Human Factors/Industrial Psychology, MS

 Return to: Programs of Study

The Department of Psychology offers a program of study leading to the Master of Science degree in Human Factors (HF) and Industrial/Organizational (IO) Psychology. HF and IO Psychology are fields that explore basic theories of human and group performance and the practical implications for improving the quality of socio-technical systems. The HF program places special emphasis on human perception and cognition. The IO program emphasizes individual, group, and organizational behavior in work settings. Together these programs provide a strong foundation for applying psychological theories to the design of more effective technologies and work organizations. Our program offers unique opportunities to collaborate with local industries and government laboratories such as the Human Effectiveness Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB. It also provides opportunities for students to participate in interdisciplinary collaborations on problem-centered research projects associated with interface design, training, selection, decision-making, and team coordination. These problems can be explored in a wide range of application domains, including aerospace, healthcare, public and private sector businesses, military operations, and emergency operations.

• MS in HF/IO (without a concentration): A student will conduct valuable hands-on and cutting-edge laboratory research within a Human Factors or Industrial-Organizational psychology focus. The typical time to complete this program is two years.
• MS in HF/IO - Human Performance and Effectiveness concentration: A student in the Human Performance and Effectiveness concentration will gain an in-depth understanding of various areas within the fields of Human Factors or Industrial-Organizational psychology through a curriculum involving coursework and seminars. This program can be completed within two semesters.

Admissions Requirements:

Students admitted to the MS program should have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with a major in psychology or at least 16 semester credit hours of psychology. Students should have completed courses in cognition or human learning, sensation and perception, social or organizational psychology, personality or test and measures or abnormal, experimental design/statistics, and experimental methods. Ideally, students should also have completed a year of physical or biological science, courses in mathematics, and computer science. Students who are missing one or more prerequisite courses will be expected to complete appropriate remedial course work at the onset of the program, in addition to degree requirements.

All prospective students must submit an official transcript from each institution attended. Scores on the Graduate Record Examination (verbal, quantitative) also must be submitted. Three letters of recommendation must be received from previous university professors or relevant professionals. Applicants also must submit an essay describing their professional goals and current academic interests in human factors or industrial/organizational psychology.

All admissions are competitive. Applications will be evaluated to determine the likelihood of success in the program and potential for a career in human factors or industrial/organizational psychology. Evaluation criteria will include: cumulative grade point average, verbal and quantitative Graduate Record Examination scores, performance in relevant course work, letters of recommendation, previous research experience, relevant job experience, and other information about writing and quantitative skills.

Learning Objectives:

Graduates of the M.S. degree program in HFIO psychology will:

1. Understand advanced research design and the mathematical/statistical concepts needed to comprehend research
2.  Read and synthesize current theory and research in Human Factors Psychology,
3. Read and synthesize current theory and research in Industrial/Organizational Psychology,
4. Demonstrate skills in integrating and communicating psychological knowledge.

Facilities:

The programs in human factors and industrial/organizational psychology are a major focus of departmental activity; two-thirds of the faculty in the department specialize in one of the two program areas. Students enter a program with a critical mass of faculty and students and a wide variety of research opportunities.

The Department of Psychology maintains general laboratories to support teaching and research with individual computers interconnected via a local area network. Special purpose equipment, such as a Prichard Photometer, Kay Sound Spectrum Analyzer, and color document scanner are available. The Department has a variety of other general-purpose facilities for individual and small group testing. These include audio-visual equipment for taping or presenting information to groups, observation rooms with one-way windows, and laptop computers for field research.

The Department of Psychology has research space, faculty and graduate student offices, and general classroom space all located in Fawcett Hall. The Department occupies the third, fourth, and fifth floors of Fawcett Hall. The fourth and fifth floors consist of 20,000 square feet of space exclusively for psychology research. Each Psychology faculty member currently maintains a laboratory to support his or her research activities. Specialized equipment in these research laboratories supports research on sensory processes, motor control, spatial orientation, human-computer interaction, display design, flight simulation, memory, aging, expertise, teamwork, assessment, training, and stress in the workplace. Computer facilities include UNIX workstations, PC’s, and Mac’s. Descriptions of faculty laboratories are given under the appropriate faculty’s individual web page. These laboratories are well equipped for behavioral research.

Students and faculty also have access to specialized laboratories and equipment that are unique to the Dayton metropolitan area. The Department of Psychology at Wright State University and several research laboratories at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base have official Memorandums of Agreement that facilitate the sharing of equipment, facilities, and personnel. Sophisticated high-fidelity simulators and other test facilities, such as the Auditory Localization Facility for free field binaural research and an immersive 4-wall Cave VR system, are off-campus facilities that are available and have been used by Department of Psychology faculty and students. In addition, the Department has excellent working relationships with other laboratories and facilities. Several faculty and students have conducted research at the Crew Station Evaluation Facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Department of Psychology faculty also have excellent working relationships with area corporations and industries.

For additional information:

• Human Factors/Industrial Psychology, MS
• Department of Psychology
• College of Science and Mathematics

Program Requirements for MS in HF/IO (without a concentration):

In order to qualify for a Master of Science degree, students must complete all of the following requirements, in addition to satisfying requirements of the Graduate School.

1. Complete a minimum of 37 semester-hours of course work
2. Complete course work in the following areas:

Six credit hours of core psychology courses



Nine credit hours of focus courses



Two-course sequence in research design, methods, and statistics

1. Complete first-year research requirement
2. Complete an acceptable research-based thesis, including a written proposal and thesis, and oral defense of both

All course work and program options may be used to satisfy requirements only if officially approved on the Program of Study. Students must declare either human factors or industrial/organizational as their major focus. Additional information may be obtained from the Department of Psychology.

Dept Core and Electives

I. CORE COURSES: 6 HOURS

• 2 courses, chosen from 4 courses

• PSY 7030 - Personality Structure and Assessment Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 7040 - Social Psychology Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 7050 - Cognition Credit Hour(s): 3 to 4
• PSY 7060 - Perception Credit Hour(s): 4

II. FOCUS COURSES: 9 HOURS

• 1 HF and 1 I/O course (minimum 3 hours each)
• 1 additional focus course (HF or I/O)
• Human Factors students must take PSY 8340 Engineering Psychology 

• HF Focus

• PSY 8220 - Spatial Knowledge Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8230 - Psycholinguistics Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8240 - Reasoning and problem solving Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8250 - Attention and Performance Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8260 - Decision Making Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8270 - Advanced Topics in Neuroscience Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8280 - Topics in Human Factors Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8310 - Cognitive Systems Engineering Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8320 - Ecological Interface Design Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8340 - Engineering Psychology Credit Hour(s): 4
• PSY 8350 - Aviation Psychology Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8430 - Physical Ergonomics Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8440 - Task Analysis/Work Analysis Credit Hour(s): 3

• IO Focus

• PSY 7050 - Cognition Credit Hour(s): 3 to 4
• PSY 8610 - Personnel Psychology Credit Hour(s): 4
• PSY 8620 - Behavior in Organizations Credit Hour(s): 4
• PSY 8630 - Psychometrics Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8640 - Research Methods in Industrial/Organizational Psychology Credit Hour(s): 4
• PSY 8710 - Psychology of Leadership Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8720 - Work Motivation Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8730 - Training in Organizations Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8740 - Teams in Organizations Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8750 - Job Attitudes Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8760 - Job Performance Credit Hour(s): 2

III. QUANTITATIVE METHODS: 8 HOURS

• 2 courses (4 hours each)

• PSY 7010 - Research Design and Quantitative Methods I Credit Hour(s): 4
• PSY 7020 - Research Design and Quantitative Methods: ANOVA Credit Hour(s): 4

IV. THESIS DEFENSE: 1 HOUR

• Complete an acceptable research-based thesis, including written proposal and thesis and oral defense of both

• PSY 7990 - Thesis Defense Credit Hour(s): 1 to 16

V. ELECTIVES: 13 HOURS

• Additional courses (any category) to reach minimum credit hour requirements

TOTAL: 37 HOURS

Program Requirements for the MS in HF/IO - Human Performance and Effectiveness Concentration

In order to qualify for a Master of Science degree with the Human Performance and Effectiveness concentration option, students must complete all of the following requirements, in addition to satisfying requirements of the Graduate School.
 

1. Complete a minimum of 30 semester-hours of course work
2. Complete course work in the following areas:

Six credit hours of core psychology courses



Twelve credit hours of focus courses



Two-course sequence in research design, methods, and statistics

All course work and program options may be used to satisfy requirements only if officially approved on the Program of Study. Students must declare either human factors or industrial/organizational as their major focus. Additional information may be obtained from the Department of Psychology.

Human Performance and Effectiveness Concentration: Core and Electives

I. CORE COURSES: 6 HOURS

• 2 courses, chosen from 4 courses

• PSY 7030 - Personality Structure and Assessment Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 7040 - Social Psychology Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 7050 - Cognition Credit Hour(s): 3 to 4
• PSY 7060 - Perception Credit Hour(s): 4

II. FOCUS COURSES: 12 HOURS

• 6 hours of HF focus courses
• 6 hours of 1 I/O focus courses
• Human Factors students must take PSY 8340 Engineering Psychology

• HF Focus Courses

• PSY 8020 - Stress, Cognition, and Health Credit Hour(s): 1
• PSY 8220 - Spatial Knowledge Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8230 - Psycholinguistics Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8240 - Reasoning and problem solving Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8250 - Attention and Performance Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8260 - Decision Making Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8270 - Advanced Topics in Neuroscience Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8310 - Cognitive Systems Engineering Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8320 - Ecological Interface Design Credit Hour(s): 3
• PSY 8340 - Engineering Psychology Credit Hour(s): 4
• PSY 8430 - Physical Ergonomics Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8440 - Task Analysis/Work Analysis Credit Hour(s): 3

• IO Focus Courses

• PSY 8610 - Personnel Psychology Credit Hour(s): 4
• PSY 8620 - Behavior in Organizations Credit Hour(s): 4
• PSY 8630 - Psychometrics Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8640 - Research Methods in Industrial/Organizational Psychology Credit Hour(s): 4
• PSY 8710 - Psychology of Leadership Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8720 - Work Motivation Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8730 - Training in Organizations Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8740 - Teams in Organizations Credit Hour(s): 2
• PSY 8760 - Job Performance Credit Hour(s): 2

III. QUANTITATIVE METHODS: 8 HOURS

• 2 courses (4 hours each)

• PSY 7010 - Research Design and Quantitative Methods I Credit Hour(s): 4
• PSY 7020 - Research Design and Quantitative Methods: ANOVA Credit Hour(s): 4

ELECTIVES: 4 CREDITS

• Additional courses (any category except independent research courses) to reach minimum credit hour requirements

TOTAL 30 HOURS