PROGRAM BACKGROUND

Title of program

Industrial and Systems Engineering – HFE 

Year human factors/ergonomics program was established

1972

Accredited by HFES?

Yes

Contact person for more information, including applications

Hannah S. Parks 
Virginia Tech Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering 
239 Durham Hall, MC 0118, 1145 Perry Street, Blacksburg, VA 24061 
540-231-5586; hsswiger@vt.edu

Web site

https://ise.vt.edu/academics/graduate.html

Academic calendar

Semester

Human factors/ergonomics graduate degrees offered

MS, MENG, PhD

Goals, objectives, and emphasis of the program

Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics (HFEE) at VT is concerned with ways of designing jobs, machines, operations, and work environments so they are compatible with human capacities and limitations. The breadth of the field is emphasized, as HFEE researchers and practitioners are called upon both to apply existing human performance knowledge to the design or modification of equipment and also to generate new experimental data required for design. Accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Number of degrees granted during last 3 years

44

Can students attend part-time?

Yes

Are required courses offered through distance learning?

No

Are required courses offered at night?

No

Are required courses offered during summer?

No

Does the university have an HFES student chapter?

APPLICATION PROCESS

Application deadlines

January 16 (fall), September 1 (spring)

Are separate applications required for university and department?

No

Application fee

$75

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Minimum requirements

Grade point average (last 4 yrs: A = 4.0): 3.0

GRE combined: N/A
GRE Verbal: 146
GRE Quantitative: 151
GRE Analytical: 3.0

Importance of other criteria as admission factors

Previous research activity: high

Relevant work experience: high

Extracurricular activities: low

Letters of recommendation:  high

Tuition and fees

In-State – $7,986.00

Out-of-State – $15,244.50

ADMISSIONS

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

62

Number of students accepted into the program last year

32

Number of students entering the program last year

14

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Percentage of students in program receiving financial assistance

50% overall, nearly all PhD students 

Amount received per year

$33,000 – $35,000 (includes in-state tuition) 

Types of assistance available

Teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and graduate fellowships (all include in-state tuition)

When should students apply for financial assistance?

At the same time as submitting application for admission; all applicants are considered for financial assistance.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

MENG (non-thesis), MS (thesis), and PhD

MENG (non-thesis)

Number of units required

MEng (non-thesis): 31 credit hours

MS (thesis): 31 credit hours (21 coursework hours)

PhD: 91 credit hours (36 coursework hours)

Exams required

MS (non-thesis): none 

MS (thesis): oral defense of thesis

PhD: preliminary exam (1 written and 1 oral), oral dissertation defense 

Language requirements

Minimum TOEFL requirement for international students is 90 with at least a score of 20 on each subsection. TOEFL waived for BS or MS received at US university.

MENG (non-thesis)

Research required

MS (non-thesis): none

MS (thesis): thesis research – 10 hours 

PhD: dissertation research – 30 hours

Practical experience required

None

MENG (non-thesis)

Typical number of years required to obtain degree

MS (non-thesis): 1.5

MS (thesis): 2

PhD: 5 post BS, 4 post MS

Is there a non-thesis option?

MENG Degree is non-thesis

CURRICULUM

Required courses (units)

ISE Seminar, ISE 5604 Human Information Processing, ISE 5605 Human Factors System Design I, ISE 5614 Human Physical Capabilities, ISE 5615 Human Factors Research Design 

Number of courses outside department that are required

None

Number of courses outside department that are recommended

3+

Average or typical class size in a required course

10–15

RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

Research and support facilities available to students in the program: 

The HFEE program is a consortium of state-of-the-art, faculty-directed laboratories: Auditory Systems Lab, Cognitive Engineering for Novel Technologies Lab, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Labs, Cognitive System Engineering Lab; Mind, Machine, and Music Lab; Healthy Work Design Lab, and Safety Engineering Lab. In addition, students often work at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. Other facilities include those normally found at a major University and include dedicated multimedia classroom space, computer laboratories, libraries and faculty and student office space.

Teaching opportunities available to students in the program:
Graduate students have opportunities to teach as TAs. Senior doctoral students have the opportunity to take full responsibility for an undergraduate course, with the assistance of a faculty mentor.

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

Research project are ongoing in many HF/E areas: aging, audition auditory perception and auditory displays, warning signals, cognitive performance, construction safety and health, consumer product design, healthcare systems, human-computer interaction, industrial ergonomics, input/control devices, locomotion and balance, musculoskeletal disorders, occupational biomechanics, safety, sociotechnical (macro) systems, training, visual perception, virtual/augmented reality, wearable computing, and workload assessment.

STUDENT STATISTICS

Current number of active students in program,by gender

42 men, 13 women

Current number of first-year students in program

6

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

Mean GRE Verbal: 156
Mean GRE Quantitative: 160
Mean GRE Analytical: 3.5

Mean undergraduate
GPA: 3.6

Number of current HF/E postdocs

1

Of the number of those graduating in the past
year, what percentage gained employment in

Academia: 50%

Industry: 50%

Government: 0%

Faculty-to-student ratio

1 to 4

FACULTY

John G. Casali, PhD 1982, Industrial Engineering, Virginia Tech; HFES Member; product/systems design, acoustics and hearing protection, auditory displays, warning signals, aviation/driving human factors, forensics and litigation

Deborah E. Dickerson, PhD 2007 Industrial Engineering, Virginia Tech; healthy work design, health behaviors, health promotion, innovation acceptance, training system design, work organization

Joseph L. Gabbard, PhD 2008 Computer Science, Virginia Tech; HFES Member; Usability engineering, human-computer interaction, cognitive human factors

Charlie Klauer, PhD 2005 Industrial & Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech; HFES Member; driver distraction and fatigue, novice teen driver

Brian M. Kleiner, PhD 1990 Industrial Engineering, SUNY Buffalo; HFES Member; macroergonomics, computer-supported collaborative work, HF in complex work systems

Myounghoon "Philart" Jeon, PhD 2012, Engineering Psychology and Human-Computer Interaction, Georgia Tech; sound and music computing, affective computing, assistive technologies, automotive user interfaces, aesthetic computin

Nathan Lau, PhD 2012, Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto; cognitive engineering, human performance, interface design, situation awareness

Michael L. Madigan, PhD 2001 Biomedical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University; occupational biomechanics and ergonomics, slips/trips/falls, aging, obesity

Maury A. Nussbaum, PhD 1994 Industrial & Operations Engineering, The University of Michigan Ann Arbor; HFES Member; occupational biomechanics, industrial ergonomics, human simulation, fall prevention

Divya Srinivasan, PhD 2010 Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan; occupational ergonomics and human performance, biomechanics of the upper body, human movements, work physiology and fatigue, work related musculoskeletal disorders, physical activity