Anyone in the PhD stage?

[ravyn]

Hey all,

 

I am wondering if I am the only one starting a PhD program in this field (Speech Language and Hearing or ComDis or Speech Language Pathology or Audiology or whatever your school calls it =P)

Is there anyone who is already in a PhD program for this field?

 

I am wondering what it is like for those who are already in one.

[whatsinmind]

Hi ravyn, I'm in a ComDis PhD program. I entered straight from undergrad so I don't have any clinical degrees and I currently have no interest in pursuing one. When applying, I found a lot of individual variability between different programs. Some programs are extremely clinical to the point where clinical students (SLP, AuD, etc.) have priority over PhD students. Other programs are more research focused. Depending on what you are interested as a researcher and your goals as a professional in the field, certain programs will be a better fit than others (even if they all have the same name!) 

 

I chose to go into the ComDis program because while my background is in cognitive psychology/linguistics and I love psychology/linguistics research, I wanted my research career to be more translational. For this reason, ComDis is a wonderful field. Because there is technically a lack of PhD-holders in ComDis, SLP, SLHS and etc., many faculty members in these programs are psychology, linguistics, or neuroscience researchers who apply the basic concepts of these fields to clinical populations, treatments, or diagnostic measures. Even if you do not have a clinical background, research in ComDis makes you to think about the clinic.

 

Hopefully this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions.

[jmk]

Whatsinmind- would you mind sharing what you did extracurricular or research wise to make yourself a competitive applicant for a comdis PhD program?

Also, what career path do you hope to pursue after the phD?

[ravyn]

Hi ravyn, I'm in a ComDis PhD program. I entered straight from undergrad so I don't have any clinical degrees and I currently have no interest in pursuing one. When applying, I found a lot of individual variability between different programs. Some programs are extremely clinical to the point where clinical students (SLP, AuD, etc.) have priority over PhD students. Other programs are more research focused. Depending on what you are interested as a researcher and your goals as a professional in the field, certain programs will be a better fit than others (even if they all have the same name!) 

 

I chose to go into the ComDis program because while my background is in cognitive psychology/linguistics and I love psychology/linguistics research, I wanted my research career to be more translational. For this reason, ComDis is a wonderful field. Because there is technically a lack of PhD-holders in ComDis, SLP, SLHS and etc., many faculty members in these programs are psychology, linguistics, or neuroscience researchers who apply the basic concepts of these fields to clinical populations, treatments, or diagnostic measures. Even if you do not have a clinical background, research in ComDis makes you to think about the clinic.

 

Hopefully this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions.

 

This helps SO much, thank you. I really appreciate your post; I was starting to feel not only lost but alone =P

 

The program from which I got a letter of acceptance is a Speech Language and Hearing PhD program and I've replied saying I'll attend. It is a completely research-focus program.

 

I too do not have a clinical degree of any kind. My undergraduate degree is in Biology and was involved in cellular/molecular research (I learned how to clone genes as a senior and as a summer intern I worked on the neurobiology of zebrafish), but now I am about to have an academic year's worth of psycholinguistics research when I finish my internship. So that is my background in two sentences.  

 

Right now, I am taking an undergraduate course in the ComDis department; it is a pre-requisite for those interested in the Master's. The course called speech and language development and I am taking it to test out my interest in the master's. I am getting slightly bored with it because it isn't neuroscience-y enough for me. I like it in some respects, though.

 

I took an introduction to Communication Disorders course as an undegraduate. I only took it to have enough credits for full-time status.I liked it. I am definitely a "want to understand human clinical/medical/conditions" kind of person and I love the idea of gathering data from humans and analyzing it. Although I am en-route to attending an SLHS program and I can see myself analyzing data from EEGs and fMRIs and maybe even some behavioral data, I still feel fuzzy about what I truly want.

 

I worry about feeling academically comfortable in this field. I chose this field because I also want a more translational research experience, and I love that you say that research in ComDis makes you think about the clinic. In what ways does that occur?

[whatsinmind]

Hi jmk, for PhD applicants generally, research experience is extremely important. During undergrad, I worked in 4 different labs. I worked in a psychology lab from my sophomore year of college until I graduated. During junior year, I also joined a lab in the computer engineering department. Then, I joined a different lab at a different institution for each summer as a temporary research assistant. Both of these labs were in SLHS departments (which is how I learned about the field). 

 

My undergrad advisor told me having 2-3 different lab experiences is ideal for a competitive PhD applicant. I agree with this while adding that in the end it is quality over quantity of lab work that counts. It is better to have substantial contributions (e.g. helping with a poster, collecting data, completing a senior thesis) in one lab, rather than do grunt work for 2 or 3 labs (e.g. cleaning lab supplies, filing papers etc.). An ideal situation is working in one lab during the school year and using your summers/breaks to explore different research opportunities.

 

In terms of career path, I am still an early-stage PhD candidate so this answer changes almost every other week! But other than academia, I would like to do research at a medical school or hospital. 

 

ravyn, I am happy you are going into an SLHS PhD Program! Congratulations! I am sure it will be a great experience. When I said that ComDis makes you think about the clinic, I meant that when you propose a research question, many people in the field will ask you to justify your idea which how it applies to people and their health. Most of the time, you will use a clinical population or treatment as a framework for the research you do. Even if your research is not directly applicable to the clinic, you will be able to explain why your research is necessary to improve clinical settings. This might be helpful if you are still unsure of what you want to study, because you are given a specific way of asking research questions. 

 

Hope this helps!

[ravyn]

Hi jmk, for PhD applicants generally, research experience is extremely important. During undergrad, I worked in 4 different labs. I worked in a psychology lab from my sophomore year of college until I graduated. During junior year, I also joined a lab in the computer engineering department. Then, I joined a different lab at a different institution for each summer as a temporary research assistant. Both of these labs were in SLHS departments (which is how I learned about the field). 

 

My undergrad advisor told me having 2-3 different lab experiences is ideal for a competitive PhD applicant. I agree with this while adding that in the end it is quality over quantity of lab work that counts. It is better to have substantial contributions (e.g. helping with a poster, collecting data, completing a senior thesis) in one lab, rather than do grunt work for 2 or 3 labs (e.g. cleaning lab supplies, filing papers etc.). An ideal situation is working in one lab during the school year and using your summers/breaks to explore different research opportunities.

 

In terms of career path, I am still an early-stage PhD candidate so this answer changes almost every other week! But other than academia, I would like to do research at a medical school or hospital. 

 

ravyn, I am happy you are going into an SLHS PhD Program! Congratulations! I am sure it will be a great experience. When I said that ComDis makes you think about the clinic, I meant that when you propose a research question, many people in the field will ask you to justify your idea which how it applies to people and their health. Most of the time, you will use a clinical population or treatment as a framework for the research you do. Even if your research is not directly applicable to the clinic, you will be able to explain why your research is necessary to improve clinical settings. This might be helpful if you are still unsure of what you want to study, because you are given a specific way of asking research questions. 

 

Hope this helps!

 

Hey, cool! I want to do research at a hosptial or medical school/center too!!!

But yeah, that helps! I really want what I do to be viewed from that perspective instead of something purely/mostly theoretical.

i still feel lost, but you're totally helping me calm my nerves

 

..now if only I can force myself to study for my exam tomorrow =P