#  Core Curriculum 

 



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**Core Curriculum**  
During their first year, students take a series of graduate-level courses and carry out laboratory rotations that serve as the basis for selection of a dissertation advisor. A faculty Academic Advisor is assigned to each first year class to assist in course selection. Students must complete **three core courses**, along with **SHBT 301QC** (lab visits), and **two electives** that must be taken within the first two years. The SHBT courses are:  
   
**G1 Fall:**   
SHBT 201: From Sound to Neuron  
SHBT 301qc: Speech and Hearing Lab Visits  
   
**G1 Spring:**  
SHBT 202: Clinical Aspects of Speech and Hearing  
SHBT 205: Speech and Hearing: From Neuroscience to Perception  
   
The three core courses are normally taken in the first year of study and must be completed by June of G2 year. Students who earn at least three A's and two B’s in the core courses and electives automatically pass the Core requirements. Students who fail to meet this criterion may be assigned a remedy at the discretion of the Curriculum Committee. Successful completion of the core courses and two electives is a prerequisite for taking the Qualifying Exam.

  
Additionally, incoming G1 students are required to attend the SHBT Boot Camp and Orientation, typically held in August as students arrive on campus. The SHBT Boot Camp is designed to introduce students to our core courses and program requirements.



 

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###    Course Descriptions  expand\_more  

 

**SHBT 201: From Sound to Neuron**  
Director: Sunil Puria  
Acoustics, anatomy, normal biology, biophsics, physiology and morphology of the middle ear and ineer ear, its sensory innervation and efferent control systems, and the mechanisms underlying sensorineural hearing loss and medical devices used to treat pathology. Material is presented through lectures, laboratory exercises, discussions of the primary literature, and textbooks.  
   
**Elective: SHBT 203: Anatomy of Speech and Hearing**   
Director: Barbara Fullerton  
Anatomical dissection of the head, neck, and thorax in human cadavers with an emphasis on structures important for speech and hearing. Lecture topics include the thorax and respiration; structures of the neck, including the larynx and pharynx; the anatomy of the face and jaw; the oral cavity; the cranial cavity; the eye; and the ear. Basic neuroanatomy of the brain is covered, along with cranial nerves and major fiber tracts. Head and neck radiographic imaging is introduced to bridge the gap between gross anatomy and clinical case analysis.  
   
**SHBT 205: Speech and Hearing: From Neuroscience to Perception**  
Director: Anne Takesian  
Neural structures and mechanisms that mediate speech and audition, combining perspectives from neurophysiology, psychoacoustics, cognitive neuroscience, and cognitive science. The material is presented via a combination of didactic lectures and laboratories, directed readings, student-led discussions of primary literature, and critical literature reviews. Topics include auditory masking and frequency selectivity, temporal coding, sound localization, neural maps, coding transformations across the auditory system, learning and plasticity, the role of feedback, cochlear implants, effects of hearing impairment on neural representation, musical pitch, speech perception, auditory scene analysis, attention, and auditory working memory.  
   
**SHBT 202: Clinical Aspects of Speech and Hearing**   
Director: David Jung  
An extensive exposure to clinical approaches to speech and hearing disorders as practiced by physicians, audiologists, speech clinicians, rehabilitation specialists, pathologists, and bioengineers. The course includes a series of didactic lectures, as well as extensive observations of patient care in clinic and operating room. Clinical and surgical experience includes observations of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in otology, laryngology, audiology, voice and speech clinic, and vestibular neurology.  
   
Additional Required Coursework  
   
**SHBT 301qc: Speech and Hearing Laboratory Visits**  
Director: Gwenaelle Geleoc   
Coordinator: Franceny Johnson  
This Year 1 course consists of blitz talks from SHBT faculty from various affiliated research laboratories. Each session lasts approximately one hour and includes presentations and demonstrations by both faculty and their trainees of ongoing research projects and approaches. The course familiarizes first-year students with the breadth of research opportunities available through Program faculty and helps them choose mentor(s) for research rotations and, ultimately, dissertation research.