masters: NYU I/O psych versus Columbia TC organizational psych

[lilcoconut]

Got into both master in I/O psych at NYU and social-organizational psych at Columbia Teacher's College. Any advice on the pros and cons of both programs? Which one has better career prospects? Thx!

[prefers_pencils]

There are past threads on this, but here are some main differences:

Size

TC is larger and therefore would have more networking opportunities among students than NYU. That being said, your classes would be smaller at NYU so you'd receive more individual attention from the professors, department, and might get to know your classmates a little better.

Student type

A lot of TC students go part time; I am not sure about NYU. Would be good to ask % of full time and part time, if you'd prefer the cohesive feel of a mostly full-time program, which seems to especially enhance the younger (<25 yrs) students' experience.

Focus

TC focuses on the "O" side of I/O psych and classes are very theoretical. NYU gives an even split of "I" and "O" courses, with both theory and practical training.

Length

TC is 45 credits, but with a lot of freedom to take electives so you can really tailor your experience - focus on consulting, HR, training and development, statistics, etc. NYU is 36 credits, so you'd finish more quickly.

Cost

Despite NYU being smaller, it has a higher per credit cost than TC so they work out pretty much equal.

I would ask each program to put you in touch with a current student so you can get a better feel. They could tell you where their fellow students are ending up, likes and dislikes, etc.

Edit: Congratulations! And I think both programs are good, so you can't go wrong here.

Edited March 8, 2012 by arieshine

[lilcoconut]

Thank you so much arieshine! I did not find past threads about the two schools through the initial search and your feedbacks/opinions are very much appreciated!