I was recently asked by a fellow colleague about obtaining licensure as an I/O psychologist. This was a simple question but the answer is not so black and white. According to Landy and Conte (2010), if one is interested in practicing I/O psychology and chose to practice as a professional “psychologist”, most states require licensure and require an advanced degree. In other words, a Master’s degree or PhD is required. However, licensure of the title “psychologist” (known as a title law) and/or the practice of “Psychology” (known as practice law) is restricted in almost every state in the U.S. and province in Canada (Landy & Conte, 2010). The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2012) state that specifics and restrictions of state and province licensure requirements differ, but they have a few main requirements in common:
1) Obtaining a Ph.D/Psy.D. from an accredited university
2) Supervision for a period of time by a licensed psychologist
3) Obtaining a qualifying score on the EPPP
4) Passing an oral exam conducted by the state board (California no longer requires)
So, the best advise I can give is to research the licensure requirements for your state.
Happy Licensuring!
References:
Landy, F. J., Conte, J. M. (2010). Work in The 21st. Century: An Introduction To Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2012). Retrieved February 17, 2019 from: https://www.siop.org/
