As engineering solutions turn more and more toward automation and the use of AI, the need for practitioners who understand the critical role of human decision making in automated system design is greater than ever. Offered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, this certificate program supports students interested in engineering, data science and computer science with a desire to build human-AI systems.

Program Highlights

The Human Factors in Data Science certificate program provides students with the knowledge and skills to engage in the design of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, based on data science (DS) and machine learning (ML) applications, providing a critical understanding of the role that humans play through the data processing pipeline.

The Tufts Human Factors Engineering program is distinguished by its opportunities to work closely with faculty every step of the way. Students have the chance to collaborate with and learn from some of the most renowned experts in the country, all while seamlessly transitioning from graduate studies to a full-time career.

Career Outcomes

Through a combination of courses in human factors engineering and data science, students graduate from this program prepared to engage in AI system development, guiding the design of human data collection, feature extraction, and system implementation efforts.

Application Requirements

Application Fee
Resume/CV
Personal Statement
Transcripts
One letter of recommendation
Official TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo test scores (if applicable)

Tuition and Financial Aid

We recognize that attending graduate school involves a significant financial investment. Our team is here to answer your questions about tuition rates and scholarship opportunities.

Please contact us at gradadmissions@tufts.edu.

Faculty

Jason Rife

Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering

navigation, safety-critical transportation systems, state estimation, human-robot interaction

Daniel Hannon

Professor of the Practice

human factors, airspace systems

James Intriligator

Professor of the Practice

Human Factors Engineering, Innovation, Design Thinking, Human Machine System Design, Robotics, Machine Learning, Perception, Psychology

Gary Leisk

Associate Teaching Professor

machine design, nondestructive testing

Michael Wiklund

Professor of the Practice

human factors

Luisa Chiesa

Associate Professor

sustainable energy, superconducting materials, materials science

Jeffrey Guasto

Associate Professor

biophysics and soft matter, microscale fluid mechanics and transport phenomena, microfluidic devices

Academic Leave

Marc Hodes

Professor

heat transfer, apparent slip, thermal management of electronics, mass transfer in supercritical fluids and thermoelectricity, material science

Mark Kachanov

Professor

Mechanics of materials; effective properties of heterogeneous materials; microstructure-property relationships; applications to material science

Erica Kemmerling

Assistant Teaching Professor

Fluid mechanics, flow in the human body, hemodynamics, aneurysms, heart development, flow in tumors, cardiac assist devices

Douglas Matson

Professor

solidification processes, thermal manufacturing, machine design, materials science

Pratap Misra

Professor of the Practice

GPS, emerging satellite navigation systems

Chris Rogers

John R. Beaver Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Engineering Education, Human Robot Interaction, Mechanical Engineering, Music Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing

Anil Saigal

Professor

materials engineering, materials science, manufacturing processes, quality control

Jivko Sinapov

Assistant Professor

Artificial Intelligence, Developmental Robotics, Computational Perception, Robotic Manipulation, Machine Learning, Human-Robot and Human-Computer Interaction

Academic Leave

Holly Taylor

Professor

Spatial Cognition, Language, Memory

Thomas Vandervelde

Professor and Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Interaction of light with matter, physics of nanostructures and interfaces, metamaterials, material science, plasmonics, and surfactants, semiconductor photonics and electronics, epitaxial crystal growth, materials and devices for energy and infrared applications.

Kristen Wendell

Associate Professor and Stacey and Robert Morse Fellow

learning sciences, engineering education, design practices, design discourse, project-based learning

Academic Leave

Robert White

Associate Professor

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) fabrication, modeling, and testing. Particularly acoustic MEMS (microphones, ultrasound), and aerodynamic measurement technologies (skin friction sensors, aeroacoustic sensors). Acoustics, vibrations, dynamics and controls. Electromechanical systems including robotics. Finite element methods and system modeling. Electronics for measurement. Mechanical measurements.