Maverick Science mag 2013-14

A
Win-Win
Led by Nicolette Lopez, UT
Arlington’s Industrial and
Organizational Psychology
Center pairs master’s students
with area businesses in an
internship program that has
been a resounding success.
scenario
By Greg Pederson
For many college students, finding
the right job, one where they believe
they are making a difference,
can prove challenging.
Some might think there must be
a science to finding the ideal employer.
As a matter of fact, there is.
The field of industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology
focuses on the study of workplaces, and in finding ways to
improve business productivity and workers’ overall wellbeing.
The main goal of I/O psychologists is to better understand
human behavior in the workplace.
Some of the things I/O psychologists do include: helping
to ensure the right people are selected for the right
jobs; developing employee training; identifying factors
that contribute to employee stress and devising solutions;
and assessing employees’ attitudes to help increase job
satisfaction.
In North Texas, UT Arlington is leading the way in I/O
psychology through a pioneering program aimed at providing
training for students and practical solutions to
workplace challenges for area companies. The Industrial
and Organizational Psychology Center was created in January
2012 with those goals in mind, and it is already an
unqualified success. Nicolette Lopez, a UT Arlington professor
in practice in psychology, helped formulate the idea
for the center and serves as its manager.
“The center has two specific, interrelated purposes: to
provide businesses with useful solutions that are based on
science, and to provide students the opportunity to transfer
classroom learning into practical experiences to enrich
their professional development,” Lopez said.
UT Arlington’s two-year master’s program in I/O psychology
– the only one in the Dallas-Fort Worth area – includes
a mandatory 400-hour internship requirement,
which provides students with opportunities to gain realworld
experience. The center places I/O students into internships
with companies and organizations around the
Metroplex. The students gain practical experience in I/O
psychology, while the participating businesses benefit
from students’ training and technical skills.
The internships often lead to students being offered
full-time positions, Lopez said. It has happened well over
a dozen times in the past three years alone.
Brandon Wade
Nicolette Lopez, right, with I/O students Kim Perry and Aaron Friedman in the offices of Leadership
Worth Following, one of the companies which partners with the UT Arlington I/O Center.
36 Maverick Science 2013-14