Resources

Texas Tech University Department of Psychology

Location: Lubbock, Texas
Department: Psychological Sciences

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Program Background

Admission Requirements

Financial Assistance

Curriculum

Student Statistics

Application Process

Admissions

Degree Requirements

Research/Teaching Opportunities

Faculty


Directory of Graduate Programs


 

PROGRAM BACKGROUND

 

Title of program

Human Factors Program/Experimental Psychology

Primary department sponsoring program

Department of Psychological Sciences

Is this program a joint program?

We collaborate with the Department of Industrial Engineering, but the two programs have separate requirements and are separately accredited by HFES.

Year human factors/ergonomics program was established

1967

Accredited by HFES?

Yes

Contact person for more information, including applications

Eric Greenlee, Ph.D.; Texas Tech University

Department of Psychological Sciences, Mail Stop 2051, Lubbock, TX 79409-2051

806-834-3806

eric.greenlee@ttu.edu

Web site

http://www.depts.ttu.edu/psy/humanfactors

Academic calendar

Semester

Human factors/ergonomics graduate degrees offered

MA, PhD

Goals, objectives, and emphasis of the program

In conjunction with the Department of Industrial Engineering, students receive balanced training in human factors and ergonomics. Our program prepares students for employment in academia, government, and industry. Primary training is in fundamental processes of human behavior, research methods, and statistics. We are committed to the integration of basic and applied research. Areas of emphasis include transportation, automation (e.g., automated driving), human-computer interaction, human-robot interaction, human factors of cybersecurity, health care (e.g., minimally-invasive surgery, nursing, mental health treatment), vigilance, neuroergonomics, individual and team workload and stress, perception and performance (e.g., affordance perception; telerobotics; auditory and multimodal displays). Graduates of our program have been employed as university professors (e.g., Auburn University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, University of South Dakota, Wichita State University), government researchers (e.g., Federal Aviation Administration, Sandia National Laboratories, US Air Force, US Army, US Navy) and industry researchers (e.g., Google, Microsoft, Sony PlayStation, Facebook, Fitbit, Simple Interact, Dell, Intel, Amazon Web Services, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lear Corporation, Lucent Technologies, Oakhill Technology, Roche Diagnostics, Raytheon, Sprint, SUN Microsystems, Titan Industries, SA Technologies, SBC Technology, State Farm, Honeywell, Medtronic, Human Interfaces, BCI, and Siemens, Lockheed-Martin).

Number of degrees granted during last 3 years

5 MA, 2 PhD

Can students attend part-time?

No

Are required courses offered through distance learning?

No

Are required courses offered at night?

Some

Are required courses offered during summer?

Some

Does the university have an HFES student chapter?

Yes


 

APPLICATION PROCESS

 

Application deadlines

December 1

Are separate applications required for university and department?

No

Application fees

$0 for program, $75 for university


 

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

 

Minimum requirements

Grade point average (last 4 yrs: A = 4.0): 3.0


GRE combined: n/a

GRE Verbal: required, but no minimum

GRE Quantitative: required, but no minimum

GRE Analytical: n/a


Recommended training includes degree in psychology, social sciences, industrial engineering, or sciences, and training in statistics, computer programming, and mathematics.

Importance of other criteria as admission factors

Previous research activity: high

Relevant work experience: low

Extracurricular activities: low

Letters of recommendation: medium


Personal interview: optional; telephone contact recommended

Tuition and fees

$3,600 per semester for resident tuition and fees (not including tuition/fee exemptions)


 

ADMISSIONS

 

Number of students applying to the human factors/ergonomics program last year

21

Number of students accepted into the program last year

5

Number of students entering the program last year

5

Anticipated number of openings per year for the next two years

6–8


 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

 

Percentage of students in program receiving financial assistance

92%

Amount received per year (minimum – typical – maximum)

$16,250 - $17,000 - $25000

Types of assistance available

Teaching assistantship: partial exemption from tuition and fees; while on half-time appointments, students qualify for in-state tuition rates, benefits, and fee waivers

Research assistantship: partial exemption from tuition and fees; while on half-time appointments, students qualify for in-state tuition rates, benefits, and fee waivers

Fellowships: fellowships of at least $1,000 provide eligibility for in-state tuition rates

When should students apply for financial assistance?

At same time as submitting application for admission


 

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

 

Graduate degrees offered

Terminal MA and PhD

Number of units required

Terminal MA: 36

PhD: 78

Exams required

Terminal MA: none

PhD: qualifying examination

Language requirements

No natural languages required

Research required

Terminal MA: research project required

PhD: oral defense of proposal and dissertation, 3-hour minimum enrollment in research each semester, research project required

Practical experience required

Terminal MA: none

PhD: internships encouraged

Typical number of years required to obtain degree

Terminal MA: 2–2.5 

PhD: 4–5

Is there a non-thesis option at the master's level?

Yes


 

CURRICULUM

 

Required courses (units)

One course from each of the following core areas: Cognitive Bases of Behavior; Biological Bases of Behavior; Social Bases of Behavior (9); Experimental Design (3); Advanced Correlational Methods and Factor Analysis (3); statistics elective (3); Human Factors Psychology (3); Human Factors Methodology (3); Seminar in Perception: Theories and Applications (3); Cognitive Ergonomics (3)

Electives (units)

one elective

Number of courses outside department that are required

Six hours from Industrial Engineering: Ergonomics in Design or Work Physiology

Number of courses outside department that are recommended

3

Average or typical class size in a required course

5–15


 

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

 

Research and support facilities available to students in the program: 

Opportunities and facilities are diverse. Laboratories support studies in driving (including a STI-SIM driving simulator), human-computer interaction (graphical user interface optimization; telerobotics, collaborative robots, human-robot interaction, virtual reality HMDs), human factors in medicine, minimally-invasive surgery (including a laparoscopic surgery trainer), neuroergonomics (e.g., eye tracking, transcranial Doppler sonography, multi-channel fNIRS, EEG, ECG). The university maintains state-of-the-art usability testing and neuroimaging facilities. In addition, the university provides facilities for computer-based and distance instruction, including instruction and support for instructional design.

Teaching opportunities available to students in the program:
Teaching opportunities include undergraduate courses, some as TA and some as instructor of record.

Current research activities and projects being carried out by program faculty and/or students:

Human-computer interaction; human-robot interaction; human factors of cybersecurity; display design for minimally-invasive surgery; stress and workload in laparoscopic and robotic surgery; neuroergonomics of fatigue, workload, and vigilance; human factors in automated driving; applications in transportation and healthcare; affordance perception; hazard detection and collision avoidance in driving; individual and team workload assessment; countermeasures for fatigue and the vigilance decrement; cognitive aging, driving, and workplace safety; perceived risks in virtual environments; cognitive effects of wearable and collaborative robots.

 

STUDENT STATISTICS

 

Current number of active students in program, by gender

8 men, 8 women

Current number of first-year students in program

2

Based on current graduate students in the
program, the mean score on admission tests and undergraduate GPA by degree being sought are

Mean GRE Verbal: 162.4

Mean GRE Quantitative: 158

Mean GRE Analytical: 4.27

Mean Undergraduate GPA: 3.55

Number of current HF/E postdocs

0

Of the number of those graduating in the past year, what percentage gained employment in

Academia: 0%

Industry: 100%

Government: 0%

Faculty-to-student ratio

4 to 16


 

FACULTY

 

HeeSun Choi, PhD 2016, North Carolina State University; attention and age-related declines; safety; human-robot interaction

Eric T. Greenlee, PhD 2015, University of Alabama; neuroergonomics of workload, fatigue, and vigilance; automation (e.g., automated driving); individual and team workload

Keith S. Jones, PhD 2000, University of Cincinnati; human-robot interaction; human factors issues related to cybersecurity, affordance perception

Martina I. Klein, PhD 2008, University of Cincinnati; stress and workload in laparoscopic and robotic surgery, attention restoration, subjective and physiological measures of stress and workload

[Updated March 2024]