The doctoral program offers interdisciplinary preparation in basic and applied aspects of human development and communication sciences. The faculty includes specialists in communication science, communication disorders, developmental psychology, audiology, cognitive science, and neuroscience. Core and specialized courses provide the foundation for a wide spectrum of doctoral research. The doctoral program exists in an environment which encourages both basic and applied research in laboratory and field settings.
New students obtain research experience through participation in faculty projects.
Continuous and progressively independent research experience is the major emphasis throughout the course of study. The School of Human Development is housed in Green Hall on the main campus of The University of Texas at Dallas and in the Callier Center for Communication Disorders. Green Hall contains numerous laboratories and observation rooms for research on perception, memory, psycholinguistics, and social interaction, as well as extensive neuroscience facilities. A new one million dollar animal care building with neuroanatomical facilities is currently under construction. Numerous microcomputers are available for computer-assisted research and communications with The University of Texas at Dallas academic computer network, which includes a variety of Unix based servers and mainframes, a Convex microcomputer and access to a Cray Supercomputer.