Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Human Factors

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Earn a doctorate degree in human factors, advance scholarly research and your career

Human Factors is a multidisciplinary field that leverages critical principles from engineering, computer science, cognitive engineering, and systems design.  It is a scientific discipline that examines human behavior and capabilities in order to determine the best ways to design products, equipment and systems for safe, effective, satisfying use by humans.  Human Factors professionals are focused on studying how humans interact with machines and consumer products to improve technology, safety, and usability.  It is a field that has made essential contributions to the design, test, and evaluation of products and systems used by people every day around the globe.

Human Factors researchers and practitioners work in areas dealing with issues related to automation, cognition, decision-making, interface design, human-computer interaction, physiology, safety and human error, sensory systems, stress, workload, training, transportation, and workspace design.  Related industries include, but are not limited to automotive, rail, aviation, aerospace, energy, and consumer products.

Human Factors professionals are in high demand and are considered a crucial part of any industry engaged in designing and producing products and systems that will be used or operated by people.  Human Factors is one of the most rapidly growing fields in today’s employment market, and graduates of the Capitol Technology University Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Human Factors can expect to find high paying jobs across all areas of industry and government.

This is a research based doctorate PhD degree where you will be assigned an academic supervisor almost immediately to guide you through your program and is based on mostly independent study through the entire program. It typically takes a minimum of two years but typically three years to complete if a student works closely with their assigned academic advisor. Under the guidance of your academic supervisor, you will conduct unique research in your chosen field before submitting a Thesis or being published in three academic journals agreed to by the academic supervisor.  If by publication route it will require original contribution to knowledge or understanding in the field you are investigating.

As your PhD progresses, you move through a series of progression points and review stages by your academic supervisor. This ensures that you are engaged in a process of research that will lead to the production of a high-quality Thesis and/or publications and that you are on track to complete this in the time available. Following submission of your PhD Thesis or accepted three academic journal articles, you have an oral presentation assessed by an external expert in your field.