Programme Specifications

Programme summary

1. Programme Aims

• to provide a high quality honours programme which maximises students’ opportunities to graduate with a good degree and enhance their employability.
• to equip students with the skills and knowledge which would enable them to work as professional ergonomists within industry and carry out research within academia and other research environments;
• to enable students to acquire a range of quantitative and qualitative research skills and methods for investigating human safety, health, comfort and performance;

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

• The Quality Assurance Agency’s framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (August, 2008);
• requirements of the Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors which undertakes annual monitoring, and performs a full review once every five years;
• requirements of the International Ergonomics Association;

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme, students should have developed:

K1 - A systematic understanding of key aspects of ergonomics, broadly covering anatomical, physiological and psychological aspects of the design of work environments including their comfort, efficiency, productivity and safety;

K2- An ability to deploy accurately established methods and techniques of analysis and enquiry within ergonomics;

K3 - The ability to devise and solve problems using ideas and techniques from ergonomics, some of which are at the forefront of developments within the discipline;

K4 - The ability to describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in the discipline.

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

C1 - demonstrate evidence-based reasoning and make critical judgements about ergonomic issues;

C2 - demonstrate an ability to apply knowledge gained in one area to a cognate problem in another area;

C3 - detect meaningful patterns in biological and psychological data, and evaluate their significance;

C4 - analyse and present the outcomes of investigations within ergonomics with confidence, based on sound quantitative and qualitative evidence;

b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

P1 - Analyse and critically evaluate information obtained from studies within ergonomics, including published research or reports;

P2 - observe, record accurately and give an objective account of human work-related activity in both laboratory and real-world settings;

P3 - collect and organise quantitative data for statistical analysis, and abstract relevant information from this analysis;

P4 - collect and interpret qualitative data rigorously, and abstract relevant information;

P5 - initiate, design, conduct and report an empirically-based project under appropriate supervision, recognising its theoretical, practical and methodological implications and limitations;

P6 - understand the ethical context of Ergonomics as a discipline and demonstrate this in relation to their own empirical work.

P7 - recognise and apply subject-specific theories, frameworks, concepts or principles;

c. Key transferable skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

T1 - use instructional material (eg, experimental demonstrations) and research tools (e.g,. computer-based statistical packages), and conduct literature searches using databases and other resources on the internet;

T2 - collect data in numerical form, present it in tables and graphs, and analyse it with a range of statistical tools;

T3 - clarify questions, consider alternative solutions and evaluate outcomes;

T4 - manage a project; control meetings, write reports, demonstrate key skills, understand training and skills issues;

T5- share responsibility for a task with others; agree common goals and methods to achieve them; co-ordinate the use of common resources;

T6 - write or speak clearly to topic; to draft, edit and polish presentations; to contribute actively to group discussion; communicate to both peers and teachers; in writing and orally;

T7 - Seek out sources of information, plan time to make the best use of resources and review priorities in the light of deadlines.

4. Programme structure

4.1       Part A  - Introductory Modules           

In the following table, ‘c’ indicates a compulsory module and ‘o’ indicates an optional module 

Compulsory modules in Semester 1 (total modular weight 50)

Compulsory modules in Semester 2 (total modular weight 60)

Compulsory modules across Semester 1 and Semester 2 (total modular weight 10)

4.2       Part B  - Degree Modules 

Compulsory modules in Semester 1 (total modular weight 60)

Compulsory modules in Semester 2 (total modular weight 60)

4.3       Part I – Placement (8 semester programme only)

Candidates on degree programme Ergonomics (Human Factors Design) with the Diploma in Professional Studies will undertake industrial/professional training.

Part I –  Overseas Study / Placement (8 semester programme only)

Candidates on degree programme Ergonomics (Human Factors Design) with the Diploma in International Studies will undertake industrial/professional training for half the year and will study at one of the Design School’s approved academic institutions for the other half of the academic year.

4.4       Part C  - Degree Modules 

Compulsory modules across Semester 1 and Semester 2 (total modular weight 40) – the project module has permitted weight distribution of 10:30 or 20:20.

Compulsory modules in Semester 1 (total modular weight 20)

Optional modules in Semester 1 must bring the total modular weight to 50, 60 or 70.

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

In order to progress from Part A to Part B, from Part B to C, from C to D (if applicable) and to be eligible for the award of an Honours degree, candidates must satisfy the minimum credit requirements set out in Regulation XX.

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification

Candidates' final degree classification will be determined on the basis of their performance in degree level Module Assessments in Parts B and C. The percentage mark for each Part will be combined in the ratio Part B 40: Part C 60 to determine the final percentage mark.