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BACKGROUND:
Title: Human Factors and Ergonomics Concentration (MSIE). Contact: Marc Resnick, Florida International University, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department; Miami, FL 33199; 305/348-3537; resnickm@fiu.edu, http://www.eng.fiu.edu/ie. Est: 1990. Semester. Granted last 3 years: MSIE 8. Part-time: yes. Program: Focus is on the design of systems to maximize the quality of all human interaction. We specialize in developing technologies such as e-commerce, intelligent transportation, advanced manufacturing systems, and hospital systems as well as more traditional product design, warnings, and office design. The program seeks to integrate HF&E into the management, design, and control of each of these application areas. Students are prepared for careers in industry, academia, government, and consulting. HFES student chapter: no. Catalog: (free) Marc Resnick, FIU, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department; Miami, FL 33199.

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: International: 4/1 (fall), 9/1 (spring), 2/1 (summer). US: 6/1 (fall), 11/1 (spring), 4/1 (summer). Fees: $20.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA: 3.0. GRE: 1000 v + q. Other: TOEFL 550 for nonnative English speakers. Undergraduate degree in engineering, psychology, or related field and course work in human factors, ergonomics, and statistics required. Research: medium. Work experience: low. Letters: low. Interview: n/a.

TUITION AND FEES:
Residents: $162/credit. Nonresidents: $570/credit.

ADMISSIONS:
Students applying last year: 9. Accepted: 7. Entered program: 5. Openings/year: 5.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 75. Amount: 19,500. Available: TA, RA tuition exempt, scholarship nontuition exempt. Apply: during admissions application process.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MSIE: 30 credits, oral defense of thesis, oral defense of thesis proposal, thesis research required, no languages or practical experience required, 1.5 years. Nonthesis option: no.

CURRICULUM:
Required courses (units): Usability Engineering (3), Advanced Ergonomics (3), Design of Experiments (3), Graduate Seminar (0). Electives: Usability Engineering in E-Commerce (3), Regulations in Engineering (3), Occupational Biomechanics (3), Engineering Management (3), Industrial Information Systems (3). Required courses outside department: 1. Recommended courses outside department: 2. Offered: night, summer. Class size: 5-10.

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: The Industrial and Systems Engineering Department has several laboratories available for students’ use. The Human Factors Research Lab has facilities for computer-based research, usability evaluations, Internet testing, and 3D postural evaluation. The Work Lab contains instrumentation for the simulation of office and industrial workplaces. Research in areas such as office ergonomics, attention, and productivity is conducted here. The department also has an Information Systems Research Lab, Enterprise Engineering Lab, Cyber-Manufacturing Lab, and NASA Applied Research in Industrial and Systems Engineering (ARISE) Lab. Teaching: A limited number of teaching assistantships are available in undergraduate human factors, ergonomics, and work design courses. Current research: Research is being conducted in the design of e-commerce Web sites to promote effective navigation, search engine interface design, Customer Relationship Management in E-commerce, on-line presentation of safety information, real-time schedule information for hospital waiting rooms, and information privacy/security trade-offs in criminal investigation and terrorism prevention.

STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: 5 men, 5 women. First-year students: 3. Mean scores: MSIE: GRE 1200 v + q, GPA 3.30.

FACULTY:
Marc Resnick, PhD 1993, U Michigan; E-commerce strategies and design, search engine design, information privacy, on-line navigation.