Resources

University of Central Florida

Location: Orlando, Florida
Department: Psychology

Quick links:

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 and Cognitive Psychology

Year human factors/ergonomics program was established

1988

Accredited by HFES?

Yes

Contact person for more information, including applications

Mustapha Mouloua, HFC Psychology, University of Central Florida, Psychology Department, Bldg. 99, 339, Orlando, FL 32816-1390; 407/823-2910; mustapha.mouloua@ucf.edu

Catalog (online)

http://www.graduatecatalog.ucf.edu

Academic calendar

Semester

Human factors/ergonomics graduate degrees offered

PhD

Goals, objectives, and emphasis of the program

This program is patterned after the scientist-practitioner model of the American Psychological Association. It adheres to the guidelines established by the Committee for Education and Training of APA's Division 21 (Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology). Students receive training in the content and techniques of human factors psychology, including statistical quantitative procedures, experimental design, survey methods, computer techniques, and other research methodologies. In addition, students must select a concentration area. The concentration may be in human-computer interaction, team performance and training, visual performance, human factors in transportation systems , Human-robot interaction, cognitive aging and assistive technologies, or other areas of interest with the adviser's approval. A dissertation representing a significant research contribution to the field is required. The program seeks to develop the capacity to design, conduct, and apply human factors research in a variety of professional settings. Consequently, a variety of research, consulting, and internship arrangements are included in the program.

 

The primary purpose of the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology (HFC) Ph.D. Program is to support the UCF institutional mission of offering the best graduate education available. Also, this doctoral program aims and functions to prepare the students to be successful not only in obtaining their degree but also be able to acquire the necessary skills to be competitive in the job markets such as  academia, industry, consulting, and government. The model of the HFC psychology doctoral program follows the well-established “Scientist-Practitioner” approach with the acquisition of human factors principles based on broad knowledge in applied-experimental and cognitive psychology as well as strong foundations and skills in research comprehension and implementation. Graduates will be able to apply their training to the design and evaluation of human-machine systems in academia, industry, government, consulting, etc. A Master’s degree is available en route to the Ph.D. degree, if the student so chooses and has not used the course credits for another Masters such as those in IEMS or M&S. There is no terminal Master’s Program per se, and all outcome data pertain to the doctoral program in HFC Psychology. The Human Factors students, faculty members, and business partners in the Research Park and greater Central Florida area are considered as major stakeholders in the doctoral program.

Number of degrees granted during last 3 years

 29

Can students attend part-time?

No

Are required courses offered during summer?

Yes

Does the university have an HFES student chapter?

Yes


 

APPLICATION PROCESS

 

Application deadline

January 15

Application fee

$30


 

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

 

Minimum requirements

GPA: 3.75 (avg)

GRE: 306 v + q (avg)
The GRE is currently not required due COVID-19. It may be required again in the next couple of years.
Other: Bachelor's degree with courses in statistical psychology and in the general area of experimental psychology; courses in research methodology calculus and in computer programming. 

Importance of other criteria as admission factors

Research: high

Work experience: medium 

Letters: high 

Interview: low

Tuition and fees

Resident: $369.65/hour

Nonresident: $1,94.05/hour


 

ADMISSIONS

 

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

41

Number of students accepted into the program last year

6

Number of students entering the program last year

5

Anticipated number of openings per year for the next two years

8


 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

 

Percentage of students in program receiving financial assistance

100%

Amount received per year

$21,150/year

Types of assistance available

Fellowship, TA, RA, scholarship, not tuition exempt

When should students apply for financial assistance?

Before submitting application


 

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

 

Graduate degrees offered

PhD

Number of units required

75 semester hours

Exams required

 

Language requirements

None

Research required

Yes

Practical experience required

 

Typical number of years required to obtain degree

5.5


 

CURRICULUM

 

Required courses (units)

Human Factors I, II, III (9), Advanced Research Methodology I, II, III (12), Human Cognition and Learning (3), Physiological Psychology (3), Sensation and Perception (3), Human Performance (3), Advanced Human-Computer Interaction (3), Human Factors Professional Issues (3), Visual Performance (3),

Electives (units)

Multi-Media System (3), Institutional System Design (3), Ergonomics in High Tech (3), Animation in CBI (3), Ergonomics (3), Organizational Psychology I (3), Advanced Social Psychology (3). HFC students need just 18 credit hours of electives.

Number of courses outside department that are required

 

Number of courses outside department that are recommended

15 (doctoral dissertation credit hours)

Average or typical class size in a required course

8


 

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

 

Research and support facilities available to students in the program: 

Research and support facilities are available on campus in the Psychology Department as well as in other departments, such as Computer Science and Engineering. Facilities are also available in a research park adjacent to the university. On-campus facilities include the Team Performance Lab, the Visual Performance Lab, Transportation Research Group Laboratories with 2 connected GE Patrol iSim fixed platform driving simulators, consisting of a 150-degree, triple-monitor display of the simulated driving environments, , and UCF IMMERSE Lab which allows researchers to combine virtual, augmented, and mixed reality with a robust suite of neurophysiological recording tools to study people working together in environments ranging from the lab, to mixed reality, to virtual reality, to the real world.  The lab provides access to a VR projection system, four HMD VR systems which can be fully integrated to construct shared environments, four Magic leap AR systems, a Collins-Aerospace Coalescence MR system, four Tobii Live Pro Glasses 2 mobile eye tracking systems, four BioNomadix portable physiological measurement systems, and three CGC Mobile-64 EEG systems. All systems can be combined to capture a comprehensive perspective of human behavior across different environments, tasks, and social settings.

  • Four automobile driving simulators 
  • three eye trackers 
  • 30 video cameras,  
  • a virtual reality system for desensitization therapy,  
  • A Noldus Behavioral Observation and Analysis Lab system along with (1) The Observer XT 9.0 with Video Module for the recording of multiple video files, and (2) several Mindware/Biopac systems for the recording of physiological data. Those separate data streams are synchronized for detailed and simultaneous capture of behavioral and physiological data analysis 
  • Program faculty have two fNIRS and three eye tracking systems. 
  • Audiovisual and Psychophysiological Mindware Laboratory System  

 UCF  the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers. Excellent simulation, training, and virtual environment capabilities are available through the Institute for Simulation and Training in conjunction with other job and internship opportunities at U.S. Patrick Air Force Base, NASA, Lockheed Martin Corp., Walt Disney Theme Parks, Design Interactive, SoarTech,  U.S. Army, Navy labs, etc. Private research organizations in the area also provide facilities to students. Graduate student office space is available through Psychology Department facilities.

Teaching opportunities available to students in the program:
Students are trained to perform in the classroom and to give professional presentations in industrial and government settings. To facilitate this training, teaching positions for a variety of undergraduate psychology classes are available through the Psychology Department, as well as through local community colleges. Before a student accepts a teaching position in the department, he or she must complete a mandatory teaching seminar as part of the offered curriculum. Departmental teaching positions are competitive and provide excellent experience. All students are encouraged to pursue them.

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

The HFC faculty are actively involved in conducting both basic and applied research a wide variety of human-Machine systems. Some of the research programs include team performance with complex industrial and military systems, group decision making, performance assessment and devices for people with advancing age or disabilities, human factors concerns in aging, display interfaces within flight management systems, flight training systems, visual-vestibular interaction with simulator systems and virtual environments in driving, automation-induced complacency in highly automated systems, alarms and warnings for interface designs, task allocation within automated systems requiring supervisory behavior, synthetic speech comprehension in high-workload environments, attenti0n and  performance within various transportation systems, driver distraction, and human-robot interaction. Below is a list of core faculty members and description of their projects:

Dr. Corey Bohil left his position in our program in Summer 2023 and is currently a Professor of Psychology at Lawrence Technological University. Prior to that, he was a Professor in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology program in the Department of Psychology. He received his B.S. in psychology from Michigan State University, his M.A. in cognitive psychology from Arizona State University, and his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the University of Illinois Psychology Department's quantitative division, he worked as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies & Media at Michigan State University. His research focuses on cognitive processes related to decision making and classification, along with applied research related to human-technology interaction for improving training and performance. His work makes use of computational modeling, virtual and mixed-reality technologies, physiological measurement, and cortical neuroimaging. (No longer at UCF).

 

Dr. Peter Hancock, Director of the MIT2 Research Laboratories

Research Areas: Attention, Workload, and Stress, Time Perception, Human Factors Issues in Transportation Systems, Accident Analysis, human-automation interaction. Dr. Hancock is Provost Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Simulation and Training, as well as at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems at the University of Central Florida (UCF). His current experimental work concerns the evaluation of behavioral response to high-stress conditions, while his theoretical work concerns cultural influences on perception and action and also human relations with technology and the possible futures of this latter symbiosis. He has been continuously funded by extramural sources for every one of the twenty-nine years of his professional career, including support from NASA, NSF, NIH, NIA, FAA, FHWA, DARPA, the US Navy, Army and Air Force as well as numerous State and Industrial agencies. He was the Principal Investigator on a Multi-Disciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI), in which he directed $5 Million of funded research on stress, workload, and performance, which was the first MURI in behavioral science ever awarded by the US Army. Dr. Hancock is a Fellow and past President of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and Fellow and past President of the Society of Engineering Psychologists as well as a former Chair of the Board of the Society for Human Performance in Extreme Environments.

Laboratory: http://www.mit.ucf.edu/

 

Dr. Florian Jentsch, Director of Team Performance Laboratory

Research Areas: Dr. Jentsch conducts research on team performance, pilot training, perceptual training, and human-automation/autonomy interaction. While at UCF, Dr. Jentsch has participated in numerous externally funded grants/contracts from agencies and organizations such as the U.S. Department of Defense (Air Force Office of Scientific Research [AFOSR], Army Research Laboratory [ARL], Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA], NAWC-TSD, Office of Naval Research [ONR], Office of the Secretary of Defense [OSD]), the Dept of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]), Dept of Transportation (Federal Aviation Administration [FAA]), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Most recently (2023-24), Dr. Jentsch has been Principal Investigator (PI) on an FAA-funded project investigating modern training technologies, including extended reality (XR), for pilot training, co-PI on a DARPA-funded project on artificial social intelligence for teams, and co-PI on a project investigating team cognition and performance for the U.S. Space Force. His methodologies combine qualitative and quantitative analysis of open-source materials with empirical studies in the laboratory and in the field.

Laboratory: https://www.ist.ucf.edu/labs/TPL/

 

 

Dr. Nichole Lighthall, Director of the Adult Development and Decision Laboratory

 

Research Areas: The goal of Dr. Lighthall’s research is to develop a neural model of decision processing in human aging that can be used to identify age-related vulnerabilities and pathways to compensation. The Lighthall Lab utilizes an array of methodological approaches including experiments, biomarker sampling, computational modeling, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Her work is supported by NIH, DOD, and the Florida Department of Health. She currently serves as the lead PI for the Florida Consortium to Reduce Misinformation and Exploitation in Alzheimer’s Disease. She also Co-Directs the NIA-funded Scientific Research Network on Decision Neuroscience & Aging.

Laboratory: http://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/lighthalllab/

 

Dr. Mustapha Mouloua, Director of Transportation Research Group (TRG) Laboratories

Research Areas: Human Performance in Automated and Autonomous Systems, Human Factors in Simulation and Training, Older Driver Assessment, Aggressive driving Behavior, Driver distraction, and Cognitive Aging. His recent funded research projects include In-Vehicle Sensors to Detect Cognitive Change in Older Drivers (NIH/NIA), Human Factors Study on the Use and Effectiveness of Innovative Safety Messages on Dynamic Messages Signs (FDOT)., Robot Compromise: Inner Speech, Trust, and Conflict Resolution in Human-Autonomy Teaming. US Air Force, Human Factors Study on the Use of Colors for Express Lane Delineators (FDOT). His TRG Lab is equipped with 2 connected GE Patrol iSim fixed platform driving simulators, consisting of a 150-degree, triple-monitor display of the simulated driving environments, eye tracking systems, desktop flight simulators, as well as various equipment to record and analyze EEG waveforms and ERP components, GSR, Heart Rate Variability, etc. Current projects focus on enhancing surface, aviation, and aerospace transportation safety and efficiency through applied research, design validation, and training systems support. The TRG laboratory has three divisions: surface transportation, aviation/aerospace, and neurolinguistics. Each division is comprised of both graduate and undergraduate students and supervised by Dr. Mustapha Mouloua. Laboratory: https://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/trg/

 

Dr. Mark Neider, Director of Applied Cognition and Aging Lab

Research Areas: Attention, Visual Cognition, Perception, Skill Acquisition and Transfer of Training, Cognitive Aging, Distraction, Driving, and Cybersecurity. His research focuses on understanding human perception and cognition in realistic contexts, and then using that understanding to develop training interventions and technological innovations for improving human performance in real world tasks and environments. Neider’s lab studies behavior across the age spectrum, from pre-adolescent children to the elderly. His lab utilizes a number of research methodologies including traditional behavioral paradigms, advanced eye tracking methods, driving simulation, and virtual reality. Neider’s lab studies behavior across the age spectrum, from pre-adolescent children to the elderly.

Laboratory: https://www.markneider.com/

Dr. Nelson Roque left his position in our program in Summer 2023 and is currently an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Pennsylvania State University. Prior to that, was an Assistant Professor in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology program in the Department of Psychology. Dr. Roque earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Florida State University. He completed his postdoc at the Penn State's Center for Healthy Aging. His research focuses on the temporal stability of visual attention and its relation to situational and environmental factors, through the use of an ecological momentary assessment design and burst measurement techniques. Dr. Roque was the Director of the Context Laboratory.

Dr. Joseph Schmidt, Director of the Attention and Memory Laboratory

Research Areas: Dr. Schmidt’s research focuses on the interaction of memory and attention. He has investigated how memory for visually complex, real-world objects and scenes impacts our eye movements and, thus, our allocation of attention as we interact with the world. Likewise, he has also investigated how our eye movements affect our memory of objects and scenes. By integrating eye tracking with EEG, he has investigated the behavioral, oculomotor, and neural instantiations of visual working memory, long-term memory, and attentional processes to gain insights into how these processes are integrated into our broader cognitive function. Dr. Schmidt’s research focuses on the interaction of memory and attention. He has investigated how memory for visually complex, real-world objects and scenes impacts our eye movements and, thus, our allocation of attention as we interact with the world. Likewise, he has also investigated how our eye movements affect our memory of objects and scenes. By integrating eye tracking with EEG, he has investigated the behavioral, oculomotor, and neural instantiations of visual working memory, long-term memory, and attentional processes to gain insights into how these processes are integrated into our broader cognitive function. His lab is currently working on a wide range of projects that include, establishing digital biomarkers of usability, the use of relative position information (object x is to the left of object y) in visual search, the neural markers of subsequent search misses in radiographic examinations (after detecting one abnormality, why are radiologists disproportionately more likely to miss additional abnormalities relative to when those abnormalities appear alone), how expectations affect visual search performance, and how expectations affect AI usage and learning.

Laboratory: http://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/awmlab/

 

Dr. Valerie Sims, Director of the Applied Cognition and Technology (ACAT) Laboratory. Her research interests center around human understanding of non-human intelligence, particularly as displayed by robots, companion animals, and chatbots. She also is interested in individual differences and their effects on learning and responses to warnings. 

Laboratory: https://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/acat 

 

Dr. Janan Smither, Director of the Aging and Technology Laboratory. Smither’s areas of interest are in technology and aging. She is interested in conducting research investigating the use and design of technologies for an aging population. Research in her lab encompasses a wide range of fields, primarily including human factors psychology, cognitive psychology, modeling and simulation, psychometrics, computer science, aging sciences, and anthropology. Although this list is not exhaustive, our research focuses on user research, social robots, social perception, and loneliness. 

Laboratory: https://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/tal/

 

 

Dr. James Szalma, Director of the Performance and Research Laboratory

Research Areas: The theme for Dr. Szalma’s laboratory, PERLAB, is to empirically examine how variations in task characteristics interact with the characteristics of the person (i.e., cognitive abilities, personality, emotion, motivation) to influence performance, workload, and stress of cognitively demanding tasks. His primary research interests include signal/threat detection (e.g., friend/foe identification), training for threat detection, and how the characteristics of tasks and operators interact to influence performance in the context of tasks that require sustained attention or that include human-automation interaction. He has conducted research on the application of tasks created in a video game environment to train sustained attention using feedback in the form of knowledge of results, work that was funded by the Army Research Institute. Dr. Szalma also conducts research on the influence of motivation on performance and human-technology interaction (social media use), and on the influence of social context on performance, workload, and stress associated with monitoring tasks. He has also conducted research on the validity of Fuzzy Signal Detection Theory for performance evaluation in threat detection tasks.

Laboratory: http://perl.cos.ucf.edu

 

STUDENT STATISTICS

 

Current number of active students in program, by gender

23 women, 10 men

Current number of first-year students in program

5

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

GRE 306 average, GPA 3.75

GRE is not currently required. This may change in the future!

 

FACULTY

     

 

 
 

Peter Hancock, PhD 1983, U. Illinois; stress and performance, Human-automation interaction, simulation and training, Driver distraction 

 

Florian Jentsch, PhD 1997, U. of Central Florida; team performance, aviation psychology, human-robot interaction.

Nichole Lighthall, PhD  2012, University of Southern California.; stress effects on learning and decision making in younger and older adults, development of neural model of decision processing in human aging that can be used to identify age-related vulnerabilities and pathways to compensation.

Mustapha Mouloua, PhD 1992, Catholic U. America; Automation and human performance in automated and autonomous system, Aging and driving, Attention, and workload, aviation psychology, usability engineering .

Mark Neider, PhD 2006, Stoney Brook U.; visual performance, driver distraction, cybersecurity, virtual reality

Joseph Schmidt, PhD 2012, Stony Brook U.; visual search, memory, attentional systems, psychophysiology. Dr. Schmidt’s research focuses on the interaction of memory and attention. He has investigated how memory for visually complex, real-world objects and scenes impacts our eye movements and, thus, our allocation of attention as we interact with the world. Likewise, he has also investigated how our eye movements affect our memory of objects and scenes.

 

 

Valerie Sims, PhD 1996, UC Santa Barbara; applied cognitive , memory, learning, human robot interaction.

 

Janan Al-Awar Smither, PhD 1985, Johns Hopkins U.; aging and technology, aging and driving, Human-robot interaction .

 

James Szalma, PhD 1999, U. of Cincinnati; individual differences, stress and human performance, vigilance.

_______________________________________________________________

 

RETIRED EMERITUS PROFESSORS

 

 

David Abbott, aviation psychology, quantitative methods  

Richard D. Gilson, PhD 1968, Princeton U.; information processing, aviation psychology, flight training systems

Ben Morgan, PhD 1968, U. of Louisville; team training

Edward J. Rinalducci, PhD 1966, U. Rochester, Visual performance, Aging and Driving

Eduardo Salas, PhD 1984, Old Dominion U.; teams and training effectiveness,

[Updated March 4, 2024]