Can I get your opinion?

[rEliseMe]

I'm a rising undergraduate senior, so it's time to really nail down where I'll be applying in the fall. My interests are in cochlear implants and otoacoustic emissions (among other things), but my long-term goal is research and/or teaching. However, I would like a clinical education as well, so I'm looking mainly at programs that have both a PhD and an AuD. Ideally, they would be integrated so that courses can have cross-application.

I have to say that the University of Iowa is my dream school right now. I have read a lot of Dr Christopher Turner's research on hybrid implants and am fascinated by that topic area. When I visited, I got a chance to meet Dr Shawn Goodman's students and really enjoyed discussing their projects. The UIowa program also stresses research, which for me is a great thing, and their AuD/PhD program is an integrated 7-year program. The only downfalls for me are cost (I'm an out-of-state student and they can't predict how much funding they will have) and difficulty of getting in. (I feel confident that I can handle the difficulty of the curriculum.)

My first GRE scores were 550V, 710Q, and a 5.0 on the AWA. Mean scores for accepted applicants in 2009 were 550V, 650Q, and 4.0AWA.

My GPA probably won't be any higher than 3.5, because of an 18-month period where arachnophobia ruled (ruined) my life. In major-related classes, I'd say I have closer to a 3.7 or higher. In any case, my GPA is not representative of the kind of learner I am.

I spend my weekends reading research articles, and I feel I've learned much more than my peers at this stage of the game. I plan to conduct a small research study with an undergraduate grant this fall, and hopefully present it either at the ISHA meeting or the AAS meeting next year.



So, three-fold question:

1. Have you heard anything about UIowa? What have you heard/what do you think?

2. If you know anything about the difficulty of admissions, what do you think are my chances?

3. Are there any other schools you know of that offer both AuD and PhD in either a combined program or closely-related program? Would you recommend them?

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[cidanu]

if you're interested in clinical research (which i assume you are because you want clinical certification) there are other programs which might possibly be shorter. U Maryland for one says their AuD/PhD takes 5 years, and Gallaudet's which is supposed to take 6 years. but those are ideal time frames and might be a stretch. both require you to apply for the AuD initially, meaning you have to reapply for the PhD and they can't give you PhD funding until you are working on it full time.

if you're really concerned about funding, you might be better off applying to purely research PhD's or programs where you are admitted to both the AuD and PhD at the same time. U Mass Amherst might have one of the latter. there is a dearth of PhD's in audiology and hearing science and there is more funding available for the Phd than the AuD.

that said in the end it's probably best to go wherever you're most comfortable with the program, faculty research matches your interests, and there are resources to satisfy your clinical and research goals. oh and you can see yourself living there for the next good part of a decade. =)

 

[rEliseMe]

if you're interested in clinical research (which i assume you are because you want clinical certification) there are other programs which might possibly be shorter. U Maryland for one says their AuD/PhD takes 5 years, and Gallaudet's which is supposed to take 6 years. but those are ideal time frames and might be a stretch. both require you to apply for the AuD initially, meaning you have to reapply for the PhD and they can't give you PhD funding until you are working on it full time.

I'm not sure if it's clinical or theoretical research I'm more interested in at this point, but I definitely want that fall-back plan in case my research career doesn't pan out. I'm not particularly interested in working as a clinician but I do want to have the option should I change my mind (and suddenly love people) later.

I didn't realize that 7 years was a long time for the combined degree! Thank you for your suggestions; I will look into UMaryland for sure. Living in DC and Massachusetts makes me nervous.

that said in the end it's probably best to go wherever you're most comfortable with the program, faculty research matches your interests, and there are resources to satisfy your clinical and research goals. oh and you can see yourself living there for the next good part of a decade. =)

I agree on the comfort issue. I actually didn't know about Iowa in the rankings until after I was already interested. I read Dr. Turner's research on hybrids, decided I would love to learn more about him and perhaps study under him, and that's how I found Iowa. But I am also fascinated by Dr. Goodman's research and Dr. Kirk, who is a new faculty member and actually happens to be SLP faculty. She is working on some new sentence-based tests. Fascinating stuff!

Thanks again for your input!

 

[Raconteur07]

James Madison offers a dual Au.D./Ph.D. degree and stresses research and dissertation in its Au.D. program. Also, most -- if not all -- of its accepted Au.D. students for the past couple years have received a significant amount of funding from the university through graduate assistantships. Their faculty also conducts research in a wide variety of audiologic concentrations.

 

[rEliseMe]

James Madison offers a dual Au.D./Ph.D. degree and stresses research and dissertation in its Au.D. program. Also, most -- if not all -- of its accepted Au.D. students for the past couple years have received a significant amount of funding from the university through graduate assistantships. Their faculty also conducts research in a wide variety of audiologic concentrations.

Thanks! I'll check into it.

 

[chicoborja]

U of Iowa is, of course, the top choice. However, another program to consider would be U of Nebraska Lincoln. I'm pointing this out not because it is a great program but because of its affiliation with Boys Town. I believe you may be able to work on a PhD with many of the famous researchers there. For example, Michael Gorga, Stephen Neely, and Douglas Keefe. Their areas are OAEs and wideband relectance. There is no better place for OAE research.

 

[rEliseMe]

U of Iowa is, of course, the top choice. However, another program to consider would be U of Nebraska Lincoln. I'm pointing this out not because it is a great program but because of its affiliation with Boys Town. I believe you may be able to work on a PhD with many of the famous researchers there. For example, Michael Gorga, Stephen Neely, and Douglas Keefe. Their areas are OAEs and wideband relectance. There is no better place for OAE research.

Oh, thanks for the heads up! OAEs are up there on my list of interests; that's why I was so fascinated with Dr. Goodman. I hadn't considered UN because, well, Nebraska. But in reality it's not the location that's most important. I probably won't see much outside of my office/apartment anyway! I'll check into UNL, thanks for the tip.