Undergraduate Assistantship

Undergraduate Psychology, Neuroscience, Linguistics, or Audiology and Speech Pathology majors can earn research credit through Psychology Supervised Research (Psychology 489). Working in a research laboratory is an opportunity to gain valuable research experience and to work closely with a faculty mentor. Hours are flexible, but students must be available approximately 9 hours per week.

Number of positions typically available each semester: 2 – 4
Number of research credit hours per semester: 3 (Psychology 489 – Supervised Research)
Number of semesters student is expected to participate: 2 or more

Project description: This lab is investigating the processing mechanisms involved in the ability to speak and understand language. Research is carried out on normally developing children and children with language impairments affecting their ability to access words in lexical memory.

Description of student’s responsibilities: Participate in laboratory meetings, recruit participants, run studies, collect data from participants, and contribute to data analysis. The following skills are desirable but not necessary: computer programming, statistical analysis, experience with young children.

Graduate Student Training

Students interested in graduate training in developmental psychology, cognitive science, normal language acquisition and/or language pathology are invited to contact Dr. Jessica Hay directly at her e-mail, jhay@tennessee.edu. As a graduate student in our lab, you can expect a close mentoring relationship and an opportunity to develop a course of study that is tailored to your individual needs.

Students are encouraged and supported in assuming an active role in developing their research and teaching skills early on. Financial support from scholarships, fellowships, research and teaching assistantships is available to students admitted into the doctoral program.

Additional information about graduate programs at the University of Tennessee is available at The Graduate School.