Overview - Human Factors Engineering is also referred to as Engineering Psychology or Ergonomics. The field is rapidly growing with wide engineering and non-engineering applications. The program offers specialized courses, training and research opportunities in the human-centered aspects of engineering activities such as: medical devices and systems design, product design, computer-interface design, ergonomics and workplace safety.

Students interested in pursuing an M.S. in Human Factors should apply for admission in the regular fashion to the Mechanical Engineering department indicating on their application that they are interested in Human Factors.  Although this program has its own entrance and course requirements separate from Mechanical Engineering, it is expected that applicants to the Human Factors program will have an acceptable B.S. in engineering or science.  Relevant course work and research experience may be considered for non-engineering students.  It is strongly recommended that the prospective student identify and contact the potential thesis advisor before applying to the program.  For further details, please visit the web site at (http://www.tufts.edu/hfes) or contact the program director- Professor Caroline G.L. Cao in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Caroline.Cao@tufts.edu.

Candidates admitted to the M.Eng. program may transfer to the M.S. (HF) program at any time. However, transfer from the M.S. (HF) program to the M.Eng. program is only permitted by special petition if the student has not received any financial support. The maximum amount of time that a student can receive a stipend as a Teaching Assistant (T.A.) is two academic years (i.e., 4 semesters).  The maximum duration of a Research Assistantship (R.A.) is two years (i.e., 4 semesters + 2 summers).

The Department encourages but does not require applicants to submit General Record Examination (GRE) scores.

Candidates are required to complete the equivalent of ten credits. MS candidates normally complete their degree requirements in 2 years or 2 years less a summer term.

The program has five distinct parts:

1. Development of analytical capabilities

2. Breadth of exposure

3. Courses focused on thesis research

4. Seminar

5. Thesis research

Degree Requirements

The M.S. (HF) program requires successful completion of eight 100-level (or above) course credits, a research-based thesis worth at least 2 credits, an official proposal defense, a seminar, and successful defense of a thesis at an M.S. oral examination.  M.S. candidates are also expected to present their research at a scientific conference (e.g., HFES, IEA, IEEE SMC) and submit at least one paper to a peer-reviewed scientific journal.  Composition of the course program must be selected in cooperation with the student’s academic advisor.  M.S. candidates are encouraged to complete their course requirements in the first two semesters, and the thesis by the end of the second year in the program.

Course Work - The course structure is designed to provide a common core upon which to build an individual program of study. If a student desires to be exempted from either the mathematical analysis or technical breadth requirement, they must submit a petition for departmental approval for such an exemption prior to the first semester in which they register for thesis credit. Petitions should include the student's case for the exemption as well as the written approval of the student's academic and thesis advisors.

1. Development of analytical capabilities (2 courses)

The ability to apply statistical analysis to the solution of human factors problems is central to this curriculum. To this end, all MS students are required to take Advanced Probability and Statistics (PSY 107 & 108).

2. Breadth of Technical Exposure (3 courses)

Human Factors Engineering is an applied field of diverse engineering science fundamentals shaped by areas of application. The purpose of this requirement is to expose the student to the connections between the various subdisciplines of human factors.

All M.S. students are required to take the following three courses:

ENP 149 - Research Methods in Human Factors

ENP 161 - Human-Machine Systems Design

or

ENP 162 - Human Factors in Product Design

Comp 171 - User Interface Design

3. Focus Course Work (typically 3-4 courses)

The remaining courses are selected by students in consultation with their advisor that best suits their program of study including course work relevant to their thesis work.  All of these courses must be graduate level.  Courses outside of engineering or the sciences are exceptions requiring departmental approval in advance.

4. Seminar (each semester)

Regular attendance at the department's weekly seminar series is an integral part of full-time graduate study.  Undergraduates and part-time graduate students are strongly encouraged to attend.  The seminars, which are held on Thursday afternoons, feature speakers from both inside and outside of Tufts.  The seminars provide students and faculty with an opportunity to learn about the latest developments in engineering research and practice.

The seminar schedule will be posted and distributed via email to all graduate students. Important change:  All full-time graduate students are expected to attend at least 80% of the seminars and register and pass ME 291/292 for Int(N/2)+1 semesters, where N is the number of semesters a student is enrolled as a full time student.  That is, for a 4 semester MS program, seminar must be passed for 3 semesters; for a 6 semester PhD program, seminar must be passed for 4 semesters. Attendance will be taken.  Students should register for both ME 291 (Fall) and ME 292 (Spring) in order to receive proper credit.

Thesis - The primary component of the Master of Science (Human Factors) program is the thesis.  The thesis reports the results of an independent research investigation carried out by the student.  The thesis must be carried out under the direction of the candidate’s thesis advisor, normally, on the campus of Tufts University.  The thesis may involve an investigation that is fundamental in nature, or may be applied, incorporating theory, experimental testing or analytical modeling, and/or creative design.  Through the thesis, candidates are expected to give evidence of competence in research and a sound understanding of the area of specialization involved.

5. ME 295/296 (2-3 course credits)

Students are awarded thesis credit through their registration in ME 295/6 and successful completion of their thesis work. ME 295 is offered during the Fall term and ME 296 during the Spring term. Students receive the grade of Y in these courses until the thesis is completed, at which time a formal grade is given.

In order to receive a grade of Y, all students must submit a thesis prospectus that outlines the area of work, thesis goals, proposed approach and a review of relevant past work in the literature before the end of the first semester in which the student enrolls in ME 295/6.

All students planning to do a 3-credit thesis must write a justification as part of the thesis prospectus (at http://ase.tufts.edu/mechanical under Programs of Study).  This prospectus must be signed by the student and thesis advisor and include the name of at least one other committee member.

ME 401PT/402FT  A student must be registered, or be on an approved leave of absence, for every academic year semester, otherwise he/she will be officially withdrawn from the University.  A continuation fee of $500 is assessed per semester to students who require additional time over the expected completion period - two years for most masters’ programs. Tuition scholarship cannot be applied to this fee.

Students whose research requires work beyond the semesters in which they are registered for ME 295/6 must register for either ME 401PT or 402FT. Please refer to the Graduate School Handbook for more information. Students may not register for these no-credit continuation courses until they have received grades of Y in ME 295 and ME 296.

M.S. Degree Completion – The MS thesis is completed upon a successful oral defense, open to the community, and the submittal of an approved thesis to the Graduate School. The oral examination committee has a minimum of three members including the advisor and one member from outside of the Department. The student should consult the current year's Graduate Student Handbook available from the Graduate School office for the dates and deadlines involved in this process. Degree completion and recommendation to the Graduate School for the award of the appropriate degree involves a coordinated set of steps within and outside of the Department. In order to ensure that the student has completed all requirements, the M.S. Tracking Form (at http://ase.tufts.edu/mechanical under Programs of Study)  should be completed carefully.

Special Note: As students complete the steps listed below, they should pay careful attention to the deadlines set by the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies for submitting theses and other degree related work for completing degree requirements in time for August, February or May degrees. In addition, international students may not take a leave of absence and remain in the United States.

Step 1:

The first step in the process is filing the "Recommendation For Award of Master's Degree" form electronically, which is also provided in the Graduate School Handbook, and submitting the Graduate School Exit Survey under the Student Services > Graduate Information link at  (http://gradstudy.tufts.edu/). The student fills out this form with the academic advisor and submits it to the Department Chair for approval. The Department will make a copy of the form for the student’s file and then send the approved form to the Graduate School for processing. The approval of this form places the student on the "Degree List" for the next degree awarding cycle (August, February or May).

Step 2:

The second step in the process is the scheduling of the thesis defense.  The student and advisor are responsible for selecting a date, a committee, and reserving a room.  (Ask the department office staff for assistance.)  The thesis defense is a public presentation open to the Tufts community.  In order to provide adequate time for publicizing the event, the student must inform the department of the impending defense as far in advance as possible.

A minimum of ONE WEEK before the defense, the student must provide the Department office staff with the following information in electronic form via email (lorin.polidora@tufts.edu).  There will be no exceptions.

q       Student’s Name

q       M.S. Thesis Title

q       Date, Time and Place of Thesis Defense

q       Committee Members and Affiliations including identification of thesis advisor(s)

q       100-200 word Abstract

Step 3:

The third step in the process is the finalization of the thesis in accordance with the examining committee's findings. The original and appropriate copies of the thesis are submitted electronically (http://dissertations.umi.com/tuftsase/) along with the appropriate paperwork as per the Graduate Student Handbook. The handbook also includes a detailed description of the thesis format and requirements.

Marching Only Policy at Commencement:  Engineering students are allowed to march at Commencement if they have only one lecture course credit remaining to fulfill all degree requirements.  All thesis and project requirements must be completed and approved.

Graduate and Professional Studies Web Site