MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
Mississippi State, MS
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

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BACKGROUND:
Title: Industrial and Systems Engineering with a concentration option in Human Factors and Ergonomics (MS, PhD)
Est: 1962
Semester
Granted last 3 years: MS 6, PhD 4
Part-time available?: yes
HFES student chapter: yes
Program: The Human Factors and Ergonomics Concentration Option in Industrial and Systems Engineering is designed for students who desire a comprehensive education in physical and cognitive ergonomics and human factors, and occupational health and safety. Both MS and PhD students take courses from other ISE areas (operations research, manufacturing, and management) as well as from supporting disciplines (e.g., statistics, kinesiology, psychology, etc.). Courses are offered that span physical and cognitive aspects of HF/E. All students, except non-thesis MS students, will conduct degree research with human participants.
Contact: Kari Babski-Reeves, PhD, CPE, or Lesley Strawderman, PhD, PE, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 9542, 479-2 Hardy Rd., 260 McCain, Mississippi State, MS 39762-9542; 662/325-1677, kari@ise.msstate.edu; or 662/325-7214, strawderman@ise.msstate.edu, http://www.ise.msstate.edu/
Catalog: (free; published four times per year: February, July; semi-monthly in April) Mississippi State University Registrar's Office, P.O. Box 5268, Mississippi State, MS 39762-5268 or Office of Graduate Studies, P.O. Box G, 116 Allen Hall, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762; grad@grad.msstate.edu

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: 6/1 (fall), 11/1 (spring), 4/1 (summer)
Fee: $40 nonrefundable application fee

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA (MS): 3.0/4.0 (junior and senior years)
GRE: Students entering with BS from program not accredited by EAC/ABET must submit composite v, q and a.
Other: TOEFL 550 (international) and BS from an EAC/ABET accredited program is recommended. For PhD, MS from an EAC/ABET accredited program is recommended, though a direct admit to PhD is possible for outstanding BS student applications.
Research: medium
Work experience: medium
Letters: high
Interview: medium

ADMISSIONS:
Student acceptance rate: 46%
Openings per year: 3-5

TUITION AND FEES:
Resident: $2902.50/semester
Nonresident: $7335.00/semester
Part-time: $322.50/hour for residents, $815.00/hour for nonresidents

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 75
Amount: $1,200 - $1,800/month depending on student level and funds availability
Available: assistantship (tuition exempt); GTA and GRA (tuition exempt); fellowships
Apply: with application for admission

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MS: 24 course hours plus 6 hours of thesis, thesis proposal and thesis defense, 9-hour minimum enrollment (fall, spring), 6-hour minimum enrollment (summer), 2 years
MS nonthesis option: yes (33 course hours and written and oral comprehensive exam)
PhD: 48 course hours post BS minimum plus 20 hours of dissertation research, comprehensive exam (written and oral), dissertation research, dissertation proposal, and dissertation defense, no languages or practical experience required, no internship, 2-3 years beyond MS

CURRICULUM:
MS current course: Students must complete their curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or better. The following courses are available within the ISE department: Industrial Ergonomics (4), Human Factors Engineering (3), Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction (3), Occupational Safety Engineering (3), Cognitive Engineering (3), MacroErgonomics (3), Applied Ergonomic Methods (3), Special Topics in Industrial Engineering (3), and Directed Individual Study (3)
Required courses outside department: For MS: 1 Statistics, 1 support area; For PhD, 2 Statistics, 2 support area
Recommended courses outside department: 2-4
Offered: night (occasionally), summer (frequently)
Class size: 5-20

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering has a well-developed laboratory that supports research and teaching in industrial and cognitive ergonomics (roughly 5,000 square feet) in McCain Engineering Hall. Additionally, research conducted in conjunction with the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems may be conducted in the CAVS Human Factors Laboratory or Driving Simulator Laboratory.
Teaching: Graduate Teaching Assistants help faculty with course preparation, grading, laboratory exercises, group work, and lectures. Senior PhD students occasionally teach undergraduate courses, and in special cases graduate courses, under faculty supervision.
Current research: The laboratory currently supports research in many HFE areas: ageing, cognitive performance, construction safety and health, consumer project design, usability, human-computer interaction, industrial ergonomics, biomechanics, musculoskeletal disorders, occupational safety and health, sociotechnical (macroergonomics) systems, health systems, localized and global fatigue, thermal applications, workload, stress, virtual reality and augmented visualizations, worker training, work systems design, digital human modeling, standards development and evaluation, and transportation. Some current projects include evaluation of law enforcement personnel body armor, pedestrian modeling, humanitarian supply chain modeling, novice vs expert work strategy comparison, digital human modeling, cognitive modeling, cognitive task analysis, and usability.

STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: 40
Mean scores: GRE 1767 v+q+a, GPA 3.2/4.0

FACULTY
Kari Babski-Reeves, PhD 2000, Mississippi State U, industrial ergonomics, musculoskeletal injuries, fatigue, human performance workload, occupational biomechanics, physical performance, occupational safety and health, and training
Lesley Strawderman, PhD 2006, Pennsylvania State U, service industry human factors, usability, health care systems, consumer product design, cognitive ergonomics, macroergonomics, safety, work measurement and facilities layout

[Updated May 2012]