Doctor of Philosophy Program

The Doctor of Philosophy program in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences provides an education in the methods of scholarship, teaching, and research. A student should attain skills required for the objective maintenance, dissemination, and creation of basic and applied information in the sciences of communication disorders. Pertinent experiences in the doctoral program include additional study in another field that is related to the understanding of communication disorders, study of the basic methods of scientific investigation, and experience in the activities that are most typical of persons holding a doctoral degree. These experiences include teaching, research, and writing. These skills are considered to elevate previous training and experience in providing clinical services to persons with communication disorders.

The department guidelines for doctoral study consist of procedures for planning a program of study, minimum requirements for a program plan (including course work, research, and teaching), procedures for comprehensive examination, and procedures for a dissertation. This reflects the sequence of the major steps toward obtaining the doctoral degree. Research and teaching experiences may be obtained at any point along this path. The following guidelines were developed by the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences so that they would meet the needs of the audiology and speech-language pathology profession and, also, would be consistent with the general policies for doctoral education set forth by the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

A strong advisory system is maintained for all Ph.D. students in order to aid curriculum, qualifying examination, and dissertation planning.

The Ph.D. student must complete graduate-level course work in various areas in keeping with the following minimum requirements:

Ph.D. Program Plan Summary

1. Major Area (33 credits, minimum)
   1. The primary focus of the student’s doctoral study and research. Current specialization is available within either Audiology or Speech-Language Pathology.
   2. Distribution
      1. Courses — within and outside the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences as long as they are consistent with the major area. A minimum of 6 credits must be taken within the department. All courses must carry graduate level credits.
      2. Dissertation Only — a maximum of 18 credits can be counted toward the major area requirement.
2. Minor Area (15 credits minimum)
   A clearly defined field of study that is outside the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.
3. Research Skills (12 credits minimum)
   Statistics (6 credits minimum)
4. Teaching Experience
   Prior to completion of the dissertation, the student must either: (1) teach one undergraduate course in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences or (2) participate in team-teaching at least two courses in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.

When the majority of a student's coursework is completed, they will take qualifying exams in order to demonstrate their command of the appropriate literature for their programmatic focus. The dissertation is undertaken following successful completion of the comprehensive examination.

A dissertation prospectus must be accepted by the student’s dissertation committee prior to the start of the dissertation work, and the completed dissertation must be defended in the form of an oral examination conducted by the student’s committee.

For further information on graduate programs, contact: Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, 358 North Pleasant St., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-9296; tel. (413) 545-0131.

Program Overview:

Academic Coursework

1. SLHS690M, Multiculturalism in Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences, a 3-credit foundational course, which students take in the first spring semester that they enroll in the certificate. The two main goals of this course are 1) to explore the multi-faceted nature of our own cultural identities and those of our clients, and 2) to learn strategies to engage respectfully and provide quality service to clients from a diverse range of backgrounds. The format will involve critical discussion of readings, videos, and podcasts; guest speakers; case studies; reflection journals; and projects. This course will also be open to advanced undergraduate students, providing opportunities for informal mentorship as they prepare for their next steps after graduation.
2. SLHS690Y, a 3-credit capstone seminar course spread over the fall and spring semesters of the student’s second year in the certificate. This course will include?lectures, discussions, guest speakers, book/journal clubs, and podcasts. Specific topics to be discussed are determined in partnership with the students throughout the course. The seminar will provide opportunities for guidance and discussions about the student’s clinical experience journal and immersive community learning experience (more below).

Clinical Education

The student will maintain a clinical experience journal during their clinical practicum experiences to catalogue their clinical training encounters with clients that demonstrate the multicultural and diverse variety of persons in our communities. The student will begin writing journal entries toward the end of their first spring semester in the certificate (as part of SLHS690M), and continue journaling and submitting entries for feedback from certificate faculty approximately once a week through the summer and the following academic year. The Capstone Seminar (690Y) will provide structure for reviewing and maintaining the journal.

Immersive Experience and Capstone Project

The goal of the immersive community learning experience is for the student to connect with people and groups/organizations in our local area whose lived experiences may differ from that of the student. The student can choose how and where they would like to fulfill this requirement. The student will be asked to propose their own immersive experience as the final project in the spring Multiculturalism course (690M) and to complete an agreement with their partner organization regarding the plans for their project.The 40 hours can be completed at any point from the summer to the following spring. The student could do an intensive 40 hours over a couple weeks, or it could be spread out gradually over an extended period. Students will be provided with more detailed guidance about the steps and expectations in 690M and 690Y. This experience is different from just volunteering in that it should involve discussion with the student’s partner organization about a mutually beneficial goal of their involvement with them and include some kind of final “deliverable” or “artifact” that will be useful to the partner organization and/or community members served. The final products will be a brief written reflection, an artifact, and a presentation within 690Y.