PROGRAM BACKGROUND

Title of program

Human Factors (MS, PhD)

Year human factors/ergonomics program was established

1969

Accredited by HFES?

No

Contact person for more information, including applications

Caroline Cao, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02115; 617/627-3239; caroline.cao@tufts.edu

Catalog (free)

Graduate Application Office, 120 Packard Ave., Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155;
http://sites.tufts.edu/hfes

Academic calendar

Semester

Human factors/ergonomics graduate degrees offered

MS and PhD

Goals, objectives, and emphasis of the program

Engineering and research oriented, with emphasis on medical product and interface design, complex human-machine systems. Design or design research dissertation.

Number of degrees granted during last 3 years

MS 8

Can students attend part-time?

Yes

Are required courses offered through distance learning?

No

Are required courses offered during summer?

Infrequently

Does the university have an HFES student chapter?

APPLICATION PROCESS

Application deadlines

October 15 (spring), February 15 (fall)

Application fee

$50

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Minimum requirements

GPA: MS 3.5

GRE: recommended 

Other: undergraduate degree in engineering or computer science, PhD students must be engineering undergraduates

Importance of other criteria as admission factors

Research:high

Work experience: medium 

Letters: high 

Interview: high

Tuition and fee

Resident/nonresident: $3,400/year 
Part-time: $2,700/course

ADMISSIONS

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

5

Number of students accepted into the program last year

2

Anticipated number of openings per year

Varies

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Percentage of students in program receiving financial assistance

100%

Amount received per year

Tuition remission + stipend (minimum $1,556/month)

Types of assistance available

fellowship, TA, RA, scholarship, plus tuition exempt

When should students apply for financial assistance?

With application

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

MS and PhD

Number of units required

MS: 10 units including 8 courses, seminar attendance, proposal, research (2 units), and oral defense of thesis

PhD: 20 units including 5 courses, seminar attendance, oral qualifying exam, 2 seminars, research, and oral defense of dissertation

Exams required

MS: oral defense of thesis 

PhD: oral qualifying exam, oral defense of dissertation

Language requirements

None

Research required

MS: 2 units

PhD: yes

Practical experience required

None

Typical number of years required to obtain degree

MS: maximum 5 years 

PhD: maximum 7 years

Is there a non-thesis option?

No

CURRICULUM

Required courses (units)

MS: (programs and courses are ordinarily determined after interview with student): HF in Product Design, Human-Machine System Design, Research & Analytical Methods in HF, Advanced Probability and Statistics I & II, User Interface Design 

PhD: courses determined by background and dissertation topic, with breadth in 2 subdisciplines and mathematical preparation

Number of courses outside department that are required

4

Number of courses outside department that are recommended

0

Average or typical class size in a required course

less than 10

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

Research and support facilities available to students in the program: 

Software, hardware, computational labs, machine shops

Teaching opportunities available to students in the program:
TA/RA sometimes available; human factors courses

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

HF in medical systems with focus on endoscopic applications, spatial visualization and control in remote environments, information visualization, decision making in the OR

STUDENT STATISTICS

Current number of active students in program, by gender

1 man, 6 women

Current number of first-year students in program

1

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

MS: GRE n/a, GPA 4.0

FACULTY

Caroline Cao, PhD 2002, U. Toronto; mechanical and industrial engineering, HF