Development of an Assessment Center as a Selection Method for I/O Graduate Applicants

For over 70 years, assessment centers have contributed to employee selection, training, and development in organizations (Spychalski, Quinoies, Gaugler, & Pohley, 1997; Stephanie Haaland, 2002; Wendel & Joekel, 1991). However, they have not regularly been used for selection of students to an educational program. Given that assessment centers are effective at improving staffing in business settings, it can be speculated that they could also be effective in educational settings. The purpose of this research is to examine the feasibility of developing a selection-based assessment center for applicants to a graduate program in industrial-organizational psychology