Resources

University of Idaho

Location: Moscow, Idaho
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

Experimental psychology with an emphasis in human factors

Primary department sponsoring program

Psychology & Communication

Year human factors/ergonomics program was established

Master's program was established in 1984; PhD was added in 2014.

Accredited by HFES?

Master's program is accredited by HFES.

Contact person for more information, including applications

 Todd Thorsteinson
University of Idaho
Department of Psychology & Communication  
208-885-6324; hfactors@uidaho.edu

Web site

https://www.uidaho.edu/class/psychcomm/
graduate

Academic calendar

Semester

Human factors/ergonomics graduate degrees offered

MS, PhD

Goals, objectives, and emphasis of the program

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.

Number of degrees granted during last 3 years

 36 MS, 3 PhD

Can students attend part-time?

No for on-campus program; yes, for online MS program

Are required courses offered through distance learning?

Students can complete a master's degree via distance. All courses are available online; each course is typically offered once a year.

Are required courses offered at night?

 No

Are required courses offered during summer?

No

Does the university have an HFES student chapter?

No


 

APPLICATION PROCESS

 

Application deadlines

February 15 for master's program; January 15 for PhD

Are separate applications required for university and department?

No

Application fees

 $50


 

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

 

Minimum requirements

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) 

Importance of other criteria as admission factors

Previous research activity: high

Relevant work experience: low

Extracurricular activities: low

Letters of recommendation: high

Personal interview: N/A

Tuition and fees

 $5,274 per semester (Idaho residents and out-of-state students taking all online courses); $14,892 per semester (non-Idaho residents)


 

ADMISSIONS

 

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

 44

Number of students accepted into the program last year

 18

Number of students entering the program last year

 8

Anticipated number of openings per year for the next two years

 8 MS,  0  PhD


 

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

 

Percentage of students in program receiving financial assistance

100% (of on-campus students)

Amount received per year

On-campus MS & PhD students:  $15,930 over academic year; all tuition waived  

 

Types of assistance available


Teaching assistantship (tuition exempt)
Research assistantship (tuition not exempt)

When should students apply for financial assistance?

All on-campus applicants are considered for assistantships.


 

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

 

Graduate degrees offered

MS and PhD

Number of units required

MS: 30 credits

PhD: 78 credits

Exams required

MS: none

PhD: oral defense of thesis; preliminary exam; and oral defense of dissertation

Language requirements

None

Research required

MS: thesis (optional)

PhD: thesis and dissertation

Practical experience required

None

Typical number of years required to obtain degree

MS: 2–3; PhD: 5-6

Is there a non-thesis option?

Yes


 

CURRICULUM

 

Required courses (units)

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.

Number of courses outside department that are required

None

Number of courses outside department that are recommended

1

Average or typical class size in a required course

– 8-20


 

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

 

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.

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.

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

 

STUDENT STATISTICS

 

Current number of active students in program, by gender

 18 men,   22 women

Current number of first-year students in program

 8

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

MS:

Mean GRE Verbal:  155
Mean GRE Quantitative:  156
Mean GRE Analytical: 4.0
Mean GRE Combined:  311

Mean undergraduate GPA:
3.40

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

1 to 8


 

FACULTY

 

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

 

Steffen Werner, PhD 1994 (emeritus), University of Göttingen; spatial cognition, visual cognition, neuro-ergonomics

 

[Updated February 2024]