Graduate Program Information
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Curriculum program plans shown reflect current degree requirements. Previous academic year requirements can be accessed from the catalog page by choosing the appropriate academic year.
Doctor of Philosophy in Human-Centered Design
| Major Code: | 9200 | Degree Awarded: | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery Mode(s): | Location(s): | ||
| Admission Status: | Graduate | Age Restriction: | No |
The Ph.D. program in human-centered design is designed to provide advanced education and research opportunities to qualified students with master’s degrees. On completion, the students can conduct independent scholarly work, teach in academia or pursue advanced research careers in government, or commercial or private sectors.
Admission Requirements
Admission to doctoral study is granted to qualified students on a limited basis who have successfully completed master’s degrees in engineering, physical or computer science, or mathematics from regionally accredited institutions. The program is ideally suited for applicants with strong interest in human and social science or the arts. Applicants with demonstrated background in industry and academia are eligible and prior experience is highly recommended.
The applicant must have a master’s degree cumulative GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale and a minimum score of 1100 on the GRE. International applicants must score 600 or higher on the TOEFL examination. Applicants must submit undergraduate and graduate transcripts, three letters of recommendation and a statement of objectives in addition to the GRE and TOEFL scores.
General admission requirements and the application process are covered in the Academic Overview section of the university catalog.
Degree Requirements
The Doctor of Philosophy in Human-Centered Design is conferred for successful completion of the coursework outlined below. General degree requirements are presented in the Academic Overview section of the university catalog.
| Coursework and Dissertation Summary | CREDITS | |
| Doctoral coursework minimum beyong the master's degree | 18–24 | |
| Doctoral research and dissertation | 24 | |
| TOTAL MINIMUM BEYOND THE MASTER'S DEGREE | 42–48 | |
Curriculum
In addition to the 18 to 24 credit hours of coursework, the major adviser may require additional courses to better prepare the student to conduct research in the selected topic.
The student must complete an approved program plan within one month of acceptance to the doctoral program, successfully pass a comprehensive examination, submit a dissertation proposal and defend that proposal to the dissertation committee. The candidate is expected to publish in refereed journals (at least two prior to the defense of the dissertation).
Research
Research facilities: the Human-Centered Design Institute includes four laboratories: Advanced Interaction media Technology (AIMT) Laboratory, Collaborative Systems Laboratory, Human-In-the-Loop Simulation Laboratory and the Computer-Supported Meeting Environment Laboratory.
Current research includes the following areas:
Cognitive engineering: human-centered automation, scenario-based design, cognitive modeling and function analysis, risk taking and management, situational awareness, decision-making, integration and use cases.
Advanced interaction media: input techniques, tangible and haptic interaction, multimodal interaction, ubiquitous computing and information flows, surface computing, information visualization, use experience and usability engineering, ethnographical design, computer-supported cooperative work.
Complexity analysis in human-centered design: complexity theories, collaborative system engineering, systems of systems, adaptive systems, human-centered requirement engineering, socio-cognitive stability, resilience, accident investigation and analysis, traceability, design for simplicity, product and practice maturity.
Life-critical systems: research across domains such as aerospace, nuclear, medicine, ground transportation and ecosystems, and design for safety, efficiency and comfort.
Human-centered organization design and management: knowledge management, resilience engineering, certification, product integration, complexity research, organizational automation, computer-supported meeting environments.
Modeling and simulation: computer-aided design, life-cycled product management, discrete-event simulations, multi-agent simulations, mathematical models for simulation, human-in-the-loop simulations.