Research Training in Speech and Hearing Sciences

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DESCRIPTION (from applicant's abstract): Advanced training in the speech, language, and hearing sciences is at a critical point in its short history. Although the national need for services and the demand for graduate training are steadily increasing, doctoral training in speech, language, and hearing sciences has been insufficient in keeping up with these needs. Projected faculty retirement and departmental growth outstrip production of doctoral graduates by approximately 50%. Doctoral training in the speech, language, and hearing sciences at the University of Washington has played a significant role in addressing this growing need. University of Washington graduates consistently compete for the best faculty and research positions in the country. Training experiences afforded by the UW training mentors include active research programs in: clinical audiology, hearing aid design and evaluation, neonatal hearing screening, psycholinguistics, phonology, auditory electrophysiology, multicultural aspects of communication, psychoacoustics, bioacoustics, social communication, speech perception, speech physiology, speech acoustics, motor speech disorders, neurogenic speech-language disorders, inner hair cell regeneration, oromotor coorination and biomechanics, song development in songbirds, cochlear implants, neuroimaging, and cognitive neuroscience. Program trainees are exposed to a wide range of research in speech, language, and hearing, emerging well versed in these disciplines and able to conduct technologically and theoretically ambitious programs of research. Independent projections and observations yield the common conclusions that: (1) The need for health care professionals in speech, language, and hearing sciences will rise steeply over the next several decades. Research efforts will need to rise commensurately. (2) The supply of new professionals remains limited by the number of graduate programs. Existing programs must maintain or increase their training efforts. (3) Growth in training programs is limited by a lack of qualified professor-ial research faculty. (4) Research institutions represent a compara-tively small proportion of training programs. This proposed research- training program addresses these needs by providing a highly enriched educational environment for predoctoral students. These students will be exposed to a broad range of interdisciplinary research as well as being mentored to develop as independent investigators within their more narrowly defined scope of research in preparation for academic careers encompassing both research and teaching.