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BACKGROUND:
Title: Human Factors Program/Experimental Psychology
(MA, PhD). Contact: Patricia R. DeLucia, Texas Tech University,
Department of Psychology, Mail Stop 2051, Lubbock, TX 79409-2051; 806/742-3711
ext 259; pat.delucia@ttu.edu, http://www.ttu.edu/~psyhfp, http://www.psychology.ttu.edu/ Est:
1967. Semester. Granted last 3 years: MA 6, PhD 4. Part-time:
no. Program: In conjunction with the Department of Industrial Engineering,
students receive balanced training in human factors and ergonomics. Our program
prepares students for employment in academia, government, and industry. Primary
training is in fundamental processes of human behavior, research methods, and
statistics. We are committed to the integration of basic and applied research.
Areas of emphasis include transportation (e.g., air traffic control; aviation
and aerospace; driving), cognitive ergonomics (e.g., situation awareness, CSCW),
human-computer interaction (e.g., graphical user interface optimization;
Internet navigation; Internet accessibility), and visual performance,
including perception and action (e.g., perception of depth, motion, and
collision; affordance perception; human factors in medicine; teleorobotics;
virtual reality; and sport). In addition to placing students in academia, our
graduates have been employed in agencies such as the Federal Aviation
Administration, General Electric, Lear Corporation, Lucent Technologies, NIOSH,
Lockheed-Martin/NASA-Johnson Space Center, NSBRI, State Farm Insurance, SUN
Microsystems, Titan industries, US Army, and US Air Force. Accredited by:
HFES. HFES student chapter: yes. Catalog: (free) Graduate School,
Texas Tech University, Box 41030, Lubbock, TX 79409-1030.
APPLICATIONS:
Deadline: We begin accepting applicants 2/15 and
continue considering qualified applicants until the entering class is filled or
April 15. Fee: n/a. On-line applications at http://www.psychology.ttu.edu/ ( Note:
Separate application and fee are required for the graduate school.)
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA: 3.0. GRE: V + Q required but no minimum
scores. Other: Recommended training includes degree in psychology, social
sciences, or sciences and training in statistics, computer programming, and
mathematics. Research: high. Work experience: low. Letters:
medium. Interview: optional; telephone interview
optional.
ADMISSIONS:
Students applying last year: 13. Accepted: 7.
Entered program: 5. Openings/year: 6-9.
TUITION AND FEES:
Resident: $92/semester hour, plus fees (see
catalog). Nonresident: $310/semester hour, plus fees (see
catalog).
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 95. Amount:
$1,000/$10,200/$18,000. Available: fellowships; TA; RA;
scholarships(provide eligibility for in-state tuition); all partial tuition
exempt. While on half-time appointments students qualify for in-state tuition
rates, benefits and fee waivers. Apply: with application.
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
Terminal MA: 36 credit hours, research project
required, no exams or natural languages required, 2 years. PhD: 81
minimum credit hours, qualifying examination, oral defense of proposal and
dissertation, 3-hour minimum enrollment in research each semester, research
project required, internships encouraged, no natural languages required, 4-5
years. Nonthesis option: yes (MA only).
CURRICULUM:
Required courses (units): One course from each of
the following core areas: Cognitive Bases of Behavior; Developmental Bases of
Behavior; Biological Bases of Behavior; Social Bases of Behavior (12);
Experimental Design (3); Advanced Correlational Methods and Factor Analysis (3);
statistics elective (3); Human Factors Psychology (3); Human Factors Methodology
(3); Seminar in Perception (3); Human Computer Interaction (3); Stress and
Fatigue in Human Performance (3). Required courses outside department:
Nine hours from Industrial Engineering: Ergonomics in Design, Work
Physiology or Occupational Biomechanics, and one elective. Recommended
courses outside department: 3. Offered: some at night, summer.
Class size: 5-15.
RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: Opportunities and
facilities are diverse. Laboratories support studies in applied cognition,
automation, aviation/aerospace, cognition, cognitive ergonomics, collaboration,
human-computer interaction, human factors in medicine, instructional
technologies, situation awareness, and visual performance. The university
maintains a state-of-the-art Virtual Reality Center and usability testing
center. In addition, the university provides facilities for computer-based and
distance instruction, including instruction and support for instructional
design. Teaching: Teaching opportunities include undergraduate courses,
some as TA and some as instructor of record. Current research: air
traffic control; situation awareness in dynamic environments; human-computer
interaction; graphical user interface optimization; Internet navigation and
accessibility; visual perception of depth, motion, and collision with
applications for transportation, medicine, virtual reality, and
officiating; affordance perception; cognitive aging; visual memory; study of
learning behavior in the environment of instructional technologies including
distance learning and Internet-mediated instruction; undergraduate student use
of computer-based instructional materials; the design of instructional
paradigms for distance learning; metacognition in education; cognitive modeling;
attention, memory, and human performance; motor performance and assessment of
rehabilitation procedures.
STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: 5 men, 4 women. First-year students:
5. Mean scores: GRE: 514 V, 612 Q, undergrad GPA 3.36.
FACULTY:
M. Kathryn Bleckley, PhD 2001, Georgia Institute of
Technology; individual differences, aging, visual attention. Patricia R.
DeLucia, PhD 1989, Columbia U; visual perception and performance,
transportation, aviation, human factors in medicine. Francis T. Durso,
PhD. 1980, SUNY-Stony Brook; cognitive ergonomics, air traffic control,
situation awareness, CSCW, instructional technology. Keith S. Jones, PhD
2000, University of Cincinnati; human-computer interaction, Internet navigation,
Internet-based education, Internet accessibility, affordance perception. Ruth
H. Maki, PhD 1974, U California, Berkeley; instructional technology,
metacognition, spatial processing. William S. Maki, PhD 1974, U
California, Berkeley; instructional technology, Web-based instruction and
distance learning, attention and performance. Philip H. Marshall, PhD
1972, U Illinois; human performance and memory, motor performance and assessment
of rehabilitation procedures. Roman Taraban, PhD 1988, Carnegie Mellon U;
instructional technology, text comprehension, cognitive modeling.
(For additional faculty, see also the entry for the Department of Industrial
Engineering).