Should I double major in Psychology and Management to apply to an IO Doctorate Program?

[Ash22]

Hey guys, 

             Im an undergrad student that is looking to get into an IO Psychology doctorate program in a few years. However, I can't decide if I want to double major in Psychology and Management or just major in Psychology. If I only major in Psychology, will I have a significantly lower chance of being accepted at an IO Phd program? And will I be unprepared for the business aspects of an IO program if I don't have any knowledge about business? Any answers are appreciated, thanks!

[overunder]

Yes and No. 

No because your major is a non-factor in admission decisions. Being double-major will not benefit you much. Though, if you are Non-psych, you should be able to articulate a reason why you are applying to a psych Ph.D program. 

Yes only if you can network with business professors, and see if they can get involved in research. Some schools have OB and management scholars. I'm not sure what the culture of UG research assistants is like in B-schools, but if you can get involved, it would be great. 

Seeing you are from Georgia, I suggest you major in Psych and seek out one of MANY highly prolific faulty there and get in their lab ASAP. It will do you way more good than a business minor will.

Edited March 14, 2017 by bakerstreet163

[Ash22]

Thanks for your insight! I didnt realize that majors arent a huge factor in admissions.

[eternallyephemeral]

Hi! I'm in an IO psych PhD program right now, and I came from a purely psych background that wasn't even IO or social/personality. The research skills, experiment design, stats, and other classes you take in psych are much more important than learning the business concepts, which don't feature very prominently in IO (more in OB, but you can still get into those business PhD programs with just psych sometimes), and which you can learn on your own quite quickly.

I would suggest getting work experience in your summers on top of research experience, because I believe understanding the world of work by having been in it is much more important than learning business in a classroom if you are to go into IO later on.

Only one of our 20+ students has a business background, from what I know about them. But if you can do research across both departments, that could be helpful. I would start in psych though, either way.

Best of luck!