PROGRAM BACKGROUND

Title of program

Human Factors Psychology concentration within the Psychology Program

Year human factors/ergonomics program was established

2008

Accredited by HFES?

Yes

Contact person for more information, including applications

Nicholas Kelling, University of Houston-Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, TX 77058, 281/283-3443; kelling@uhcl.edu

Catalog (free)

Office of Admissions, 2700 Bay Area Blvd, Box 13, Houston, TX 77058

Website

https://www.uhcl.edu/academics/degrees/psychology-ms-human-factors-concentration 

Academic calendar

Semester

Human factors/ergonomics graduate degrees offered

MS

Goals, objectives, and emphasis of the program

Through a two-year integrated sequence of coursework, practicum, research, and hands-on activities, UHCL'S Human Factors Psychology Sub-plan is designed to focus provides students with a well-rounded foundation in: psychology, the user-centered design process, and methods used to evaluate human-machine interfaces. Students will obtain basic competency in perception, cognition, judgment/decision making, and information processing systems as well as how to apply this knowledge to the design of the Human-Machine interface. Practicum and research experiences will be provided in laboratory and industrial settings. UHCL has one of the few Master's centered programs explicitly designed to prepare people to work in industry upon graduation. The UHCL program is also well situated in the City of Houston to provide excellent internship opportunities with NASA-Johnson Space Center as well as energy and computing industries.

Can students attend part-time?

Yes

Are required courses offered through distance learning?

No

Are required courses offered at night?

Typically; 4:00–6:50 p.m. or 7:00–9:50 p.m.

Are required courses offered during summer?

Yes

Does the university have an HFES student chapter?

APPLICATION PROCESS

Application deadline

Fall admissions only - February 1 (early review), May 1 (final review)

Application fees

$35 for domestic applicants; $75 for international applicants

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Minimum requirements

Introduction to Psychology, Statistics

Importance of other criteria as admission factors

Research: Medium, work experience: medium, extracurricular activities: low, letters of recommendation: high, interview: N/A 

Tuition and fees

Resident: $4,710 per semester, Nonresident: $9,408 per semester

ADMISSIONS

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

20

Number of students accepted into the program last year

10

Number of students entering the program last year

6

Anticipated number of openings per year for the next two years

20

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Percentage of students in program receiving financial assistance

25%

Amount received per year

Variant depending on type

Types of assistance available

Teaching assistantship, research assistantship (sometimes tuition reducing), and traineeships with industry partners 

When should students apply for financial assistance?

After being accepted into the program. 

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Master's of Science in Psychology

Number of units required

42

Exams required

None

Language requirements

None

Research required

Master's thesis or 500-hour internship required 

Typical number of years required to obtain degree

2

Is there a non-thesis option?

Internship option

CURRICULUM

Required Courses:

Experimental and Non Experimental Design and Statistics (2 courses req), Sensation and Perception (req), Advanced Cognitive and Affective Psychology (req), Learning Principles/Advanced Social Psychology/Biological Basis (2 of 3 req), Human Factors Engineering (req), Research Topics in Applied Cognitive Psychology (2 courses req), User-Centered Design (req), Practicum in Human Factors Psychology (req)

Elective Courses: 

Training and Development, Programming with Visual Basic, Ergonomics and Workplace Design, Ergonomics Methods and Analysis, Web Design, Technical Foundation of Digital Media, Game Design and Development, Qualitative Research Methods (1 req)

Number of ccourses outside the department that are required:

None

Number of courses outside the department that are recommended: 

1

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

Research and support facilities available to students in the program: 

Research facilities in the UHCL Human Factors Program allow for expansive research and training opportunities. A full usability lab allows for product testing, focus groups, and interviews. Game development space provides the capacity to build and test testing software, experimental games, and serious games/simulations. The program also runs a VR/AR testing suite, physiological testing including sEMG, GSR, and HRV, motion capture systems, and multiple computer testing stations. 

Teaching opportunities available to students in the program:
Teaching assistant positions

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

Development, implementation, and testing of VR and AR systems for psychomotor and cognitive task training and informal learning in museum/education environments. Serious game research includes investigations of the impact of games on judgement and decision making and in the education of university level studies.

STUDENT STATISTICS

Current number of active students in program, by gender

Men: 3; Women: 7; Prefer to not self identify: 2

Current number of first-year students in program

6

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

GRE: N/A; GPA: 3.5

Academia 0%, Industry 5%, Government: 1%

FACULTY

Nicholas Kelling, PhD, 2009 Georgia Institute of Technology. HFES Member

Specializations: VR/AR/XR perceptual interactions, VR Training, and use of technology in environments where education and entertainment goals coexist.

Steven Sutherland, PhD, 2012 Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. HFES Member

Specializations: Judgement and decision making and Serious games and simulation.