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BACKGROUND:
Title: Applied-Experimental Psychology (MA, PhD). Contact: Deborah Clawson, Department of Psychology, Catholic University, Washington, DC 20064; 202/319-5750; clawson@cua.edu. Est: 1970. Semester. Granted last 3 years: MA 2, PhD 8. Part-time: yes. Program: Advanced training in applied experimental psychology and applied cognitive science prepares individuals for career opportunities in industrial and government labs as well as in universities. Students take general and specialty courses in basic and applied psychology and in related disciplines outside the department. Within the first year students identify a specialty related to the research-interests of a member of the faculty and receive research intensive experience in that area. The program maintains close ties to other labs within and outside the university, thus providing students with a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary research experience. HFES student chapter: no. Catalog: (free) Office of Graduate Admissions, Catholic University, Washington, DC 20064.

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: 3/15 for admission, 1/15 for financial aid. Fee: $55.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA: 3.0 GRE: 500 v, 500 q. Other: BA degree required; courses in physics, calculus, computer programming recommended. Research: high. Work experience: medium. Letters: medium. Interview: medium.

ADMISSIONS:
Students applying last year: 12. Accepted: 3. Openings/year: 5.

TUITION AND FEES:
Resident: $21050/year. Nonresident: $21050/year.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 85. Amount: averages $10000 plus tuition. Available: Fellowship, TA, RA, Research Fellows Program. Apply: with application by January 15.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MA: 30 units, oral and written exam, no language, no practical experience required, thesis, 2 years. Nonthesis option: no. PhD: 53 units, written and oral exams, dissertation, no languages or practical experience required, 5 years.

CURRICULUM:
Required courses (units): Research Methods (3), Human Performance in Systems (3), Statistics 1 & 2 (8), Proseminar in Applied-Experimental Psychology (3). Electives: Human-Computer Interaction (3). Required courses outside department: none. Recommended courses outside department: 3. Offered: summer. Class size: 8.

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: Excellent laboratory facilities for research in aviation human factors, human perception and cognition, human-computer interaction, emotion, psychophysiology, and human performance. The Human Performance Laboratory (director: J. H. Howard, Jr.), the Cognitive Science Laboratory (director: R. Parasuraman), and the Cognition and Virtual Reality Lab (directors: M. Sebrechts & D. Clawson) are well equipped with PC and Macintosh computers, graphics workstations, multimedia computers, audiometric testing chambers, EEG and evoked potential recording equipment, an eye movement recording system, polygraph equipment, general aviation and commercial flight simulators, air traffic control simulators, virtual reality environments that include motion sensors and head mounted displays, and other supporting equipment. Access to the university’s high performance workstations is also available. Teaching: Teaching assistantships available. Current research: D. Clawson: memory, skills, virtual reality, prospective memory. J. H. Howard, Jr.: NIH-sponsored research on implicit learning of serial patterns in healthy elderly and other populations, neural network models of pattern learning. R. Parasuraman: NASA-sponsored research on effects of cockpit and ATC automation on attention and performance, and NIH-sponsored research on attention in aging and Alzheimer's disease. M. Safer: Research on applied memory and emotion. M. Sebrechts: DOD-sponsored research on virtual reality, spatial mental models, and rehabilitation; information visualization, human-computer interaction, and problem solving.

STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: 5 men, 7 women. First-year students: 2. Mean scores: PhD: GRE 1250 v + q, GPA 3.1.

FACULTY:
Deborah Clawson, PhD 1994, U Colorado; retention of skills, virtual reality, prospective memory. James H. Howard, Jr., PhD 1973, Brown U; human cognition and perception, cognitive aging, cognitive neuroscience of aging. Raja Parasuraman, PhD 1976, U Aston, England; human attention and vigilance, mental workload, aging, aviation human factors. Martin Safer, PhD 1978, U Wisconsin; emotion and memory, health psychology. Marc M. Sebrechts, PhD 1980, Yale U; human-computer interaction, instructional technology, virtual reality.