Language and Communicative Disorders
OFFICE: Cognitive Science Building, Room 266
Mail code: 0526
(619) 594-6775
http://crl.ucsd.edu
http://chhs.sdsu.edu/SLHS/pdhmain.php
Professors
Courses
The Joint Doctoral Program
San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of California,
San Diego (UCSD), offer jointly a doctoral program in Language and Communicative
Disorders. The programs focus is the interdisciplinary study of
language and communicative disorders. A major emphasis of the program
is to apply techniques developed in cognitive science and neuroscience
to the study of language and language disorders. The program involves
study and research in normal language (including sign languages of the
deaf and language impairments), and in the neural bases of language
use and language loss. Participating faculty have research interests
in a wide range of issues in processes of language development, language
and aging, multilingualism, language disorders, assessment, and intervention.
Graduates of the program will be qualified to serve as faculty in university
programs in a variety of disciplines, and to provide leadership in research
and health services. The doctoral program faculty at UCSD are an interdisciplinary
group from the Departments of Cognitive Science, Communication, Linguistics,
Neurosciences, and Psychology. The doctoral program faculty at SDSU
are members of the Departments of Communicative Disorders, Linguistics,
and Psychology. The program is coordinated by the doctoral program coordinators
at each campus, in conjunction with an Executive Committee comprising
three faculty from each campus appointed by the Graduate Deans from
each campus.
The program is innovative in that many of the requirements are designed
to function as a model of professional preparation specifically incorporating
activities in which a successful teacher and researcher must engage
after obtaining the Ph.D: students will be required to participate in
interdisciplinary research throughout the program, learn about the nature
and ethics of research, prepare grant proposals, write manuscripts,
and will gain experience in oral presentations and teaching. Graduates
from the program will be well prepared for the rigors of an academic/research
career. The doctoral program in Language and Communicative Disorders,
being interdisciplinary, draws from a variety of undergraduate disciplines
including communicative disorders, psychology, cognitive science, linguistics,
engineering, and other related sciences. Students should have adequate
preparation in mathematics, statistics, and biological sciences. Background
in neurosciences and/or language sciences, or language disorders is
helpful, but not required for admission.
By the end of the first year, all students will select a major field
of emphasis by choosing one of three concentrations. The Adult Language
concentration is intended to provide intensive education in communicative
disorders in adults. Students in this concentration will also develop
expertise in the study of language processing in normal adults. The Child
Language concentration is intended to provide specialized education
in childhood (birth to adolescence) communicative disorders. Students
in this concentration will also achieve competence in developmental psycholinguistics
emphasizing language acquisition in normally developing children. The
Multilingualism concentration is intended to provide education
in cross-linguistic, ethnographic, and other comparative studies of communicative
disorders in children and/or adults, including those associated with bilingualism
and second-language acquisition (including acquisition of sign language
in deaf individuals). All students will be required to take some courses
in each of the three concentrations. In addition, each student will elect
a methods minor, applying one of the new technologies of cognitive
neuroscience to research on language and communicative disorders. These
may include computer-controlled studies of language processing in real-time
functional brain imaging (including event-related brain potentials and/or
functional magnetic resonance imaging), or neural-network simulations
of communicative disorders.
The program is designed as a five-year curriculum, based on a twelve-month
academic year. Students will be admitted to the doctoral program only
in the fall semester/quarter. Information regarding admission is found
in the current edition of the Bulletin of the Graduate Division
of San Diego State University. To receive an application for admission,
contact: SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative
Disorders, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego,
California 92182-1518, (619) 594-6775.
Required courses include the Tools requirement (two courses in
statistics/research design, a course in neuroanatomy and physiology, a
course in language structure and theory and a professional survival skills
course), the Foundations requirement (three courses on normal language
and three courses on disorders of language) and the Electives requirement
(at least five courses, with a minimum of three courses related to the
chosen concentration, chosen from a broad list of approved options from
Anthropology, Cognitive Science, Communicative Disorders, Computer Science,
Linguistics, Neurosciences, and Psychology). Consult with adviser for
approved list of elective courses. The five required electives must be
approved by the students adviser and the Doctoral Program Coordinators.
In addition to their course requirements, students are required to complete
three laboratory rotations in different research methodologies (each lasting
a minimum of one quarter), two research projects (first year and second
year), a qualifying examination for advancement to candidacy, and a dissertation
proposal in the form of grant proposal to one of the public agencies that
funds research in communicative disorders.
Ph.D. Time Limit Policies
Students must be advanced to candidacy by the end of four years. Total
university support cannot exceed seven years. Total registered time
at UCSD cannot exceed eight years.
Language and Communicative Disorders
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