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BACKGROUND:
Title: Human Factors and Ergonomics Graduate Program (MS, PhD). Contact: Lisa Zovar, 1513 University Ave., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706; 608/263-3955; lzovar@ie.engr.wisc.edu. Est: 1970. Semester. Part-time: yes. Program: The three specialty areas are:  (a) Sociotechnical system--organizational issues such as management approaches, job design, participative problem solving, job stress, job satisfaction, performance effectiveness, product quality, and quality of working life are addressed by engineers specializing in sociotechnical methods in system design (b) Ergonomics--the study of the principles of work. Ergonomists are concerned with the complex physical relationships between people, machines, job demands, and work methods. (c) Occupational and environmental safety and health--occupational safety and health engineers study accident causation, epidemiology, statistical modeling of injuries, analysis of health records, injury prevention, and legal aspects of occupational safety. HFES student chapter: yes. Catalog: (free) Graduate Admissions, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 228 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Dr., Madison, WI 53706; http://www.wisc.edu/grad/, http://www.engr.wisc.edu/ie/.

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: 4/1 (fall), 12/1 (spring) Fee: $45; http://www.wisc.edu/grad.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA: 3.0. GRE: v + q + a required for non-UW graduates. Other: Bachelor's in industrial engineering or equivalent required; computer programming; introductory statistics, IE course outside of human factors (Equivalent coursework is acceptable on a case-by-case basis.) Research: medium. Work experience: medium. Letters: medium. Interview: low.

ADMISSIONS:
Students applying last year: n/a. Accepted: n/a. Openings/year: n/a.

TUITION AND FEES:
Resident: $3440/semester. Nonresident: $11075/semester.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: Financial assistance is very limited Apply: with application.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MS: 30 units, project research, no exams, languages, or practical experience, 2 years. Nonthesis option: yes. PhD: 30 units beyond master's, qualifying and preliminary exams, oral thesis defense, dissertation, 6 seminar/special topics courses, 3 years.

CURRICULUM:
Required courses (credits): At least one sociotechnical systems course, one ergonomics course and one safety course (9); Tools and Methods (6). Electives: at least 9 credits in one of three specializations: sociotechnical systems, ergonomics, or safety Required courses outside department: 0. Class size: 15-30.

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: Office Automation Laboratory (Smith). Activities in this laboratory are aimed at determining optimal applications for office technologies (computer systems, workstations, environmental conditions, software) emphasizing human factors considerations. Sociotechnical Engineering Research Laboratory (Carayon): The research conducted in the Sociotechnical Engineering Laboratory is concerned with the design and improvement of work systems in various industries to deal with a range of human factors and quality issues.  MacroErgonomics Safety and Health Laboratory (Karsh): Research in this lab is focused on macroergonomics and occupational safety and health in a variety of settings. Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Laboratory (Radwin): Research in this lab focuses on health aspects of physical stress in the workplace. Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement (CQPI): To rise to the challenge of the international quality revolution, the Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement (CQPI) was founded in October of 1985 by Professor George E. P. Box and the late Professor William G. Hunter. Since its inception, CQPI has been at the forefront of the development of new techniques for improving the quality of products and processes. Today the Center is also at the forefront of methods aimed at improving the quality of work processes, quality of working life, and quality of healthcare. Areas of expertise are quality engineering, quality management, quality improvement in health care, safety applications and research, and quality of working life, human factors, and ergonomics. Trace Research and Development Center: Founded in 1971, Trace has been a pioneer in the field of technology and disability. Trace Center Research focuses on ways to make standard information technologies and telecommunications systems more accessible and usable by people with disabilities and those who are older. Teaching: Grad students may serve as TAs for introductory and advanced HF courses and labs. PhD students can instruct undergrad courses. Current research: Technological and organizational change; macroergonomics; causes and prevention of CTDs; organizational and human factors in quality and productivity improvement; effects of advanced office technologies  working conditions on stress levels; and computer technologies for people with disabilities or age-related functional limitations; patient safety.

FACULTY:
Patricia Flatley Brennan, PhD 1986, U Wisconsin-Madison; health informatics, community health, information systems, computer-mediated clinical practice, health services research. Pascale Carayon, PhD 1988, U Wisconsin-Madison; HF, sociotechnical systems, job and organizational design, management of technological and organizational change, quality improvement. David H. Gustafson, PhD 1966, U Michigan; computer-based decision aids. Ben-Tzion Karsh, PhD 1999, U Wisconsin-Madison; patient safety, technology implementation, health care quality improvement, musculoskeletal disorders. Robert G. Radwin, PhD 1986, U Michigan; CTD, industrial ergonomics, biomedical engineering. Michael J. Smith, PhD 1973, U Wisconsin-Madison; occupational safety, job-related stress, systems engineering. Gregg C. Vanderheiden, PhD 1984, U Wisconsin-Madison; HCI, design for disability and aging. David R. Zimmerman, PhD 1975, U Wisconsin-Madison; health systems.