Location: Moscow, Idaho
Department: Psychology
Quick links:
Directory of Graduate Programs
Title of program
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Experimental psychology with an emphasis in human factors
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Primary department sponsoring program
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Psychology & Communication
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Year human factors/ergonomics program was established
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Master's program was established in 1984; PhD was added in 2014.
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Accredited by HFES?
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Master's program is accredited by HFES.
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Contact person for more information, including applications
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Todd Thorsteinson
University of Idaho
Department of Psychology & Communication
208-885-6324; hfactors@uidaho.edu
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Web site
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https://www.uidaho.edu/class/psychcomm/
graduate
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Academic calendar
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Semester
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Human factors/ergonomics graduate degrees offered
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MS, PhD
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Goals, objectives, and emphasis of the program
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The program stresses both theoretical research and practical application to human factors problems. We provide students with a strong background in human factors psychology to prepare them for positions in industry and academia. Current areas of faculty interest include pedestrian safety, human-computer interaction, virtual environments and simulation, navigation, interconnectedness of thought and action, neuro-ergonomics, and visual display design.
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Number of degrees granted during last 3 years
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36 MS, 3 PhD
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Can students attend part-time?
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No for on-campus program; yes, for online MS program
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Are required courses offered through distance learning?
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Students can complete a master's degree via distance. All courses are available online; each course is typically offered once a year.
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Are required courses offered at night?
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No
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Are required courses offered during summer?
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No
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Does the university have an HFES student chapter?
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No
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Application deadlines
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February 15 for master's program; January 15 for PhD
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Are separate applications required for university and department?
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No
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Application fees
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$50
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Minimum requirements
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Grade point average (last 4 yrs: A = 4.0): 3.0
GRE combined: 300
GRE Verbal: 150
GRE Quantitative: 150
Other: intro to statistics (recommended), research methods (recommended)
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Importance of other criteria as admission factors
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Previous research activity: high
Relevant work experience: low
Extracurricular activities: low
Letters of recommendation: high
Personal interview: N/A
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Tuition and fees
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$5,274 per semester (Idaho residents and out-of-state students taking all online courses); $14,892 per semester (non-Idaho residents)
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Number of students applying to the human factors/ergonomics
program last year
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44
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Number of students accepted into the program last year
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18
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Number of students entering the program last year
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8
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Anticipated number of openings per year for the next two years
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8 MS, 0 PhD
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Percentage of students in program receiving financial assistance
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100% (of on-campus students)
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Amount received per year
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On-campus MS & PhD students: $15,930 over academic year; all tuition waived
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Types of assistance available
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Teaching assistantship (tuition exempt)
Research assistantship (tuition not exempt)
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When should students apply for financial assistance?
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All on-campus applicants are considered for assistantships.
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Graduate degrees offered
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MS and PhD
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Number of units required
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MS: 30 credits
PhD: 78 credits
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Exams required
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MS: none
PhD: oral defense of thesis; preliminary exam; and oral defense of dissertation
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Language requirements
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None
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Research required
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MS: thesis (optional)
PhD: thesis and dissertation
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Practical experience required
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None
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Typical number of years required to obtain degree
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MS: 2–3; PhD: 5-6
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Is there a non-thesis option?
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Yes
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Required courses (units)
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Human Factors in Engineering Design (3), Engineering Psychology (3), Research Methods (3), Advanced Research Methods (3), Human-Computer Interaction (3), Ergonomics and Biomechanics (3), Advanced Human Factors (3), , Sensation and Perception (3)
All of these courses are available online.
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Number of courses outside department that are required
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None
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Number of courses outside department that are recommended
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1
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Average or typical class size in a required course
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– 8-20
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RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES
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Research and support facilities available to students in the program:
Our laboratories span basic research in perception, cognition, and motor control to highly applied problems in transportation and human-computer interaction. The research tools available to students (3 eye-tracking systems, 3 motion tracking systems, 2 head-mounted VE systems, , a high-fidelity driving simulator, and sensors for physiological measurement) are world-class.
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Teaching opportunities available to students in the program:
Teaching opportunities available to students in the program: Students serve as teaching assistants for a variety of classes (e.g., intro to psychology; research methods). Following the completion of their MS, students have the opportunity to teach classes in the department.
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Current research activities and projects being carried out by program faculty and/or students:
Virtual environments and simulation, aviation psychology, pedestrian safety, navigation, visual display design, human-computer interaction, neuro-ergonomics, decision making
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Current number of active students in program, by gender
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18 men, 22 women
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Current number of first-year students in program
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8
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Based on current graduate students in the program,
the mean score on admission tests and undergraduate
GPA by degree being sought are
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MS:
Mean GRE Verbal: 155
Mean GRE Quantitative: 156
Mean GRE Analytical: 4.0
Mean GRE Combined: 311
Mean undergraduate GPA:
3.40
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Number of current HF/E postdocs
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0
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Of the number of those graduating in the past
year, what percentage gained employment in
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Academia: 0%
Industry: 100%
Government: 0%
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Faculty-to-student ratio
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1 to 8
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Benjamin Barton, PhD 2005, University of Alabama at Birmingham; risk factors for unintentional injuries, injury prevention
Rajal Cohen, PhD 2008, Pennsylvania State University; cognitive and neural factors, posture and mobility, executive function in motor planning
Tianfang Han, PhD 2023, Purdue University; attention and cognitive control, alertness and temporal preparation, stimulus-response compatibility, driving behavior
Dawn Sweet, PhD 2008, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; movement patterns / object concealment; nonverbal behaviors and aggression; use of force; deception detection
Todd Thorsteinson, PhD 1998, Bowling Green State University; judgment and decision-making, industrial-organizational psychology
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Steffen Werner, PhD 1994 (emeritus), University of Göttingen; spatial cognition, visual cognition, neuro-ergonomics
[Updated February 2024]