In Emerging Field, Faculty Member Helps Make Good Organizations Better

Rockhurst University's newest graduate degree is the Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

As far as names go, it's a mouthful - not exactly music to one's ears. But music is precisely what comes to mind for one-time music major Matthew Lineberry, Ph.D., director of and clinical associate professor in the program, when it comes to thinking about the growing field.

Lineberry said the team dynamics of music ensembles caught his attention during his college years.

"I was fascinated by elite-level music performers. I was fascinated by how people learn and teach complex skills, how we can overcome physical and mental difficulties, and so on."

A college mentor of his suggested industrial and organizational psychology as a way to make a living studying those sorts of dynamics. As a professional in the field, Lineberry said he's come to think of it a bit in terms of health care - I-O psychologists will "screen" an organization to identify trends or gaps, "diagnose" a particular area or issue, and "treat" it to improve organizational effectiveness and fairness.

Lineberry has worked as a civilian with the U.S. Navy medical personnel and other health care professionals to help those critical units function at the absolute top of their game.

"I got an early taste of that in graduate school, doing field research on the teams that use amazing 'rescue robots' to perform unmanned search and rescue when there's a mine collapse or other difficult-to-access disaster," he said. "More recently, I've been involved in helping surgical teams redesign their usual teamwork 'playbook' for when an emergency happens in the middle of a surgery. It's a privilege to help very smart and accomplished people take a fresh look at their work, experiment a bit, and end up feeling even better prepared."

The program Lineberry is leading is a hybrid with both on-campus and online course options and hands-on learning opportunities, offering students a pathway to becoming experts ready to serve organizations of all sizes and types in how to operate more efficiently and effectively.
Lineberry said students in the program will blend analytical expertise with psychological insights on human behavior for a degree that empowers them to lead organizational diagnosis, consulting, design and more. It's a skillset companies are currently looking for, Lineberry said, with an increasing number of available careers and median salaries that echo the demand.

"A lot of I-O work requires people to have a special combination of abilities - they need to become both technically proficient, in things like statistical analysis and scientific reasoning, and be very effective in working with other people," Lineberry said. "I-O work is not very repetitive or 'recipe'-driven. It tends to require people to look at each unique situation and use strong critical thinking and creativity to move forward in a positive direction, while adapting to make the best of whatever benefits and barriers a certain situation has."

Learn more about Rockhurst University's Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology here, and apply here.

A version of this story first appeared in the Winter 2026 issue of RU Magazine .