Research, Grants & Scholarships

Research Opportunities
Bilingual/Biliteracy Lab
Child Language Analysis Lab
Speech/Voice Lab
Early Intervention Grant
Additional Funding and Scholarship Opportunities

Research Opportunities

Research is an integral part of the educational experience for both undergraduates and graduate students in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Through coursework and clinic, students are exposed to the relevant research in various aspects of the field. Some students will also participate with faculty research as part of their assignments for assistantships. Students are encouraged to attend presentations of the faculty and other researchers at university, local, state, and national conferences.

The faculty in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders are involved in a wide array of research projects. Students are encouraged to seek out opportunities to participate in faculty research, some of which may come with funding through university or external grants. In addition, students are encouraged to work with the faculty to participate and assist in posters and presentations of faculty research at the university, local, state and national conferences and conventions.

Students are encouraged to pursue their own research interests through completion of a master's thesis. If students are interested in doing a master's thesis, they need to decide and begin preliminary work on it during their first year in the graduate program. The thesis could be closed related to a given faculty's current work or be an original idea. A faculty member would have to agree to be the head of the master's thesis and that thesis head would be responsible for developing the necessary thesis committee. Students may also conduct other research projects, such as a literature research review on a topic of interest as part of an independent study. Student initiated research could also, with a faculty mentor, be submitted for posters and presentations at professional conferences.

Bilingual/Biliteracy Lab

The purpose of this laboratory is to support faculty and student research activities. Areas of research interests are investigations of the language, communication, play, and emergent literacy development of preschool children who are learning 2 languages and who also may be language impaired in English and Spanish. The Bilingual Biliteracy Language Laboratory has state of the art equipment including screening and evaluation tests, treatment materials in Spanish, a library of select articles on second language acquisition, 2 computers with internet access, monitors, laser printer, VCR & monitor, DVD, wireless microphones, and digital camera to support research activities.

Child Language Analysis Lab

The Child Language Laboratory is under the direction of Dr. Deborah Hwa-Froelich. This lab contains two computers with mini-DV digital editing capabilities, two television monitors, a DVD-editing deck, VHS deck, and audio dubbing decks. Both computers have the capability to create both CD-ROM and DVD data disks. Other research equipment includes a mini-DV video camera and two wireless microphone sets.

Dr. Hwa-Froelich has conducted research projects using mini-DV tapes of children's language productions and play performances. Currently, her research interests involve Asian American children's language learning, Asian children's play behaviors, African American children's language functions, African American children's play behaviors, African American mother-child communicative interactions, qualitative analysis of Asian parent and Head Start staff perspectives on education and disability, analysis of cross-cultural interactions between Asian parents and Head Start staff, development of culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment tools, and development of culturally appropriate computerized language analysis of communicative functions. She currently has 5 students assisting her with different research projects.

Speech/Voice Lab

The Communication Sciences and Disorders Speech and Voice Laboratory is designed for graduate student education in clinical instrumentation used for assessment, diagnosis, and management activities of speech and voice disorders. Instrumentation currently available in this laboratory includes Endoscopic and Stroboscopic equipment for visual examination/recording of vocal mechanism, a suite of Kay Elemetrics equipment including Visi-Pitch, Nasometer, Laryngograph, Computerized Speech Laboratory, Sona-Match, Voice Range Profile, Multi-Dimensional Voice Profile, and Motor Speech Profile, and a variety of analog and digital audio and visual recorders along with high quality microphones. This laboratory also supports student and faculty research concerning the normal and/or disordered production of speech and voice.

Early Intervention Grant

This personnel preparation grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs to expand the pre-service training emphasis in early intervention (birth to three years) for speech-language pathology graduate students. The project year runs from June 1 through May 31. The twelve-month graduate traineeship includes a substantial stipend, eighteen hours of tuition remission, book allowance, and conference funds. Students will receive academic and specialized clinical training to work with infants, toddlers, and their families. Clinical preparation may include practicum experiences in pediatric hospitals, NICU, home-based service provision, specialized center-based sites and other early childhood settings. The project also provides the opportunity for research and professional presentations. Federal regulations require trainees to sign an agreement to maintain employment for two years after graduation in a school or setting serving infants, toddlers, and young children with disabilities. Interested students are encouraged to contact Pat D. Miller, M.S., Project Coordinator/Co-Director for further information. Project traineeship applications can be obtained from the department of communication sciences and disorders (commdis@slu.edu).

Additional Funding/Scholarship Opportunities

Graduate School Fellowships:

Presidential Fellowship

The Presidential Fellowship is awarded to a newly accepted master's or doctoral level student who demonstrates outstanding scholastic achievement and potential for success in graduate school. Applicants must be American citizens. Students are nominated by their department, and the Graduate School's Presidential Fellowship Committee makes the final decision. For more information please view the following link: http://www.slu.edu/colleges/gr/recruit/pres_fund.html.

Diversity Fellowship

The Minority Fellowship is awarded to a newly accepted master's or doctoral level student, or current students enrolled for one or two semesters, who demonstrate outstanding scholastic achievement and potential for success in graduate school. Applicants must be American citizens and a member of one of the following underrepresented groups: African American, Asian American, Hispanic American or Native American. Students are nominated by their department, and the Graduate School's Minority Fellowship Committee makes the final selection. For more information please review the following link: http://www.slu.edu/colleges/gr/recruit/diversity_fund.html.

The Edward L. and Rhelda Marbry Morgan, Ph.D. Endowed Book Fund

The award includes two scholarships for books over one academic year from the endowed fund. The student must be accepted as a classified full-time graduate student in one of the academic disciplines of The Graduate School or an undergraduate senior pursuing a degree in American Studies, Biological Sciences, Communication, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Community Health, Education, English, Health Management and Policy, Mathematics and Mathematical Computer Sciences, Philosophy, Physiological Sciences, Psychology, Public Health Studies or Theological Studies. The student must represent an underrepresented group such as: African-American, Native American, Hispanic American or Asian American. For more information please review the following link: http://www.slu.edu/colleges/gr/recruit/morgan_fund.html.

For application forms for these fellowships, please review these links:
http://www.slu.edu/colleges/gr/finaid.html. http://www.slu.edu/colleges/gr/forms/assistantship_app.pdf.

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