AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Auburn, Alabama
Industrial and Systems Engineering Department

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BACKGROUND:
Title: Occupational Safety, Ergonomics, and Injury Prevention (MS,MISE, PhD in Safety and Ergonomics (only) in Injury Prevention)
Joint program: Program is part of the NIOSH-supported Deep South Education and Research Center (ERC), which includes programs in industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, and occupational health nursing.
Est: 1969
Semester
Granted last 3 years: MISE 8, MS 2, PhD 3
Part-time: yes
Distance learning available: yes
HFES student chapter: no
Program: Emphasis is placed on occupational safety engineering, ergonomics, and injury prevention applications. The goal is to provide students the capability to effectively and economically resolve, preferably by engineering design, occupational human performance problems.
Contact: Robert E. Thomas, PhD, PE, CPE, Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, 207 Dunstan Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-5346; 334/844-1420;thomare@auburn.edu, http://www.eng.auburn.edu/ie/ose.
Catalog: (free) Admissions Office, Quad Center, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-5145, admissions@auburn.edu.

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: 7/15 fall, 11/15 spring, 4/15 summer
Fee: $25 domestic students, $50 international students

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA: 3.0
GRE: 1150 v + q
Other: Undergraduate degrees in IE, other engineering fields, and the life sciences are preferred (in that order). Mathematics equivalent to calculus for undergraduate engineers, statistics through single-factor ANOVA, basic ergonomics/safety, and computer literacy required or must be obtained from nongraduate credit prerequisite courses.
Research: low
Work experience: low
Letters: medium
Interview:n/a

ADMISSIONS:
Students applying last year: 15
Accepted: 7
Entered program: 4
Openings/year: 6

TUITION AND FEES:
Resident: $2800/semester (est.)
Nonresident: $8400/semester (est.)

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 90
Amounts: variable
Available: NIOSH stipends/fellowships (for U.S. citizens), TA, RA, tuition exempt
Apply: with application

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MS: 30 units (38 for students receiving NIOSH support), oral exams and research required, no languages or practical experience required, 2 years
MISE: 30 units (38 for students receiving NIOSH support), oral exams required, no languages, research, or practical experience required, 2 years
Nonthesis option: yes
PhD: At least 48 hours beyond the bachelor's degree including an industrial systems and engineering core of 18 hours. General and oral exams and a dissertation/research plan of at least 12 hours are also required. There is no language or practical experience requirement. 3 years minimum.

CURRICULUM:
Required courses (units): Department core: 18 hours for all graduate degrees (includes either Ergonomics I-Work Physiology (3) or Safety Engineering I). Other required courses in addition to both of the previously mentioned for safety and ergonomics students include Ergonomics II: Biomechanics (3), Safety Engineering II: Systems Safety (3), Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Hazards (3), and Human factors Engineering (3). For Safety/Ergonomics PhDs only: Advanced Safety Engineering (3) and Research Methods (3). Injury Prevention PhDs are enocouraged to take the above course, though Industrial Hygiene is not required. Injury Prevention students also take courses in general public health and epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Required courses outside department: 0
Recommended courses outside department: TBD depending on student's background
Distance learning: All of the required coursework for master's degrees is available on DVD or in streaming video format from the Auburn Graduate Outreach Program (http://www.gop.auburn.edu). Coursework for the safety and ergonomics PhD emphases are also available.
Class size: 8

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: State-of-the-art laboratory and computer facilities are available for research in safety engineering, ergonomics/human factors, and injury prevention.
Teaching: Graduate students are encouraged to serve as teaching assistants or as the primary instructor in basic undergraduate courses in statistics, engineering economy, work measurement, and ergonomics.
Current research: Workplace assessment and design; safety communication in multilingual environments; evacuation modeling; patient handling in restricted spaces; evaluation and control of work-related musculoskeletal disorders; personal protective equipment design manpower studies; operations research applications to occupational safety; ergonomics/human factors.

STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: On campus: 5 Masters, 5 PhDs, 11 Outreach
First-year students: 3
Mean scores: MS/MISE: GRE 625 q, GPA 3.3; PhD: GRE 675 q, GPA 3.5

FACULTY:
Jerry Davis, PhD 2001, Auburn U; systems safety, ergonomics, and manpower evaluations
Nathan T. Dorris, (visiting) PhD 2004, Auburn U; human factors and warning systems
Leo A. Smith, (emeritus) PhD 1966, Purdue U; safety and ergonomics
Robert B. Rummer, (adjunct) PhD, 1988, Auburn U; safety and ergonomics with focus in forestry related applications
Robert E. Thomas, PhD 1988, Texas A&M U; safety and ergonomics

[Updated Winter 2007]