Overview

Human Systems Integration (HSI) is an interdisciplinary program that emphasizes human considerations as a priority in systems design and acquisition, to reduce life cycle costs, and improve total system performance. HSI has been divided into several distinct domains that include human factors engineering, manpower, personnel, training, human survivability, health hazards, system safety, and habitability. HSI is based on the understanding that people (operators, maintainers, and support personnel) are critical elements of the system and that a human-centered design perspective promotes system effectiveness, safety, and cost savings. This degree will provide students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be effective leaders in the assessment, design, testing, and management of a total human machine system throughout its life cycle.

Master of Human Systems Integration

The degree of Master of Human Systems Integration (HSI) requires:

1. Completion of a minimum of 40 quarter-hours of graduate-level courses with:
1. At least 20 quarter-hours of 4000-level courses, and
2. Human Systems Integration core courses and a series of supporting courses, including coursework in HSI domains, Systems Engineering, Defense Acquisition, Cost Estimation, and Probability and Statistics, all of which are set in a matrix approved by the Chairman, Department of Operations Research.
2. Students are required to demonstrate mastery of Human Systems Integration practice through satisfactory completion of a two-quarter capstone project approved by the Chairman, Department of Operations Research. The quarter-hours earned in the Capstone project are applied towards satisfying the minimum graduate level quarter-hours for the degree.

Master of Science in Human Systems Integration

The degree of Master of Science in Human Systems Integration requires:

1. Completion of a minimum of 40 quarter-hours of graduate-level courses with:
1. At least 20 quarter-hours of 4000 level courses.
2. An elective sequence approved by the Chairman, Department of Operations Research.
2. Submission of an acceptable thesis on a subject previously approved by the Chairman, Department of Operations Research.

Courses required

Prerequisites

• A baccalaureate degree with above-average grades
• Academic profile code (APC) of 345
• Students without these quantitative prerequisites will be accepted in cases where their undergraduate records indicate that they are exceptional students and there are other indicators of potential.

Learning Outcomes

The goal of this program is to educate eligible personnel within the federal government and defense contractor organizations in the discipline of Human Systems Integration (HSI). Graduates of this program will possess the skills necessary to function as practitioners of HSI.

1. SYSTEMS APPROACH: Graduates will be able to positively influence the activities the Program Management (PM), Systems Engineering (SE), and Test & Evaluation (T&E) communities as they function within the Department of Defense (DoD) Acquisition Lifecycle.
2. HSI DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE: Graduates will demonstrate a basic knowledge of all HSI domains: Human Factors Engineering, Manpower, Personnel, Training, Environmental Safety and Occupational Health, Survivability, and Habitability. Graduates will be familiar with the primary approaches and techniques used by each HSI domain.
3. HUMAN PERFORMANCE: Graduates will be able to apply their knowledge of the cognitive and physiological capabilities and constraints on human performance in operational settings. Graduates will be able to assess factors that affect human performance such as attention, memory, workload, situation awareness, stress, fatigue, and human error.
4. IMPLEMENTING HSI TRADEOFFS: Graduates will be able to conduct elementary tradeoffs across HSI domains, as well as tradeoffs involving engineering, acquisition, and T&E disciplines. They will be able to articulate the impacts and risks associated with those tradeoffs to technical and non-technical audiences.
5. ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES: Graduates will be able to conduct fundamental quantitative and qualitative research in both field and laboratory settings within the context of the defense acquisition process.
6. MODELING and SIMULATION: Graduates will be familiar with basic modeling and simulation (M&S) techniques to explore tradeoffs across HSI domains and tradeoffs involving engineering, acquisition, and T&E disciplines.

Application Information

Applications are handled by the NPS Admissions Office. Please visit the admissions website or contact them at admissions@nps.edu.

Tuition & Service Obligation

For information regarding tuition, please contact the NPS Tuition office at tuition@nps.edu, or contact this offering’s POC at aditya.prasad@nps.edu.

For information regarding service obligation, please visit the Admissions Office’s Eligibility/Service Obligation page.