Behavioral and Management Sciences

Master’s Degree in Organizational Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, and Behavioral Marketing at the Technion

Only outstanding students are accepted into the Technion’s programs in psychology and marketing, as is the case for advanced degrees at leading universities around the world. Candidates who are admitted to the program receive a scholarship of 75% of tuition fees and a stipend of around NIS 3,000 per month, and enjoy individual attention and tutoring (the ratio of faculty members to students is close to 1:1).

The program is particularly suited to those considering an academic career. More than a quarter of program graduates have gone on to develop a successful academic career, a similar rate to that at other leading universities around the world (for details about graduates now in academia, click here).

Those graduates who decide against an academic career tend to specialize in organizational consulting, human factors engineering, and data sciences, among other fields. Many graduates have progressed to impressive positions in industry and business—for example, the directors of Israel’s leading human factors engineering groups are all graduates of human factors engineering at the Technion (for more details, click here).

The main reasons for the extent of our graduates’ success are the program’s rigorous admissions process and excellent teaching and research conditions, as well as the multi-disciplinary and applied nature of studies at the Technion.

Available Degrees:

Master of Science in Behavioral and Management Sciences – Organizational Psychology (with thesis)
Master of Science in Behavioral and Management Sciences – Marketing (with thesis)
Master of Science in Behavioral and Management Sciences – Cognitive Psychology and Human Factor Engineering (with thesis)

Telephone for queries: 04-829-4403

Graduate degree studies coordinator: gradsec@technion.ac.il

Behavioral Science Program Head: Assoc. Prof. Liat Levontin

Program Goals and Entry Requirements

Organizational Psychology—The program provides specialization in organizational psychology research and practice. Graduates receive the following degree: “Master of Science in Behavioral Science and Management: Organizational Psychology.” Candidates for the program will have a bachelor’s degree in psychology (due to demand, the GPA of those accepted into the program in recent years has been above 90). The admissions committee also takes into account scores in the entrance test for advanced degrees in psychology (MITAM) or the GRE, but in exceptional cases admission is possible without these tests. The committee also considers other parameters, such as experience in research and in programming.

Cognitive Psychology and Human Factors Engineering—The program provides specialization in the research and implementation of cognitive psychology and human factors engineering. The degree awarded to graduates is “Master of Science in Behavioral Science and Management: Cognitive Psychology and Human Factors Engineering.” The admissions requirements are similar to those of the organizational psychology degree, described above. The admissions committee also considers other parameters, such as experience in research and in programming.

Behavioral Marketing—The program provides specialization in marketing research and implementation, with an emphasis on consumer behavior, altering behaviors and attitudes, and social networks. Graduates are awarded a “Master of Science in Behavioral Science and Management: Marketing” degree. Candidates will have a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a GPA of at least 90, or will be outstanding graduates of bachelor programs in other relevant fields.

Master of Science—A program which allows graduates of programs other than psychology to study organizational behavior or human factors engineering. In the research statement, candidate should indicate which program they register for.

For all study programs, applications are submitted using the application kit available at the Technion Graduate School website: . Along with the application form, candidates must submit a CV, declaration of intent, and results of the MITAM test if available. The admissions process usually includes a personal interview. As well as submitting this application kit, candidates who graduated psychology programs must also register at the Israeli psychology masters match system website, http://www.psychologymatch.org, used by all Israeli universities who teach graduate programs in psychology.

Transferring between degree programs: It is possible to switch programs, subject to meeting the defined core course requirements for the degree in question, and to the approval of the student’s supervisor and the area head. However, students who do not hold a bachelor’s degree in psychology cannot gain a degree in the psychology programs, and are limited to the behavioral marketing.

Study Requirements

Degree studies comprise a range of courses for a total of 32 academic credits for the psychology programss, and 30 credits for the marketing program(26.5 credits for graduates of a four-year bachelor’s degree), as well as a research thesis. The program of study includes mandatory core courses (listed below) and elective courses. For each semester, the combination of courses studied is decided individually by each student, in coordination with their supervisor, according to their background and areas of interest. The requirements for each student are those defined for the year in which they were accepted to the program, although the faculty retains the right to impose additional study requirements above and beyond the requirements set at the time of admission.

Thesis

All students must find a supervisor for their thesis paper from among the behavioral science area faculty members. Students are not restricted to supervisors from their own specialization field, but for students on the psychology programs supervisors must have expertise in this area. A thesis proposal must be submitted to the faculty secretariat within 11 months after the beginning of studies, and must also be sent electronically to all the area faculty members. When the research work is completed, it is presented at an area seminar, which must be announced in advance according to Technion regulations, in coordination with the seminar coordinator. Following this presentation, a written thesis paper will be submitted in accordance with the rules of the Technion Graduate School, and the student will be examined orally on their thesis work by an examination committee formed by the supervisor.

Option of Transferring to Doctoral Program

Students may transfer from the master’s program to a doctoral track without completing their master’s thesis, on condition that the transfer is recommended by their supervisor and that their research accomplishments justify it (for example, writing a high-level scientific article). Notwithstanding any information given in this document, the rules and regulations of the Technion Graduate School (as defined in the applicant’s handbook) must be followed.

Scholarships

Students with a good level of academic achievement (including new students) are eligible to request a scholarship from the Technion Graduate School. Students who are awarded a scholarship must devote their time to conducting research with a faculty member, participate in the weekly area seminar, and be present at the Technion. Accepting a scholarship means accepting a limitation on the right to work elsewhere. In addition to scholarships, students with high levels of attainment in their studies may apply for a teaching assistant position.