Focus Areas in Psychology

The training programme of the M.Sc. with the research focus, Personnel and Business Psychology (for general information aorund the M.Sc. programme see the web pages of the Department of Psychology) comprehensively expands the different practical applications of psychological research to encompass business and economic issues and prepares students for multifaceted professional careers as psychologists (for example, in personnel selection, management and development, as a trainer or coach, in business consulting, in company healthcare management, and in organizational development). Building upon the foundations of industrial and organizational psychology imparted in the corresponding B.Sc. programme, the M.Sc. research focus in personnel and business psychology conveys, among other things, substantiated competencies in the following areas:

Systematic analysis and workflow design

Occupational and operational safety

Knowledge and skills in all aspects of personnel management (especially, recruiting and selection of employees, human resource management and motivation, as well as training and staff development)

Team evaluation and development

Analysis of organizational processes and implementation of employee surveys

Change management and organizational development

Techniques in moderation and conflict management

Concepts and processes of company healthcare management

Electronic human resource management

Methods for the evaluation of business psychological processes

A special area of emphasis is on the use of internet-based communications and cooperation media (for example, on the basis of internet or intranets). Furthermore, practice-oriented concepts in handling up-to-date challenges will be developed (for example, for demographical changes in the job world or in intercultural cooperation). The core elements of personnel and business psychology will be meaningfully expanded upon through study modules in other psychological disciplines. In addition, study modules of other subject areas; for example, in business administration or labour law round off the training programme.