TEAM
ONGOING PROJECTS
LAB VALUES
NEWS
Prospective students
Q.
What are the admission criteria?
- Research experience. Strong applicants have experience working in a lab for enough time to have at least one research project that it’s theirs.
- Reference letters. Letters from research advisors count for much more than letters from course instructors. I want to hear about what it’s like to have you in the lab and conduct research with you.
- Research interests. There needs to be a good match between your interests and the interests of my lab. This doesn’t mean that your interests should be a copy of what we are currently working on. Ideally, your interests will build on, or be complementary to, our current research. It’s fine if you don’t know exactly what you want to work on yet, but you shouldn't make up a research interests that you aren't sure of.
- Research statement. This is your opportunity to show me your way of thinking, how you reason about science, and your ability to reflect on what you have done. Be as specific as you can about the questions that move you and how you would go about solving them. Don’t just describe what you have done.
Q.
If I were to be accepted, can you provide funding for my studies?
Q.
Should I approach you in advance to ask if you accept any students next year?
Q.
Why would I apply to your lab instead of to a similar lab somewhere else?
The broader research environment is important. There are many other faculty at NYU doing research on language, both within Cognition and Perception in the Psychology department (e.g., David Poeppel, Liina Pylkkänen, Brian McElree, Alec Marantz, Brenden Lake), as well as in other departments (e.g., the Communicative Sciences and Disorders program), which means that it is easier to take relevant courses, to have academic interests in common with your fellow PhD students, and easier to establish collaborations across labs.
The Psychology department encourages PhD students to gain teaching experience by being a teaching assistant in an undergraduate course, but this is not required by the program. If you choose to do so, you will be economically compensated for it. If you decide not to, you will be able to devote all your time to research.
Being in New York City means easy access to courses at other universities (through the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium), to internships in industry, to artistic collaborations (for example in the intersection of science and art, which many students and faculty take advantage of), and to opportunities for outreach and advocacy (for example through BrainNY (https://www.comebebrainy.com/), or the Scientist Action and Advocacy Network).
INTERNS →