PROGRAM BACKGROUND
Title of program:
PhD Ergonomics, PhD Industrial Engineering with 4 specialized ergonomics courses, MS Occupational Ergonomics and Safety, MS Industrial Engineering with 3 specialized ergonomics courses, MS Environmental Health and Safety
Year human factors/ergonomics program was established:
Contact person for more information, including applications:
Shihab S. Asfour
Professor & Chairman
Dept. of Industrial Engineering
U. of Miami
P.O. Box 248294
Coral Gables, FL 33124-0623
305/284-2344, fax 305/284-4040
Catalog ($2):
Graduate Admissions Office, U. of Miami, PO Box 248125, Coral Gables, FL 33124
Goals, objectives, and emphasis of the program:
Involves multidisciplinary subjects, including engineering psychology, management science, statistics, health science, and computers.
Number of degrees granted during last 3 years:
Can students attend part-time?
Are required courses offered at night?
Are required courses offered during summer?
Does the university have an HFES student chapter?
APPLICATION PROCESS
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Other: TOEFL for foreign students. PhD Ergonomics: background in science, psychology, statistics, engineering. PhD Industrial Engineering: engineering background. MS Occupational Ergonomics and Safety: background in science, psychology, statistics, engineering. MS Industrial Engineering: engineering background. MS Environmental Health and Safety: background in science, psychology, statistics, engineering, or related fields.
Importance of other criteria as admission factors:
- Research: high
- Work experience: high
- Letters: high
- Interview: high
Tuition and fees:
- Resident: $1,538/credit
- Nonresident: $1,538/credit
ADMISSIONS
Number of students applying to the human factors/ergonomics program last year:
Number of students accepted into the program last year:
Number of students entering the program last year:
Anticipated number of openings per year for the next two years:
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Percentage of students in program receiving financial assistance:
Amount received per year:
Types of assistance available:
Fellowship, TA, RA (NIOSH-sponsored traineeships), scholarship, all tuition exempt
When should students apply for financial assistance?
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Graduate degrees offered:
- MS OES
- MS IEN
- MS EHS
- PhD Ergonomics
- PhD IE
Number of units required:
- MS OES: 36
- MS IEN and MS EHS: 36 nonthesis option, 30 thesis option
- PhD Ergonomics: 30 beyond MS
- PhD IE: 30 beyond MS
Exams required:
- MS OES: comprehensive exam
- MS IEN and MS EHS: comprehensive exam
- PhD Ergonomics: qualifying exam
- PhD IE: preliminary and qualifying exams
Language requirements:
None
Research required:
- MS OES: no
- MS IEN and MS EHS: yes
- PhD Ergonomics: yes
- PhD IE: yes
Practical experience required:
- MS OES: yes
- MS IEN and MS EHS: no
- PhD Ergonomics: yes
- PhD IE: no
Typical number of years required to obtain degree:
- MS OES: 1.5–2
- MS IEN and MS EHS: 1.5–2
- PhD Ergonomics: 4
- PhD IE: 4
Is there a non-thesis option?
MS IEN and MS EHS: Yes
CURRICULUM
Required courses (units):
Contact university for program.
Electives (units):
Contact university for program.
Number of courses outside department that are required:
Contact university for program.
Number of courses outside department that are recommended:
Contact university for program.
Average or typical class size in a required course:
RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES
Research and support facilities available to students in the program:
The Ergonomics Research Lab is well equipped and allows research and training studies with human participants. The lab contains several microcomputers and can support a wide range of research in work physiology, biomechanics, anthropometry, strength measurements, psychomotor and closed-loop human-machine systems, motion studies, biological signal recording and analysis, environmental stresses, and all aspects of HF research. The Biomechanics Research Laboratory is equipped with the Vicon 512, which is the state-of-the-art human motion capturing system. It consists of eight high speed cameras each of which is capable of capturing up to 250 frames per second with an outstanding resolution of 1000 x 1000 pixels. The Vicon System is integrated and synchronized with: a ground force plate and an instrumented treadmill from Kistler, the most technologically advanced telemetered EMG system from Noraxon, and 4 normal video cameras from Sony. This setup is controlled by one start/stop button, which allows fully synchronized data capturing. In the HF and Aging Research Lab, students study human factors and aging with particular attention to the occupational and home environments. Extensive research is also conducted in the Ergonomics and Bioengineering Division of the Comprehensive Pain and Rehabilitation Center. Hospital and lab facilities are available to conduct research and application pertaining to the problem of low back pain and musculoskeletal injuries.
Teaching opportunities available to students in the program:
TAs assist faculty in class instruction, grading, lab demonstrations, etc. Qualified advanced grad students may be given independent teaching assignments in various undergraduate-level courses.
Current research activities and projects being carried out by program faculty and/or students:
NIH/NIA Miami Center on Human Factors and Aging Research, NIOSH Occupational Safety and Health Training Grant, gait biomechanics and baseball pitching biomechanics, sports injuries.
STUDENT STATISTICS
Current number of active students in program, by gender:
Current number of first-year students in program:
Number of current HF/E postdocs:
FACULTY:
Elsayed Abdel-Moty, PhD 1988, U. Miami; rehabilitation, ergonomics
Shihab S. Asfour, PhD 1980, Texas Tech U.; work physiology, applied ergonomics, safety, biomechanics, manufacturing processes
Sara Czaja, PhD 1980, SUNY Buffalo; aging, human-computer interaction, human factors
Matthew Reed,modeling of human motions; vehicle interior design models based on occupant posture requirements, anthropometry in design
Mohamed Fahmy, PhD 1993, U. Miami; finite element modeling, biomechanics
Vincent Omachonu, PhD 1987, Polytechnic Inst. of New York; health care/service sector quality and productivity management, production systems, facility location and layout
Joseph Sharit, PhD 1984; human and systems reliability, human factors in aging
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Updated February 2024]