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BACKGROUND:
Title: Ergonomics and Safety (MS, ME, MPH, MSPH, PhD). Contact: Donald S. Bloswick, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Mechanical Engineering, 50 South Central Campus Dr., Rm. 2202, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9208; 801/581-4613; bloswick@eng.utah.edu. Est: 1981. Semester. Granted last 3 years: MS 7, ME 4, MPH 2, MSPH 1, PhD 2. Part-time: yes. Program: Each student's program is structured to take advantage of his or her past education and experience. Students in the engineering programs are required to have an engineering undergraduate degree or demonstrate competency in the basic engineering sciences. At the master's level the program is designed to produce graduates with basic analytical and management skills in ergonomics, safety, and industrial hygiene. Close cooperation with Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Medicine, and Occupational Health Nursing in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine facilitates the interdisciplinary emphasis of the program. Many students also take advantage of physiology and biomechanics courses in the Departments of Bioengineering and Exercise Science. PhD students are focused in the engineering sciences with emphasis in occupational biomechanics. HFES student chapter: no. Catalog: ($3) University Bookstore, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: flexible. Fee: $40.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA: 3.0. GRE: n/r for engineering students, required for MSPH and MPH students. Other: Incoming students in engineering are required to have competency in the basic engineering sciences. This competency may be demonstrated through (1) graduation from an engineering curriculum, (2) completion of the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, (3) record of appropriate coursework, or (4) successful completion of appropriate coursework while in residence. Incoming students in the MPH or MSPH programs are expected to have a basic science background. Research: high. Work experience: medium. Letters: medium. Interview: medium for engineering programs, high for MPH/MSPH programs.

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

TUITION AND FEES (15 credits):
Resident: $1649/semester. Nonresident: $5127/semester. (AY 2001/2002)

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 75 (at present, all full-time U.S. citizens are fully supported). Amount: $4000/$12000/$16500. Available: fellowship, TA, RA, scholarship, all tuition exempt. Apply: with application.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MS: 39 units, oral thesis defense, comprehensive exam, thesis research, no languages or practical experience, 2 years. ME: 30 units, comprehensive exam, applied project research, no languages or practical experience, 2 years. MPH: 38 units, comprehensive exam, thesis project, no languages or practical experience, 2 years. MSPH: 48 units, comprehensive exam, thesis research, no languages or practical experience, 2 years. Nonthesis option: yes. PhD: 60 units, qualifying exam, oral proposal defense, oral dissertation defense, dissertation research, no languages or practical experience, 4 years.

CURRICULUM:
Required courses: Ergonomics (3), Introduction to Industrial Safety (3), Reliability (3), Quality Assurance (3), Engineering Law (3), Human Factors Engineering (3), Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene (2), Seminar in Occupational Safety and Health (2), Introduction to Biostatistics (3), Noise and Other Physical Agents (2), Interdisciplinary Seminar (2), Advanced Ergonomics and Occupational Biomechanics (4, PhD), Systems Safety (3, PhD), Ergo and Safety Research methods (3, PhD), Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (2, PhD), Functional Anatomy for Engineers (3, PhD), Biomechanics (3, PhD), Epidemiology (3, PhD), Quantitative Methods I, Inferential Statistics (3, PhD), Quantitative Methods II, ANOVA and Multiple Regression (3, PhD). Required courses outside department: MS 2, PhD 7. Recommended courses outside department: MS 4, PhD 8. Offered: night (approx. 30%). Class size: 20.

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: The Ergonomics and Safety Laboratory is housed in a 1500-square-foot facility equipped with a force plate with computer-based data acquisition system, a computer-based position detection system, load cells, video equipment, and still camera equipment. Additional PC-compatible and Macintosh computers, printers, and plotters are dedicated to ergonomics and safety students and lab use. Teaching: Students serve as instructors, guest lecturers, lab instructors, TAs, and graders and perform field evaluations of patients with occupational traumas. Advanced students participate in and provide consultative services to local industry. Recent and current research: Task predictors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders, effect of load and body dynamics on joint moments during lifting, effect of wrist flexion on vibrotactile sensitivity, effect of keyboard tray design on body posture and performance,

STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: 9 men, 0 woman. First-year students: 4. Mean scores: n/r.

FACULTY:
Don Bloswick, PhD 1986, U Michigan; occupational biomechanics, ergonomics, slip/fall safety. David Hoeppner, PhD 1966, U Wisconsin; reliability, quality assurance. Gary Sandquist, PhD 1964, U Utah; quantitative risk assessment. Richard Sesek, PhD 1999, U Utah; industrial safety, industrial ergonomics. Robert Tuckett, PhD 1972, U Utah; cumulative trauma disorders. Charles Elliott, PhD 1993, U Utah; reliability, quality assurance.