Information about applying to the PhD program can be found here.
Program overview
The doctoral program in Communicative Sciences and Disorders provides students with training as academic researchers and scholars. This five-year full-time program includes several academic research milestones and comes with a competitive funding package (described below). In addition to research requirements, doctoral candidates take advanced-level courses in the department, school, and university. To obtain the PhD, candidates who hold a master's degree must take doctoral course work (43 points total), complete the candidacy research and scholarship requirements, and develop and defend a dissertation consisting of original research that makes a novel contribution to the field. Incoming students without a master's degree must minimally complete the prerequisite courses for a M.S. degree in this area in addition to the doctoral requirements (minimum 73 points).
The program is structured around research milestones. Students are required to produce two research papers in two different methodologies (as part of a lab rotation) over their first few years in the department. These papers may supplement or form the basis for the dissertation work. These papers are followed by the dissertation proposal and ultimately the dissertation. The research experiences, as well as the coursework, are intended to provide both breadth and depth to the doctoral experience.Mentors will help guide their students through conference presentations, article writing and grant submission in order to prepare them academically and professionally for post-doctoral work.
The precise coursework for the program will be different for each student depending on their interests and background. There are general requirements, highlighted by a rigorous training in research methodology and statistics (15 points) providing students with the skills to perform independent research. In addition, students are required to take a course in Seminal Readings in Communicative Sciences and Disorders (3 points) and are expected to attend the department Doctoral Seminar and Research Colloquium each semester. These one-credit classes will be taken for credit half the time (a total of 10 points). The remaining 15 points consist of in-depth coursework to help solidify the student's knowledge in their area of interest, and students are strongly encouraged to take courses outside of the department as appropriate.
Steinhardt Fellows Program and Research Assistantships
The Steinhardt School and the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders offers all full-time Ph.D. students a complete funding and mentoring program. The Steinhardt Fellows program is designed to help Ph.D. students undertake full-time study and research, to participate in superior academic and scholarly experiences, and to complete their studies in a timely manner.
Students in the Ph.D. program in Communicative Sciences and Disorders receive two years of fellowship (full tuition and fees, student health insurance, and a living stipend of $22,400) and three additional year of scholarship (scholarship stipend of $16,500). In the last three years, students will have the opportunity to teach courses in the department to gain valuable teaching experience and to supplement their scholarship.
In some circumstances, selected doctoral students may alternatively be appointed to a Research Assistantship. Research Assistants are funded by external grants (typically from their advisor) and work with a principal investigator on a funded research project. Unlike Steinhardt Fellows, RAs agree to work 20 hours per week on an ongoing research project, typically with a team of faculty and other students. Steinhardt Fellows may become Research Assistants when Steinhardt faculty obtain funding for projects that require research assistance. Students are strongly encouraged to contact faculty members they are interested in working with in advance.
All admitted full-time Ph.D. students are awarded a full funding package and are assigned to a faculty mentor. There is no special application for this funding program.
Faculty and Contact Information
Interested students are encouraged to examine the faculty webpages in the department and the research labs to find the faculty member(s) whose research interests are most relevant for you. The doctoral faculty for the department are:
- Dr. Sharon Antonucci
- Dr. Adam Buchwald
- Dr. Maria Grigos
- Dr. Harriet Klein
- Dr. Susannah Levi
- Dr. Christina Reuterskiold
- Dr. Diana Sidtis
- Dr. Celia Stewart
If you are interested in doctoral study, please contact the faculty member(s) whose research interests most closely reflect your own, or Dr. Harriet Klein for general information (harriet.klein@nyu.edu).