Work and Organizational Psychology (for Bachelors in Psychology)
Length of study: 2 semesters
Form of study: Full-time
Head: Prof. Snezhana Ilieva, Dr. Habil
e-mail: seilieva@phls.uni-sofia.bg
Phone: (+359 2) 9308 246
Coordinator: Anna Ivanova
e-mail: anna.t.ivanova@phls.uni-sofia.bg
Phone: (+359 2) 971 51 84
The Master’s program in Work and Organizational Psychology is designed to prepare specialists who study and analyze the behavior of people in a work context and consult management of organizations in the following problem areas: organizational development and change, human resource management, leadership and building of teams, cross-cultural management and organizational culture, staff training and development, crisis and conflict management in the organization.
General information
The master’s program provides knowledge and develops practical skills for research and diagnosis of organizational processes, consulting on change management and organizational development, selection, motivation, training and development of human resources, stress management, health and safety in the workplace, improvement of leadership competencies, emotional intelligence and crisis and conflict management.
The graduates receive the qualification “Master” and acquire the right to diagnostic activity and consulting practice. They can find professional realization as work and organizational psychologists, organizational consultants, specialists in organizational development and in human resource management and they can work as experts, trainers and managers in human resource management and personnel selection and development, as well as hold managerial positions in all public and private sector organizations.
Admission: From winter semester
Terms of Admission
The applicants should have earned a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree after secondary education in accredited higher education institutions in Bulgaria or abroad, with a speciality in Psychology.
Minimum average grade from the diploma: “Good”.
The applicants shall submit their admission documents and an up-to-date Curriculum Vitae in Bulgarian.
The applicants for state-subsidized places must take a written examination after a program, which is evaluated on a six-point grading system.
The applicants for a paid form of study must attend an interview after a certain program, which is assessed with “Yes” or “No”.
Admission of students to state-subsidized places is based on a score formed by the grade of the competition examination and the average grade of the diploma of Bachelor’s degree or of Master’s degree after secondary education, formed as the arithmetic mean of the average semestrial grades and the grades from the state final examinations. Under equal other conditions for the state-subsidized places, priority should be given to applicants who have completed a bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
The ranking of the applicants for the paid form of education, provided that they have received “Yes” at the interview, is based on the grade from the diploma for the completed Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree, formed as the arithmetic mean of the average semestrial grades and the grades from the state examinations.
The applicants who meet the conditions for a state subsidy may participate in the ranking for a paid form of education without additionally attending an interview, provided that they have indicated this when applying and have a positive grade from the written examination, which is equivalent to “Yes”.
Written Examination Program for Applicants for State-Subsidized Places
Motivation for work. Theories of work motivation.
Stress at work. Stress management approaches and strategies.
Communication in the organization.
Conflict management in the organization.
Groups and intergroup interaction in the organization.
Leadership and leadership styles in the organization.
Nature and features of organizational culture.
Basic literature
Ilieva, S. (2009). Values and work motivation. Sofia, University Publishing House.
Nelson, D. Campbell Quick, J. (2017). Organizational behavior. Science, the real world and us. Sofia, East-West.
Paunov, M., Paunova, M., Paunov, A. (2013). Organizational behavior. Sofia, Ciela.
Riggio, R. (2006). Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Dilock, Sofia.
Furnham, E. (2012). Individual differences in the workplace, Sofia, “East-West”,
Robbins, S., Judge, T. (2013). Organizational behavior. (15th ed.). Pearson Education. Inc.
Cooper, C. (2019). Current issues in work and organizational psychology. Routledge.
Interview Program for Applicants for Paid Form of Study
Motivation and staff motivation.
Stress and coping with stress in the organization.
Approaches to improve communication and communication skills.
Building of teams and teamwork.
Leadership and leader development in organizational settings.
The interview is entirely practically oriented and it does not aim to establish the presence of theoretical knowledge on the above listed topics. It is aimed at revealing the candidates’ motivation, their previous experience and expectations for career development in the field of work and organizational psychology, as well as their overall knowledge of these topics. Literature sources to which the applicants have access can be used for preparation for the interview program topics.