Resources

Kansas State University
Department of Psychological Sciences

Location:   Manhattan, Kansas

Department:  Psychological Sciences

 

Quick links:

 

Directory of Graduate Programs


PROGRAM BACKGROUND

Title of program:

Cognitive and Human Factors Psychology (MS, PhD)

Year human factors/ergonomics
program was established:

1958 (reorganized 1988)

Accredited by HFES?

No

Contact person for more information, including applications:

Gary Brase, Psychological Sciences Department
Kansas State University, Bluemont Hal
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
1100 Midcampus Dr
Manhattan, KS 66506-5302
785/532-0609
gbrase@ksu.edu

Catalog:

Academic calendar:

Semester

Human factors/ergonomics graduate degrees offered:

MS and PhD

Goals, objectives, and emphasis of the programs:

Broad-based training in the major content areas of experimental psychology as well as emphases on conducting research in basic and applied settings. The Psychological Sciences Department at Kansas State University has a long history of successfully preparing students to take positions as basic and applied experimental psychologists, in both the public and private sectors.

Number of degrees granted during last 3 years:

MS 2, PhD 9

Can students attend part-time?

Yes

Are required courses offered through distance learning?

No

Does the university have an HFES student chapter?

No


APPLICATION PROCESS

Application deadlines:

January 15 (fall)

 

Application Fees:

U.S. $50; international $75

 


ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Minimum requirements

  • GPA: 3.0
  • GRE: no minimum on v, q, v + q, or a
  • Other: TOEFL 550/213/79. An undergraduate degree in psychology is recommended but not essential. It is recommended that applicants have a minimum of 15 hours in psychology (including a course in psychological research methods) plus 3 hours of statistics.

Importance of other criteria as admission factors:

  • Research: High
  • Work experience:medium
  • Letters: medium
  • Interview: medium

Tuition and fees

Resident: $350.10/credit hour
Nonresidents: $790.10/credit hour


ADMISSIONS

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

15

Number of students accepted into the program last year:

5

Number of students entering the program last year:

4

Anticipated number of openings per year for the next two years:

4


FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Percentage of students in program receiving financial assistance:

90%

Amount received per year:

$11,000–$22,000

Types of assistance available:

Fellowships, TA, tuition exempt; RA is out of state exempt

When should students apply for financial assistance?

Automatic with application


DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Graduate degree offered:

MS and PhD

Number of units required:

MS: 30
PhD: MS + 60

Exams required:

MS: oral examination
MS: oral examination PhD: preliminary examination, oral examination

Language requirements:

None

Research required:

MS: yes
PhD: yes

Practical experience required:

MS: none
PhD: highly recommended

Typical number of years required to obtain degree:

MS: 2-3
PhD: 4-5

Is there a non-thesis option?

No


CURRICULUM

Required Courses (units):

Quantitative Methods (4), Experimental Design (3), Multivariate Statistics (3), Fundamentals of Perception (3), Advanced Cognitive Psychology (3), Physiological Psychology (3), Seminar in Cognitive Processes (6), Seminar in Professional Problems (3)

Electives:

Engineering Psychology (3), Industrial/ Organizational Psychology (3), Judgmental Processes (3), Seminars in Human Factors (3), Psychology of Aging (3), Computer Science (3), Psychology of Language (3), History of Current Trends (3), Health Psychology (3), Personality Theory and Research (3), Learning (3), Pro-Seminar in Social Psychology (3)

Number of courses outside department that are required:

2

Average or typical class size in a required course:

6-20


RESEARCH/TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES

Research and support facilities available to students in the program:
The Psychological Sciences Department includes several modern laboratory facilities, most of which are available for hands-on use by students. Resources include an electrically shielded 64-channel electroencephalograph (EEG) system, eye tracking equipment, several rooms for individual and group testing, several computer laboratories, and a media editing lab.

Teaching opportunities available to students in the program:
Opportunities range from assisting a faculty member in teaching a course to having sole responsibility for the preparation and teaching of their own course, depending on experience. There is also an optional Teaching Apprenticeship Program designed to give formal training and supervision in teaching at the university level.

Current research activities and projects being carried out by program faculty and/or students:
Current research activities include projects in film and scene perception, film, pictorial, and reading comprehension, human-computer interaction, judgments and decision making, working memory, cognitive aging, metacognition, problem solving, social reasoning, statistical inference, social cognition, psycholinguistics, and mass communication.


STUDENT STATISTICS

Current number of active students in program, by gender:

7 men, 6 women

Current number of first-year students in program:

4

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

PhD: GRE 160 v, 155 q, 4.3 a, GPA: 3.75

(Terminal MS not encouraged.)


FACULTY

Heather Bailey, PhD 2009, Kent State U.; Memory, Aging and Cognition, Metacognition (thinking about one's own cognitive processes), Reading Comprehension

Gary L. Brase, PhD 1997, UC Santa Barbara; Judgments under Uncertainty, Social Decision Making, Evolutionary Psychology, Rationality

Richard J. Harris, PhD 1974, U. Illinois; Applied Psycholinguistics, Mass Communication, Bilingualism

Lester C. Loschky, PhD 2003, U. Illinois; Film Perception and Comprehension, Scene Perception, Eye Movements and Attention, Visual Cognition, Language Comprehension, Human-Computer Interaction

Michael Young, PhD 1995, U. of Minnesota/Twin Cities; Decision Making in Dynamic Environments, Impulsive and Risky Choices in Immersive Environments, EEG During Choice

[Updated December 2013]