Offered through the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Human Factors Engineering master's program examines human interaction with physical and virtual interfaces.

Program Highlights

Tufts offers specialized courses, training, and research opportunities in the human-centered aspects of engineering design, such as medical devices and systems design, product design, computer-interface design, and workplace safety.

The program is distinguished by its opportunities to work closely with faculty every step of the way. Graduate 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

Sometimes referred to as engineering psychology or ergonomics, the study of human factors engineering applies theory, methods, and data to design.

Human factors engineering is a rapidly growing field with a broad range of applications in engineering and beyond. Our program will provide you with updated skills and prepare you for success, whether you're going into the industry or pursuing further graduate education.

Careers for graduates include:

User interface (UI) designer
User experience (UX) designer
Usability researcher
Information architect
Interaction designer
User researcher
Product designer
Industrial engineer

Penelope Seagrave, first year graduate engineering student studying Human Computer Interaction, poses for photos in the Human Factors Usability Lab

Application Requirements

Applicants are admitted to this program on the basis of their educational qualifications. It is expected that applicants to the Human Factors program will have an acceptable bachelor of science degree in engineering or science. Relevant course work and research experience may be considered for non-engineering students.

It is strongly recommended that the prospective student identify and contact the potential thesis advisor before applying to the program.

Application Fee
Resume/CV
Personal Statement
Transcripts
Three letters of recommendation
Official TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo test scores (if applicable)
GRE General Test scores are not required
Portfolio (optional)

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

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.