The number of doctoral graduates in communication sciences falls far short of the need in academics. Given a growing need for health care professionals in speech-language pathology and in audiology, this shortage could have devastating effects on the training of professionals in this field. Moreover, the need for research to support clinical efforts is crucial, especially with the current emphasis on evidence-based practice. Several factors contribute to the shortage of doctoral graduates: 1) the relatively small number of research training programs; 2) a lack of financial support for doctoral students; and 3) difficulties faced by graduates in establishing a program of research in academic settings. The proposed preceptors are a group of accomplished scientists with well funded laboratories and international reputations. Fields of inquiry represented include auditory perception and learning, auditory physiology, auditory development, audiological assessment and rehabilitation, speech perception and production, animal communication, genetics of hearing loss, voice, language and language development. The proposed program will support 8 pre- and 2 post-doctoral trainees. The training program immerses trainees in a research environment from the beginning. Trainees learn to plan, carry out, and acquire funding for a program of research. Specific coursework and experience is planned to achieve these goals. These include content courses as well as courses in research methods, grant writing and the responsible conduct of research. The interdisciplinary nature of the field of communication sciences will be stressed; trainees will be exposed to the work of all preceptors during their training through coursework, through a continuous seminar series organized by subsets of preceptors on interdisciplinary topics, and through interdisciplinary research. Trainees are encouraged to become members of the community of science through presentations to their peers within the program and through presentations at professional meetings. In addition, trainees will gain experience in teaching to better prepare them to succeed in academic positions. Congenital and acquired deficits in *language, speech and hearing are common problems. Research is needed to understand the nature of these deficits, to develop accurate diagnostic procedures and to optimize treatment. The proposed program will support the training of the scientists who will carry out that research. ? ? ?
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