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BACKGROUND:
Title: Human Factors/Ergonomics Option in Industrial Engineering (MS, PhD). Contact: Andris Freivalds, Penn State University, 310 Leonhard Building, University Park, PA 16802; 814/863-2361; axf@psu.edu, http://www.ie.psu.edu/. Est: 1980. Semester. Granted last 3 years: MS 7, PhD 3. Part-time: yes. Program: This flexible option allows students to customize a program to their specific interests within the full spectrum of human factors applications and interest areas. Throughout the program, emphasis is placed on empirical/statistical data analysis with hands-on lab research and/or practical industrial field studies. Students are encouraged to conduct cross-disciplinary research within areas such as manufacturing, operations research, psychology, bioengineering, engineering science, management, computer science, kinesiology, mining engineering, and safety. At the MS level, the student will have achieved both the technical tools and practical experience needed for an industrial position, while at the PhD level the student will have attained the intellectual rigor and academic competence to work in an academic or research setting.  HFES student chapter: yes (http://www.ie.psu.edu/orgs/hfes/index.html). Catalog: Graduate Office of Admissions, Kern Bldg., Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802.

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: 2/15 fall, 9/1 spring. Fee: $40.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA: 3.0. GRE: v + q + a required, but no minimum. Other: TOEFL 550. Those without a bachelor's degree in engineering must take approximately 40 semester credits of quantitative content, including math (through differential equations) and physics. Research: medium. Work experience: medium. Letters: high. Interview: low.

ADMISSIONS:
Students applying last year: 26. Accepted: 16. Entered program: 10. Openings/year: 10.

TUITION AND FEES:
Resident: $3657/semester. Nonresident: $7490/semester.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 70. Amount: $12400/$13200/$15000+. Available: Fellowship, TA, RA, scholarship, all tuition and fee exempt. Apply: with application.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MS: 32 units, research required, no exams, languages, or practical experience, 1 1/2 years. Nonthesis option: no. PhD: 49 units, candidacy, comprehensive, and final defense exams, research required, English required, no practical experience required, 3 1/2 years.

CURRICULUM:
Required courses (units): Engineering of Human Work (3), Engineering of Cognitive Work (3), Experimental Design (3). Electives: Human/Computer Interface Design (3), Safety Systems Engineering (3), Mechanics of the Musculoskeletal System (3), Human Reliability Analysis (3). Required courses outside department: 0. Recommended courses outside department: 2-3. Offered: n/a. Class size: 8-10.

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: Ben Niebel Work Design Lab: computers, energy expenditure measurement equipment, strength testers, electromyographic equipment, bicycle and other ergometers, sound/hearing analysis equipment, light/vision analysis equipment, eye-tracking system, motion analysis system, video capture and digitizing equipment. Additional facilities include extensive arrays of robotics, machining equipment, workstations, quality control, and virtual reality hardware. Center for Cumulative Trauma Disorders; Noll Human Performance Lab: environmental heat/cold stress chambers. Center for Locomotion Studies: large array of locomotion research equipment. Pennsylvania Transportation Institute: Mack/Renault truck simulator, 5,000 ft. oval test track, crash impact tester. School for Information Science and Technology: software usability labs. Interdisciplinary projects have been conducted using the facilities and resources of the Psychology, Mechanical Engineering, Gerontology Center, Physiology, and Kinesiology Departments. Teaching: MS and PhD students may serve as TAs or lab assistants. PhD students may serve as lecturers for entire classes. Current research: Models to predict CTD risk for jobs; strain-gauge and FSR instrumented glove to measure job stressors; cadaver hand studies to validate biomechanical hand models; development of improved and innovative telerobotic and virtual reality interfaces; analysis of system complexity and its impacts on technology development and strategy, product/process interactions, and human/technical interfaces; technology forecasting and decision making under uncertainty, supply chain integration, S-curve modeling, and information technology-assisted advanced web search methods; analysis and modeling of skilled human performance in complex systems and environments, human-environment interactions in cognitively demanding tasks using inductive inference methods, acquisition of complex cognitive skills, development of adaptive interface technologies, applications to human-computer interfaces, medical product design, consumer products, air traffic control; improving the health and well-being of individuals, regardless of the environment in which they may find themselves, the diversity of the environment, and the cultural changes that may affect the organization.

STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: 5 men, 1 woman. First-year students: 1. Mean scores: MS: GRE 470 v, 730 q, 770 a, GPA 3.8. PhD: GRE 412 v, 725 q, 601 a, GPA 3.75.

FACULTY:
David J. Cannon, PhD 1992, Stanford U; human-machine systems, robotics, automated material handling, virtual environments. Andris Freivalds, PhD 1979, U Michigan; biomechanics, cumulative trauma disorders, Richard J. Koubek, PhD 1987, Purdue U.; human-computer interaction, skill acquisition, cognitive modeling; Leah C. Newman, PhD 1997, U. Wisconsin-Madison; macroergonomics, sociotechnical systems. Irene J. Petrick, PhD 1997, Pennsylvania State U.; sociotechnical systems and technology forecasting. Ling Rothrock, PhD 1995, Georgia Tech; human-machine performance assessment and modeling.