The Organizational Psychology Program Faculty are proud to announce the Master’s of Organizational Psychology Program in San Diego was awarded 2nd place in the category of Master’s Programs with Emphasis on Leadership/Organizational Development at a national conference hosted by HR.com this year. According to Sue Morton, the LEAD Award and HR.com Event Strategist, The LEAD conference and gala are described as:

“An exclusive event for educators and senior executive leaders in HR. The annual LEAD Awards celebrate colleges/universities globally who provide excellent HR and leadership development programs at all levels. Winners were recognized at the 37th annual LEAD Awards on March 5th, 2019 in Salt Lake City, as well as in the March Leadership Excellence Essentials ePublication that is distributed to over 500,000 HR executives monthly.”

This year’s LEADS Awards Gala was associated with the Qualtrics X4 Summit, which featured guest speakers such as former President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Sir Richard Branson. Iconic companies, such as Patagonia, BMW, Spotify, and Nordstrom were represented by speakers at this event discussing relevant issues to the field of Organizational Psychology.

Why Did This Program Win the Award?

The Master’s of Organizational Psychology program in San Diego prepares students for careers as industry leaders in mid-sized, enterprise-sized and multinational organizations in aspects of the employee life cycle. Specialty training is provided in areas of talent management, leadership development, change management, operations leadership, consultation, and team development to prepare graduates for the complexities of working with executives, teams, and leading system-wide organizational change and development to advance the employee experience at work while meeting organizational strategic plans and goals.

In addition to quality curriculum, the program is focused on a scholar-practitioner model of education that prepares students for professional practice while learning concepts in the classroom. Student engage in both academic learning as well as projects in the community. By developing both in terms of skill as well as knowledge, graduates are highly competitive and in many cases land jobs in the field prior to graduation.

Aligned with the university’s values, preparation of graduates includes training in diversity, inclusion, and issues of multiculturalism. Multicultural aspects of practice are embedded in class discussions, exercises, and projects to prepare graduates for leaders in global and international careers.

How Are Program Awards Valuable to Me, the Student?

Competing with other programs for awards provide valuable review and feedback from an impartial committee. This feedback is helpful for faculty to ensure continuous improvement of program content to ensure alignment with current and contemporary programming. Program awards provide students an indication of program content and quality, areas of focus, depth of training, and preparation needed to get a head start on one’s career.