So my high schooler is interested in both engineering and psychology. We are trying to do research to see if there are career fields that combine both interests. I’m seeing something on the internet called Human Factors Engineering as well as Engineering Psychology. I am not clear on what these fields entail or whether they are true engineering fields. If someone were interested in obtaining a degree in one of these fields, is there an ABET accredited program in these fields or are these liberal arts degrees. What colleges would offer something like that? Also what is the difference between Human Factors Engineering and Engineering Psychology? Finally, are these the types of degrees where my teen would also have to do graduate work to be employable? Thank you in advance.
My son is also interested in these fields, so I have been researching them. There are probably people who know a lot more than I do! As far as I have been able to tell, there is no undergraduate ABET accreditation in human factors engineering. There seems to be some variability by university whether it is considered a engineering degree or a psychology degree (or something else).
At some schools, HFE is a specialization within industrial engineering. I have seen a major similar to HFE at other schools that is called something like “human computer interaction”.
This website is where I started looking:
https://www.hfes.org/Resources/Undergraduate-Programs-Directory
Regarding OP’s question about career fields that combine both interests: I would look at MC (management consulting firms).
Maybe developing/implementing/researching assistive technology to people with disabilities in schools and in the workplace. There are seminars in graduate programs on engineering psychology as it relates to AT.
They’re similar. It just depends on the angle you approach it from and what you’ll emphasize in your career. Tufts has a respected program and offers degrees in both. I’d read their page to get a better understanding of the similarities and differences.
User Experience Design. It’s an amazing field. I definitely would have considered it if it existed when I was going to college.
This was very helpful. Tufts allows you to get the degree either through the School of Engineering or the School of Arts & Sciences. My other question is since there does not appear to be an ABET accreditation for Human Factors Engineering is it worth the effort to get the degree through the Engineering school vs the Arts & Sciences school since, in my mind, the engineering school foundational requirements appear to be more challenging?
There is a lot going on with psych and engineering and CS with AI. Georgia Tech, WPI, and RPI all have some interesting work going on.
Another pathway to consider is an engineering degree with some psych and management classes when electives fit, get some work experience, and then an MBA or organizational development management/psych focused degree down the road that an employer may help pay for. Many brilliant engineers are not “wired” or may have no interest in leading, managing, and motivating other adults, but employers are in need of leaders who understand the technical and understand their people.
Read both curricula, look at their objectives and outcomes and see which angle fits.
Do a deep dive in https://www.si.umich.edu/
Not engineering but lots of human factors. Goes with the above suggestions of User design but more offerings also.
One thing to consider is whether the student is more interested in the computing side of the field (HCI, UX, etc.) or the more MechE/Industrial side. And on either side of that fence, also consider whether they want a strong design component.
There are lots of majors that could work, depending on interests and strengths. One way to go is to consider schools with general engineering majors that can be customized to the student’s interests and combined with psychology. Examples would be Smith, Swarthmore, Harvey Mudd, Washington & Lee (not ABET), and Olin. (I’m sure there must be more; that’s just off the top of my head.) There are a few Human-Centered Design type majors, like the HCDE major in the engineering school at UW-Seattle (not ABET but they have a task force exploring the possibility). Some Cognitive Science majors could fit, particularly those at strong STEM schools, like RPI, CMU, or UCSD.
Another often-overlooked but highly-employable adjacent major is Packaging Science, which many assume sounds dull, but it really isn’t - programs cover both an engineering design foundation, and psychology both on the usability side and the advertising side. Here’s RIT’s version, by way of example: https://www.rit.edu/study/packaging-science-bs There are also strong programs at Cal Poly and San Jose State. At Cal Poly, Packaging shares a department with Industrial Design, and that’s a major worth considering also, particularly if there’s an artistic component to the student’s interests. Purdue, Cincinnati, Western Washington, and Georgia Tech are additional examples of strong industrial design programs.
And as others have already said, there are the HCI type majors if one’s interest leans toward computing. For example, Human-Centered Computing at RIT, User Experience Design at DePaul, HCI at CMU, and so on.
My brother did this for several years working on improving the ergonomics of fighter jet cockpits. He’s a mechanical engineer, but working on ergonomics for potential high pressure environments definitely required an understanding of psychology; he did his undergrad at ERAU and also had to study “Human Factors” as it applies to design.
That relates to my second question. To become a Human Factors engineer and be employable is there a requirement that you get something beyond a Bachelors degree?
I’m not really sure; he didn’t have Master’s when he worked that job, just classes in the subject. He got his Master’s as he started to move into management positions within the project.
I love that major! I don’t know why it’s so overlooked. There are only 12 or so programs in the nation. My son had a friend at Cal Poly that did that. He’s very happily employed. Because everything is really a popularity contest when it comes to selectivity, it’s actually one of the easiest admits.
Examples from Virginia Tech related to Human Factors Engineering.
https://www.ise.vt.edu/academics/graduate/phd/design.html
Other schools will have Human Factors Engineering options. You might start with looking at your instate engineering school to see what they might offer. Georgia Tech probably has good options. Very good programs in Industrial Engineering.
I had quite a few human factors type classes in my degree, which was a hybrid of industrial engineering and industrial management. I really enjoyed the classes.
As other posters have mentioned, there as a huge field of user experience/user interface design (UX/UI) that combines engineering, psychology, and arts. Some schools even have majors like this, such at the University of Washington’s HCDE major.
Note that many in the more traditional areas of engineering (civil, mechanical, computer, industrial) do work in human factors / interface or ergonomics. For example, civil engineers designing transportation systems want to minimize the risk of vehicle operators making mistakes, and minimize the damage if a mistake does occur. Or mechanical engineers designing controls of something want to minimize the risk of the user making mistakes (e.g. the pilot example quoted above).
I have another related question. Don’t know if it will make sense. If one were approaching a Human Factors type degree from the perspective of an engineering student as opposed to from the perspective of a liberal arts student (i.e. psychology major), is there a field of engineering that goes hand in hand with Human factors? I guess what I am asking is what branch of engineering would one major in if one wanted to work in Human Factors?