BENTLEY UNIVERSITY
Waltham, Massachusetts
Department of Information Design and Corporate Communications

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BACKGROUND:
Title: Human Factors in Information Design (MS)
Est: 1998
Semester
Granted last 3 years: MS 60
Part-time: yes
Full-time: yes
Online: yes
HFES student chapter: no
Program: The Master of Science in Human Factors in Information Design (MSHFID) program prepares working professionals to meet the requirements of the changing marketplace for technology products, with the ultimate goal of improving product usability and promoting a successful user experience. Specifically, this distinctive program emphasizes human behavior relative to learning, understanding and effectively using new technologies. The program defines information design broadly to include user support, the user interface, e-health, the World Wide Web, and mobile applications. Finally students consider the integration of user centered design practices in the larger development and business organization. The Design and Usability Testing Center is the technological centerpiece for the MSHFID program. This facility exemplifies the philosophy underlying all of our programs: to build "real world" bridges between the theory of human factors and the practice of information design. Full-time students may apply for one of the available consulting positions in the center.
Contact: William M. Gribbons, Bentley College, 175 Forest Street, Waltham, MA 02452; 781/891-2926; wgribbons@bentley.edu; http://www.bentley.edu/
Catalog: (free) Sharon Hill, 175 Forest St., Waltham, MA 02452

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: 6/1
Fee: $50

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA: 3.2
GRE: 600 q
Other: MSHFID candidates must relevant work experience in UI design, information architecture, software, web or hardware development, industrial design, usability testing, or UX research; and a bachelors degree in engineering, psychology, design, or sociology; or permission from the program director.
Research: medium
Work experience: high
Letters: high
Interview: medium

ADMISSIONS:
Students applying last year: 40
Accepted: 27
Entered program: 25
Openings/year: 60

TUITION AND FEES:
$3,528/three-credit course

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 10
Amount: $15,000
Available: RA, tuition exempt
Apply: with application

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MS: 30 units, thesis (optional), 200-hour internship, no languages, 2.5 years
Nonthesis option: yes for part-time students

CURRICULUM:
Required courses (units): Foundation in Human Factors (3), Usability Testing and Assessment Programs (3), Managing a User-Centered Design Team (3)
Electives (units): Globalization (3), Visualizing Information (3), Expert Systems (3), Field Methods (3), Universal Accessibility (3), Information Architecture (3), Advanced User Interface Design (3), Ethnography (3), Research Methods (3), Prototyping (3), Thesis (3), Internship (3)
Required courses outside department: Two selected from either management, statistics, or computer science departments. Two electives chosen from CS, management, and statistics.
Recommended courses outside department: 0
Offered: night, summer
Class size: 24

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: Students are able to work on research projects in the Design and Usability Testing Center. The Center contracts with leading high tech, healthcare, and financial services groups around the world to consult on development projects and to conduct tests and user research. This provides students an unparalleled experience to see first-hand the intersection of human factors and product design.
Teaching: none
Current research: This past year the Center worked with over thirty high tech firms on a variety of development projects.

STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: 50 men, 50 women
First-year students: 25
Mean scores: GRE 600, GPA 3.2

FACULTY:
William Albert, PhD 1998, Boston U; measuring the user experience
William Buchholz, PhD 1976, U Illinois; Web design, information architecture
Gary David, PhD 1999, Wayne State U; ethnography
William Gribbons, PhD 1986, U Maryland; human factors engineering, HCI, usability engineering
Roland Hubscher, PhD 1995, U of Colorado; human factors, performance support
Meena Kothandaraman, MS 1995, Syracuse U; user-centered behavior, field methods
Marc Resnick, PhD, 1993, U of Michigan; localization and human factors
Tom Tullis, PhD, Rice U; human-computer interaction, human factors engineering, cognitive psychology
Chauncey Wilson, 1972, U Pittsburgh; user-centered design, prototyping, usability engineering