 TIP or use SIOP’s searchable program.

Your fellow SIOP members have been working very hard to provide numerous SIOP conference programs, courses, and events for I-O practitioners. They have been designing and delivering programs that focus on meeting the needs of SIOP practitioners.

Below are practitioner events that are available to you at the SIOP Conference in Chicago in April and at the Leading Edge Consortium in Baltimore in October. We encourage you to take a close look at them and participate in them. Please forward this information to other members in your professional network who might be interested.