Daryush Mehta and Wade Chien have the opportunity to learn how to make laser doppler vibrometer measurements in Dr. John Rosowski’s middle ear mechanics lab. Photo by Ryuji Suzuki.
Fabio Thiers peers into the ultrastructure of an outer hair cell synapse using a transmission electron microscope which allows him to resolve structures only a few angstroms in size. Photo by Ryuji Suzuki.
Understanding how humans communicate through speech and hearing requires depth in many disciplines. The strength of the Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology (SHBT) doctoral program lies in its unusual coupling of knowledge and skills from acoustics, engineering, computer science, cellular and molecular neuroscience, psychophysics, cognitive science, linguistics, and clinical practice.
By introducing key concepts in an integrated set of core subjects early on, we give our students a solid foundation for pursuing individual research interests. During their first year, students gain broad exposure to clinical issues and practice. From the outset, they also encounter a range of research labs that take different approaches to solving problems in speech and hearing; because students participate directly in research, their classroom learning comes to life.
SHBT faculty members also focus students on the vital importance of personal integrity, scientific values, and standards of scholarly practice.
Below we discuss the SHBT educational experience and the academic nuts and bolts of how the program works.
Because of our small scale, SHBT students enjoy great flexibility in shaping their course of study. We encourage students to cultivate their own special interests, consistent with the objectives of the Program. For example, students may pursue research at institutions other than Harvard and MIT, or make unusual course selections that match their particular research interests – so long as their academic advisor approves.
Our core curriculum (and nearly one-to-one student/faculty ratio) guarantees that students develop relationships with a wide range of faculty members. And because our courses often require work in groups, students form strong, durable ties with their classmates, building a network of contacts they can call upon throughout their careers. They establish further ties across classes through work in individual labs and through the many social gatherings the students organize themselves.
The SHBT program is administered by the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology and leads to a PhD degree awarded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
SHBT employs two complementary approaches to multidisciplinary education:
The academic program in SHBT consists of the following:
On average, it takes five years to complete a Ph.D. degree in SHBT. A detailed roadmap of the major steps towards the degree is shown here.
