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BACKGROUND:
Title: Human Factors (MS, PhD). Contact: Caroline Cao, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02115; 617/627-3239; caroline.cao@tufts.edu, http://www.tufts.edu/as/stu-org/hfes. Est: 1969. Granted last 3 years: MS 7. Semester. Part-time: yes. Program: Engineering and project oriented, with emphasis on medical product and interface design, complex human-machine systems. Design or design research dissertation. HFES student chapter: yes. Catalog: (free) Graduate Application Office, 120 Packard Ave., Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155; http://www.tufts.edu/as/stu-org/hfes/.

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: 10/15 (spring), 2/15 (fall). Fee: $50.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
MS: GPA: 3.0. GRE: recommended. Other: undergraduate degree in engineering or psychology with math and probability and statistics or computer science. PhD: MS in human factors, engineering undergraduate. Research: high. Work experience: medium. Letters: high. Interview: high.

ADMISSIONS:
Students applying last year: 5. Accepted: 4. Openings/year: 3.

TUITION AND FEES:
Resident/nonresident: $24804/year. Part-time: $2480/course.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 50. Amount: tuition remission + stipend ($1000/month). Available: fellowship, TA, RA, scholarship, none tuition exempt. Apply: with application.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MS: 10 units, proposal, research, and oral defense of thesis; no languages or practical experience required, maximum 5 years. Nonthesis option: no. PhD: 20 units, oral qualifying exam, 2 seminars, oral defense of dissertation and research required; no languages or practical experience, maximum 7 years.

CURRICULUM:
MS required courses (programs and courses are ordinarily determined after interview with student): HF in Product Design, HF in Human-Machine System Design, HF in Deterministic Systems, or HF in Stochastic Systems, Project Study in Human Systems Design. PhD: courses determined by background and dissertation topic. Required courses outside department: 4. Recommended courses outside department: 0. Offered: summer (infrequently). Class size: 20.

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: Software, hardware, computational labs, machine shops. TA/RA sometimes available. Teaching: Human factors courses. Current research: HF in medical systems with focus on endoscopic applications, spatial visualization and control in remote environments, software design, verbal analysis techniques, design techniques and methodologies.

STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: 6 men, 2 women. First-year students: 4. Mean scores: MS: GRE n/a, GPA 3.5.

FACULTY:
Caroline Cao, PhD 2002, U of Toronto; mechanical and industrial engineering, HF. Salvatore Soraci, PhD 1993, Vanderbilt U; psychology.