Human Factors
Graduate Program Coordinator: Peter Vlach
1 Airport Road, MC-394
Savoy, IL 61874
(217) 244-8607
E-mail: hf-info@avi-sabre.aviation.uiuc.edu
Major: Human Factors
Degrees offered: M.S.
Graduate Degree Programs
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has established a Master of Science Program in Human Factors. This program involves a broad and diverse group of faculty and students based in academic units including the Institute of Aviation's Human Factors Division, the Departments of Psychology, Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Computer Science, and the Human-Computer Intelligent Interaction Group at the Beckman Institute. The program focuses on a wide variety of cognitive human factors issues within both aviation and non-aviation systems.
Admission
Completed application files for all prospective students are first evaluated by a screening committee composed of faculty members within the Human Factors Division. Our criteria for admission include the quality of your undergraduate work, your undergraduate grade-point average for the last 60 completed hours of undergraduate work, test scores on Graduate Record Examinations (verbal and quantitative tests are required), quality of recommendations contained in three required letters of reference, your background in mathematics and research, your personal statement of goals and interests, your program of undergraduate studies and your performance in special parts of that program (e.g., in particularly demanding courses, in independent work, etc.). Please visit our website for more details.
Applications will be accepted starting November 1 for the following fall admission. The deadline for receipt of application materials is February 15. All of your materials must be received at UIUC by that date.
Degree Requirements
*For additional details and requirements refer to the department's graduate program requirements and the Graduate College Handbook.
Master of Science
| Required Courses: | Required Hours |
|---|---|
| PSYC 406, 407, 456 and 527 | 16 |
| AVI 455 and 597HF | 8 |
| AVI 497ST or 597ST | 3-4 |
| Thesis Hours Required (min/max applied toward degree): | 4-9 |
| Total Hours | 36 |
Minimum 500-level Hours Required Overall: |
12 |
| Other Requirements:* |
The Institute of Aviation offers a graduate program leading to the Master of Science degree. This degree is awarded as a terminal degree to candidates who have satisfactorily completed 36 graduate hours of graduate work in this area and who have completed a thesis.
Faculty Research Interests
Human factors research at the University of Illinois covers a wide range of topics and projects, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the human factors programs and the diverse and complementary skills and areas of expertise of the faculty. Please visit our website for more details.
Facilities and Resources
The Human Factors Division has, or shares, two campus sites for research, at Willard Airport and at the Beckman Institute.
Personal Computer Aviation Training Device Laboratory (PCATD)
Q4, Professional Pilot Division (Willard Airport) The first study of PCATD effectiveness run at the Institute was interested in determining what could be trained efficiently in the PCATD as well as what transfer effectively to the aircraft. After this study, it was clear that the introduction of new instrument maneuvers provided better transfer to the aircraft than the review of previously learned maneuvers. As a result, it was possible to specify, more precisely, a training program with a set amount of time and set number of maneuvers to be performed in the PCATD. Since the exact amount of time to be spent using a PCATD that is most effective has not been determined, an Incremental Transfer design was proposed by the Institute and subsequently funded by a grant from NASA.
Visual Flight Simulation Laboratory, Beckman Institute (Room 604)
This laboratory has a two-channel, computer-generated visual simulation capability provided by an Evans and Sutherland SP-X image generator which is currently being replaced with a three channel SimFusion E & S system. The system is capable of projecting day, night, high and low visibility conditions, and has a terrain data base of landmarks around central Illinois and Yosemite National Park. It is integrated with a Frasca 142 flight simulator and glass-cockpit instrument panel capable of projecting advanced display concepts. Eye movement monitoring equipment can record visual fixations across the instrument panel and outside scene. It can also be switched readily to a simple control system mounted to a laboratory chair, where it is used to test issues relating to head up displays and to navigation. The visual simulation capability is supported by a Vax station 2 GPX, a MicroVax 3500, two IRIS 2400s, and a personal IRIS 4D 25 S. In addition, four Electrohome projectors (two for each experimental set up) are used to project computer-generated visual scenes onto a 3 wall, 135o screen.
Human Performance Laboratory, Beckman Institute (Room 1508 & 1612)
This laboratory has an IRIS 4D 70 GT, a personal IRIS 4D 30 TG, and an Applied Sciences Laboratories Series 4000 Eye Tracking System. These facilities are used to study pilot displays for instrument flight, air traffic control displays, issues in visualization of complex data sets, human-interface display design, and differences in visual habits of expert and novice pilots.
Interactive Cognition Laboratory, Beckman Institute (Room 2414)
This laboratory consists of a central group workspace and three access-controlled laboratory booths for experimentation with human participants. Equipment includes 2 Mac G4 computers with 17" flat panel monitors (one configured as a file server), 1 IMac computer, 4 Windows NT Computers, 2 with flat panel monitors, a high volume color Laserjet printer, a digital scanner, and an ASL 5000 eye tracker with associated computer server and two small video monitors. Two of the Windows computers are configured with Emerson, Inc "DeltaV" software providing simulations of both the automation and controlled systems of the UIUC Abbott power plant, for supporting studies of human-computer interaction, supervisory control, and display design for complex systems. Both Mac G4 computers are configured with the computational cognitive modeling architecture "ACT-R" and a flight simulation package "X-Plane," containing moderate fidelity terrain and airport databases for the entire world, supporting closed- loop, cognitive modeling of piloting cognition and the evaluation of interface design concepts.
Financial Aid
Financial assistance includes fellowships, research and teaching assistantships, and/or waivers of tuition and fees. All graduate students enrolled in good standing in the Master of Science Program of the Human Factors Division, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, are eligible for financial support. However, support is not guaranteed and depends upon the availability of funds.