Interdisciplinary PhD
Education
Ann Tyler, Associate Dean, College of Health and Human Services
Interim Chair, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Western Michigan University
CAPCSD, April 22, 2016
New Orleans, LA
Changing landscape
Enhance interprofessional team-based
education and practice
Interdisciplinary and
Interprofessional Education
 Driving focus of funding agencies, professional
organizations (AAMC), institutions
 Example: Area Health Education Centers changed focus
from pipeline projects exposing youth from
underserved areas/disadvantaged backgrounds to
health careers to a funded scholars program with
interdisciplinary curriculum and team-based training
leading to degree completion
 IPEC revised competencies
 Teams – new norm
IPEC 2016 update: Competencies
organized in singular domain
History Late 1990s:
Pew Health Professions Commission
National Commission on Allied Health
 Call to be interdisciplinary by design (not default), the
program should prepare students to take an
interdisciplinary approach to education, research, and
practice.
 Call for changes in health care education and practice,
programs should prepare students in innovative instruction
and assessment, as well as enhance interprofessional
education and align it better with changes in delivery of
health and human services
Enhance interdisciplinary team-based science
8th Annual Global Summit on Graduate Education in
2014 culminated with a statement: Principles for
Supporting Interdisciplinarity in Graduate Education and Research
Principles recommended for institutions
to consider
 Articulate added value of interdisciplinary approaches
and initiatives within institutional contexts – and to
the broader community
 Identify and develop skills students will need to
engage effectively in interdisciplinary research
 Provide opportunities and spaces for students and
faculty to meet and work collaboratively
 Build administrative bridges to encourage
interdisciplinary research and learning
Interdisciplinary Team Science
Success
 Capturing the human aspects of group science
 Markers and conditions for successful work can be
conceptualized as a “cognitive-emotionalinteractional platform”
 collaboratively constructed space
 organizes behaviors and activities
Interdisciplinary Team Science
Success
 Cognitive-emotional-interactional platform
 present in all of 9 large networks examined in depth
from social, natural, and computational sciences
 8-15 researchers across at least 3 disciplines
Mansilla, V.B., Lamont, M., & Sato, K. (2015). Shared cognitive-emotional-interactional
platforms: Markers and conditions for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. Science,
Technology, and Human Values, 0162243915614103.
Ph.D. Programs in CSD: Innovative Models
and Practices (Nov. 2016, AAB final report)
http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/2016-PhD-Programs-in-CSD-Report.pdf
 Recommendation #15: The AAB encourages CDS PhD
programs to examine their current opportunities for
students to engage with professionals across disciplinary
boundaries. Creating systematic, meaningful
interdisciplinary opportunities for students can lead to
graduates who are better prepared and more motivated to
seek out and work successfully with colleagues across
disciplines.
Types of Interdisciplinary Programs
 Traditional disciplinary degree infused with
interdisciplinary experiences
 Interdisciplinary degree focus
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Health sciences
Rehabilitation sciences
Neuroscience
Cognitive science
The Devil is in the Design!
 Goals
 Interprofessional practice
 Interdisciplinary research experience – basic science or
translational
 Curriculum
 Research core and experiences: Are they truly interdisciplinary?
 Cognate or disciplinary focus
 Interdisciplinary opportunities: When and how do these occur?
 Cohort structure: Mix of disciplines represented?
 Faculty involvement
How can we think about the
program?
The Devil is in the Design!
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Target audience
Where housed?
Delivery modes
Length of program
Ph.D. Programs in CSD: Innovative Models
and Practices (Nov. 2016, AAB final report)
 78% of programs require students take courses outside
department
 In 84% of departments students attend seminar with
interdisciplinary students/faculty
 Many programs have opportunities such as lectures,
colloquia, research projects, training grants
 5 programs reported all courses offered in interdisciplinary
manner
 Viewed as increased value – interdisciplinary experiences
were highlighted as “unique features”
Health Sciences Focus
 Health care, health care systems, public health;
interdisciplinary research approach to complex healthcare
problems
 Preparation for role of academician, clinical researcher or
allied health leader
 Collaborative approach to develop future members of
teams
 Link between biomedical science, clinical research, and
practice outcomes research to improve patient care and
inform health policy
Unique Features
 UNLV Interdisciplinary Health Sciences PhD
 Comprehensive exam  interdisciplinary grant
application with team science approach
 Health Sciences PhD
 Rush (interdisciplinary) full- or part-time, online
 Northern Illinois (interprofessional) full- and part-time,
hybrid
Health Sciences
Feature
Example – University of Texas El Paso
Curricular Focus
To create the knowledge and skill needed to: be successful
health researchers and health professionals; approach
health care issues from a variety of perspectives; conduct
interdisciplinary research
Research Core
18 cr – quantitative, qualitative, interdisciplinary
Cognate/disciplinary
focus
12 cr
Interdisciplinary
opportunities
Proseminar series, research
Faculty involvement
Public health, clinical lab sciences, nursing, social work, PT,
OT, SLP, rehab counseling, kinesiology, pharmacy
Other
Teaching and grant-writing courses;
Full- and part-time students
Similarities and Differences
Feature
UWM
WMU
Goals
Interdisciplinary research, leadership
Interdisciplinary research, leadership
Cohort
Not discipline limited
No more than 3 from one discipline
Admissions
Master’s thesis or scientific training,
experience
Master’s in health related discipline +
min 2 years experience in field
Residency
Credit requirement over 2 or 3
consecutive semesters
On-campus intensive weekend and
summer classes; continuous enrollment
Research Core
13 cr + option for independent study
19 cr + 6 cr research practicum + 12 cr
dissertation
Cognate
9 cr
9 cr
Other
6 cr cross disciplinary can be in HS or
other college; 6 elective cr; 3 cr
teaching
9 cr policy and services
8 cr college teaching, incl practicum
Faculty Coverage
Shared by unit faculty
Shared by core IHS faculty & others
Rehabilitation Sciences Focus
 Therapeutic professions: may include art therapy,
music therapy
 Developing fundamental clinical research skills across
rehabilitation disciplines  focus on assessing
effectiveness of new interventions
 Preparation for interdisciplinary research being
conducted in academic and health care settings
 Cross-over of traditional “clinical” and “research”
realms
Unique Features
 Preparation for positions in academically affiliated
hospitals
 MGH Rehabilitation Sciences PhD
 Designed for experienced clinicians who want to
become trained clinical research scientists
 NYU Steinhardt PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences
 Interdisciplinary applied research: 2 publishable papers,
each with different mentor completed for candidacy
 Full- or part-time options
Rehabilitation Sciences
Feature
Example – University of Vermont
Curricular Focus
Dynamic-systems approach to evaluating function and
developing interventions based on ICF model
Research Core
Clinical and translational research; Three 5-week research
rotations
Cognate/disciplinary
focus
Human functioning and rehabilitation sciences
Interdisciplinary
opportunities
Weekly research seminars
Faculty involvement
CSD, medical lab sciences, rehabilitation and movement
sciences
Other
Teaching practicum, grant writing
Delivery: F-2-F, online, summer intensive, hybrid
Neurosciences Focus
 Research based focus in cellular/molecular, sensory
and motor, cognitive, developmental, behavioral,
computational modeling, disorders and interventions
 Formats more traditional
 Programs may also have a concentration in cognitive
science
 Preparation for careers in academic science, industry,
and policy
Unique Features
 Interdisciplinary Neuroscience PhD
 Georgetown University Medical School: over 50 faculty
members drawn from 12 different departments
 Student-run course for undergrads, Drugs, the Brain, and
Behavior, provides teaching opportunity
 University of Maryland: 7 research areas, apprenticeship
model
 interdisciplinary interactions through classes, seminars,
special programs, and collaborative research
Neuroscience
Feature
Example – Utah State
Curricular Focus
Foundation in cellular, cognitive, or behavioral
neurosciences to focus on education, lifespan,
translational problems
Research Core
Required and elective courses; lab rotations
Cognate/disciplinary
focus
Core and elective neuroscience courses, 15 cr in each
focus area required
Interdisciplinary
opportunities
Neuroscience seminar each semester
Faculty involvement
Comm disorders and deaf ed, health, PE & recreation,
psychology, biology
Other
What is gained in interdisciplinary
degrees?
 Interdisciplinary learning
environment and research focus
 Focus beyond CSD
 Exposure to faculty working from
other disciplinary perspectives
 Innovative instructional
techniques and requirements
Elements of traditional speech, language,
hearing doctoral degrees sacrificed
 Greater cognate emphasis
 Daily interaction that occurs in resident experience
 Apprenticeship model such as in a laboratory setting as a
member of a research team
 Environment that fosters assimilation in social circle of own
discipline
High Impact Experiences
 Teaching preparation (Rec #11): analyze amount and
type to prepare students for academic positions
 Enhanced flexibility (Rec #9): design programs with
aim of student-centered practices and that blend
successful components from recruitment to
graduation
 Grant writing (Rec #14): ensure students are prepared
in key area for academic positions
CSD High Impact
 Less than 1/3 of CSD programs require co-teaching or
independent teaching experience, although more
than half offer teaching opportunity
 33% required grant writing; 53% offer
What are students looking for?
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Programs with part-time option
Online components
Flexibility
Barriers cited:
 time
 need for relocation
 funding
Balancing benefits vs disadvantages–
what matters?
 It depends:
 on an individual’s career goals and where one wishes to
work
 on the research area and agenda of an individual
 on age and stage of life
What are the needs?
 Even though an increase of 25% in degrees granted
over the last 5 years
 62% of programs at capacity
 48% of graduates employed in academia
 Projected > 300 positions will be available in next 5-10
years
 Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 21% increase in
openings through 2024
Need to explicitly prepare students for the
roles and responsibilities of academic life
47% seek faculty researcher positions
Balancing benefits vs disadvantages–
what is the broader impact?
 Disciplines such as OT, PA, PT have few discipline specific
doctoral programs
 Others:
 CSD: 76 research doctoral programs
 Social Work: 73 research doctoral programs
 Nursing: 120 + 8 in planning (2010)
 Effects on development of science, stewardship of the
discipline, education of the next generation
Revisit Principles to Consider
 Articulate added value of interdisciplinary approaches
and initiatives within institutional contexts – and to
the broader community
 Identify and develop skills students will need to
engage effectively in interdisciplinary research
 Provide opportunities and spaces for students and
faculty to meet and work collaboratively
Creative Interdisciplinary
Programming
 Flexible innovations in program design
 Research opportunity to build or experience
“cognitive-emotional-interactional platform”
 Extracurricular opportunities or proseminar
 Core could be elected, for example policy/services,
rehab, or discipline/related core with courses from
contributing departments
 Build administrative bridges to encourage
interdisciplinary research and learning
Points for Discussion
 Overcoming administrative challenges
 How to mentor when your student is outside your
discipline and knows more than you do (but is it
complete or correct?)
 Risks graduates could face when seeking
employment
 Access to ASHA and ASHFoundation scholarships and
awards?
QUESTIONS?