ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Rochester, NY
Department of Psychology

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BACKGROUND:
Title: Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology (MS)
Est: 2006
Quarter
Granted last 3 years: N/A
Part-time: yes
Distance learning available: no
HFES student chapter: no
Program: The MS Program in Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology emphasizes human behavior and performance in both simple and complex human-machine systems. Engineering psychology examines human capabilities and limitations to sense, perceive, store, and process information and how these human factors impact human interactions with technology. This knowledge is applied to the design, use, and maintenance of human-machine systems. Students will be trained both in research methods of experimental psychology and application of the results in contemporary problems in the industry. Faculty from the Department of Psychology, the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering and the Department of Information Technology all contribute to the teaching of specialty courses in the program. The mission of RIT is to provide technology-based educational programs and to vigorously pursue emerging careers by developing new programs in response to changing technology. This program prepares students to function as effective engineering psychologists in industrial, governmental, or consulting organizations. The program also provides a foundation for further advanced academic study in Engineering Psychology, Human Factors/Ergonomics, or Experimental Psychology. Teaching and research assistantships are available.
Contact: Esa M. Rantanen, Ph.D., CPE, Department of Psychology, 01-3140 Eastman Bldg., Rochester Institute of Technology, 18 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, NY 14623, 585/475-4412, fax 585/475-6715, esa.rantanen@rit.edu
Catalog: http://www.rit.edu/psychology/studenthandbook.htm
http://www.rit.edu/~932www/grad_bulletin/.

APPLICATION:
Deadlines: N/A (rolling admissions)
Fee: $50 for applicants other than RIT alumni and current students within four quarters of completing another RIT program.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
GPA: 3.0
GRE: Within 5 years.
Other: Applicants to this program are expected to have 20 quarter credit hours (or 15 semester hours) of course work in undergraduate psychology or related field (e.g., engineering, computer science, information technology), including one course in experimental psychology and another in statistics.
Research: medium
Work experience: A biographical statement describing the applicant's experience and goals regarding the program is required.
Letters: high (minimum of two required)
Interview: medium

ADMISSIONS:
Students applying last year: 8
Accepted: 8
Entered program: 6
Openings/year: 10

TUITION AND FEES:
Resident: $9,660/quarter
Nonresident: $12,706/quarter

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:
% receiving: 100
Amount: Varies
Available: Teaching and research assistantships
Apply: With application.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:
MS: 40 credit hours/quarter, plus a minimum of eight thesis credits; thesis required, with oral defense, no languages, four quarters plus summer (internship or thesis research).
Nonthesis option: no

CURRICULUM:
Required experimental core courses (units): Graduate Statistics (4), Advanced Perception (4), Research Methodology (4), Advanced Cognition (4)
Required engineering psychology courses (units): Topics in Engineering Psychology (topics may vary; 4), Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction (IT; 4), Advanced Topics: Ergonomics/Human Factors (IE; 4), Systems Safety Engineering (IE; 4).
Electives (units): Computer Programming (IT; 4) Usability Engineering (IT; 4), Usability Testing (IT; 4), Advanced Topics in HCI (IT; 4), Introduction to Computer Graphics (CG; 4), Authoring Multimedia (CG; 4), Graphical User Interface (CG; 4).
Required courses outside department: 3
Recommended courses outside department: 2
Class size: 10

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES:
Research facilities: Psych. lab spaces for testing individuals and groups up to 20; a variety of visuo-motor testing devices, color vision tests, depth perception tests etc. IE Human Performance Lab with electromyography and electrogoniometry instruments, energy expenditure cart, and a work simulator for measurement of human strength. IT multimedia lab, sound recording studio, usability testing lab, and eye tracking lab.
Teaching: Mentoring (of undergraduate students) appointments available.
Current research: Temporal awareness and rhythmic behavior, usability of technologies for cybercollaboration, human performance and reliability in medical emergency departments.

STUDENT STATISTICS:
Active: 13
First-year students: 6
Mean scores: GRE 488v, 582 q

FACULTY:
Kathleen Chen, PhD, Penn State University; perception, learning, skill acquisition, transfer
Kirsten Condry, PhD 1999, University of Minnesota; developmental psychology, aging, perception
Nicholas DiFonzo, PhD 1994, Temple University; social and organizational psychology
Anne Haake, PhD 1985, University of South Carolina; developmental biology, biomedical informatics, human-computer interaction, user-centered design, usability testing, eye tracking, cognitive modeling
Roger Harnish, PhD 1974, Oklahoma State University; experimental psychology, hemispheric specialization, cognitive styles
Rhiannon Hart, PhD 2006, University of Pittsburgh; cognitive psychology, memory, neuroscience, bias, executive control
Andrew Herbert, PhD 1994, University of Western Ontario; psychology, visual perception, cognitive neuroscience, face perception, visual illusions
Matthew Marshall, PhD 2002,University of Michigan; industrial engineering, human factors/ergonomics, upper extremity biomechanics
Jacqueline Mozrall, PhD 1994, University at Buffalo - SUNY; industrial engineering, human factors/ergonomics, assessment of human performance
Esa Rantanen, PhD 2000, Penn State University; engineering psychology, human factors in complex systems, human performance measuring and modeling, time and temporal awareness, mental workload, decision making, human error and reliability
Evelyn Rozanski, PhD 1994, University at Buffalo - SUNY; social foundations of education, human-computer interaction, empirical studies with eye tracking to understand users' cognitive behavior, computational cognitive models of users' behavior to inform design, next generation interfaces for collaborative environments
Lindsay Schenkel, PhD 2006, University of Nebraska - Lincoln; social cognition, affect processing, stress

[Updated Winter 2008