Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences Ph.D.

Research skills: The Ph.D. training program provides students a strong foundation in cutting-edge knowledge and skills to become independent scholars in the study of typical and atypical processes of speech, language, and hearing. Research training is derived from faculty mentoring, required courses, elective courses, and seminars. Typically, one faculty member is the primary advisor in the training of research. Students are also required to do a research rotation with faculty members within or outside of the department.

Training for teaching: Students in the department are educated in the general process of teaching in a higher-education setting and within the discipline of typical and atypical processes of speech, language, and hearing. Informally, doctoral students often act as teaching assistants for undergraduate and graduate level courses where they are able to gain some teaching experience. Formally, there are two means by which students gain knowledge and experience for teaching: specific coursework and curricular teaching. The doctoral advisor and the student select two courses from the Preparing Future Faculty Program administered by the University of Minnesota’ Center for Teaching and Learning. These workshops cover learning theory and how to develop practical skills for teaching within a classroom. For discipline specific training, students must complete two Curricular Teaching (CT) experiences. A teaching experience is undertaken in a course wherein a student has sufficient content knowledge to teach a section for an undergraduate or graduate class. Selection of a teaching experience is done by the student, the doctoral advisor, and the potential faculty mentor of the selected class. Within a research lab, doctoral students also are provided opportunities to help mentor undergraduate and master’s students in the process of conducting research.