Doctor of Philosophy in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

The Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences doctoral program (PhD SLHS) at the University of Montana provides the opportunity for students to closely study with faculty in the School of Speech, Language, Hearing, & Occupational Sciences. Students who choose to pursue this research-focused PhD will work with a primary faculty mentor of a chosen speech, language, and/or hearing specialization to develop related content and research skills. Content specialization experiences and seminars are balanced with opportunities to complete coursework across a wide variety of related content disciplines (e.g., neuroscience, psychology, education) through individualized plans of study. Thus, students benefit from both the expertise and mentorship of a faculty mentor in a chosen expertise that is characteristic of a traditional apprenticeship PhD model, and the advantages of an interprofessional model.

The program is made up of a combination of 54 credits of coursework and professional products, the preliminary comprehensive competency exam, and a dissertation. Students must pass a preliminary comprehensive competency exam that includes disciplinary knowledge, a critique of a research manuscript, and design of an experimental research study.