Students in the Department of Psychology at Western Michigan University
Conferences
- Approximately 40 percent of M.A. students present at least one paper or poster at a professional conference each year.
- Many students work as paid or volunteer staff members at the annual conference of the Association for Behavior Analysis, whose international headquarters are in Kalamazoo.
- Some of the administrative functions of the Organizational Behavior Management Network are housed at WMU.
Student organizations
The majority of the IOBM Graduate students are involved in the Industrial Organizational Psychology Graduate Student Organization (IOGSO), an organization dedicated to assessing and addressing graduate student needs in the program, planning professional and social enrichment opportunities for graduate students in the Department of Psychology.
Computers
The purchase of a computer, preferably a laptop, is highly recommended. Computer labs with printers are available on campus.
Living arrangements
Graduate students typically live off-campus, although there are furnished and unfurnished apartments available on campus. WMU’s housing office helps students locate off-campus housing as well as on-campus housing. Current graduate students can provide excellent information about housing in the community as well.
Kalamazoo
IOBM graduate students describe Kalamazoo as a combination of a college town and city. Kalamazoo’s unique downtown showcases fine restaurants, markets, bars and shopping. It’s not too big, but big enough so that you feel safe, won’t get lost and can always find something to do. It’s located between Detroit and Chicago allowing easy access to big city cultural, musical, sporting and entertainment events for a weekend or day trip. Grand Rapids is just 40 minutes away, and often attracts big events. The Kalamazoo area has excellent sushi, tapas, Thai, Italian and Indian restaurants and several summer festivals. Plenty of culture and art can be found and it's close to Lake Michigan, where beaches are reminiscent of the ocean.
Safety at WMU
WMU is widely considered a safe campus by its students. Refer to annual safety report published by the WMU Department of Public Safety.
Personal transportation
It is highly recommended that students have a vehicle to get to and from campus and drive to the many organizations in the surrounding community that provide applied training to our students.