Communication Sciences & Disorders

SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS

INTERSECTION OF LINGUISTICS, LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) SITE SMA # 1659607
Director: Prof. Isabelle Barrière, Ph.D.
Long Island University/Brooklyn Campus
Co-Director: Prof. Jonathan Nissenbaum, Ph.D.
Brooklyn College/CUNY

Deadline for Application: May 30 2017


Overview

The REU Site Intersection of Linguistics, Language and Culture Program is recruiting talented undergraduate students residing in the NY area from (but not limited to) historically disadvantaged groups to partake in a part-time year-long program to engage in research on language(s) and benefit from workshops that will help you prepare for the next step in your educational journey. 


Through funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), 14 students will be selected to engage in a 29-week research experience in speech-language-communication-hearing sciences that will include:
  1. Establishing a community of scholars through the attendance of a presentation on a topic related to your interest in speech-language-communication and participating to the site blog;
  2. Conducting a research project with the help of a Research Mentor (see list of mentors and their areas of specialization on page 2);
  3. Research Ethics training required to conduct research that involves the participation of human subjects;
  4. Presentation of your research at a student conference;
  5. Participation in a maximum of 5 workshops per year to prepare a graduate school application (that will cover topics such as how to prepare the GRE, select a graduate program, compile a successful application package) that will be scheduled at times convenient to all students ;
  6. The organization of a conference in the summer that will enable you to share your work with other NSF REU site participants and community partners. 
To successfully complete the program, students will devote 6 to 8 hours a week in the Fall and Spring semester and 15-18 hours a week in the summer to a research project with one of the participating mentors and at one of the research location (see list below).  REU Students are awarded a stipend of $6,500 a year for participation in the program: $2,000 for 12 weeks in the Fall semester, $2,000 for 12 weeks in the Spring semester and $2,500 in the Summer (June and first week of July) to compensate for their work.


List of Mentors and Research Sites

To successfully complete the program, students will devote 6 to 8 hours a week in the Fall and Spring semester and 15-18 hours a week in the summer to a research project with one of the participating mentors and at one of the research location (see list below).  REU Students are awarded a stipend of $6,500 a year for participation in the program: $2,000 for 12 weeks in the Fall semester, $2,000 for 12 weeks in the Spring semester and $2,500 in the Summer (June and first week of July) to compensate for their work.

Mentors

Areas of Specialization

Research sites (websites when available)

Prof. Isabelle Barrière

Acquisition of word and sentence-structure in monolingual and bilingual toddlers and preschoolers, emergent literacy

YVY Research Institute (http://www.yeled.org/res.asp)

and LIU/Downtown Brooklyn

http://www.liu.edu/brooklyn/slhc

Prof. Tempii Champion

Development of discourse skills in linguistically and culturally diverse populations

LIU/Downtown Brooklyn

http://www.liu.edu/brooklyn/slhc

Prof. Daniel Kaufman

Documentation and analyses of endangered and undocumented languages

Endangered Language Alliance http://elalliance.org/

Prof. Laura Koenig

The principles that underpin speech production across different languages

Adelphi, Long Island and Haskins Laboratory

http://www.haskins.yale.edu/

Prof. Nelson Moses

Atypical speech-language- and communication in school age children; the relation between language and cognitive development

LIU/Downtown Brooklyn

http://www.liu.edu/brooklyn/slhc

Prof. Jonathan Nissenbaum

Interface between sentence structure (syntax) and meaning (semantics) and speakers’ knowledge of sounds (phonetic).

BC Linguistics Lab

Prof. Valerie Shafer

The perception,  representation and processing of sounds and words and their neurological underpinnings

Developmental Neurolinguistics Laboratory (http://www.gc.cuny.edu/Page-Elements/Academics-Research-Centers-Initiatives/Doctoral-Programs/Speech-Language-Hearing-Sciences/Research-Labs/Developmental-Neurolinguistics-Laboratory)

Prof. Martha Tyrone

Sign language and gesture production in healthy and impaired deaf and hearing individuals; speech acoustics and articulation in toddlers, and instrumented measures of gestures and speech prosody in adults.

LIU. Downtown Brooklyn

http://www.liu.edu/brooklyn/slhc

and Haskins Laboratory http://www.haskins.yale.edu/

Prof. Gina Youmans

Acquired disorders including in individuals with Aphasia, Parkinson, Alzheimer; Pragmatic impairments

LIU/Downtown Brooklyn

http://www.liu.edu/brooklyn/slhc


Download application


1.  Eligibility Requirement

To be eligible, students must fulfill all of the following requirements by the start of the REU program:

  • be a U.S. citizen or non-citizen permanent resident
  • be enrolled as a part-time or full-time student at a college or university in the New York metropolitan area leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree
  • have completed at least one of the courses listed below:
    • Introduction to Linguistics/the study of language, Phonetics, Phonology, Syntax, Semantics, Morphology,
    • Speech and Language Development/Language Acquisition, Development of literacy skills/reading and writing
    • Psychology of language/ Psycholinguistics, Language and Thought
    • Cognitive, Developmental or Experimental Psychology
    • Speech Sciences, Audiology
    • Acquired Disorders/Aphasia
  • have at least two semesters of undergraduate school remaining before graduation
  • have an overall GPA of 3 or higher
Although all eligible students are welcome to apply, we especially encourage applications from students who are members of underrepresented groups in the Speech-Language-Hearing-Communication and Cognitive Sciences which include but are not limited to:

  • students who are racial/ethnic minorities, first-generation college students, women, and veterans
  • students who are familiar with a Language Other Than English (LOTE), a Sign Language and/or with varieties of English that differ from Mainstream American English (e.g. African American English, Jamaican English etc)
  • students who have experienced educational or economic disadvantage or other personal circumstances that may have impeded their transition to the next stage of training towards a science career
In addition to submitting the application provided below, students must submit the following:

  • Official transcripts from all college-level institutions enrolled in to date;
  • One academic letter of reference:  this letter should be written by an instructor, employer or mentor who can speak knowledgeably about your career goals, interests, work ethic, academic abilities, relevant skills and potential. It should be emailed to: Intersectionlinglangcult@gmail.com by May 30, 2017 with your name in the subject line
  • Resume/Curriculum Vitae (maximum 2 pages)
  • A 2-3 page statement (12 point font, double line spacing) that explains why you are interested in participating in this program and what makes you a good candidate.

Completed applications should be submitted via email to Intersectionlinglangcult@gmail.com no later than May 30, 2017


Download application


View the NSF Abstract


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