MA/PhD
in Bilingual Development
About the research
Dr. Krista Byers-Heinlein, associate professor and director of the Concordia Infant Research Laboratory, is seeking MA and PhD students in Psychology to work on projects investigating bilingualism in infants and toddlers. The student will join a team of enthusiastic and highly committed graduate and undergraduate students.
The lab’s goal is to understand the normal path of development of bilingual infants and children, and how exposure to two languages affects early language, social, and cognitive development. Current questions of particular interest are how bilingual children learn new words, how different types of language exposure affect bilingual development (e.g., code switching, one-parent-one-language), and how bilingualism affects children’s thinking and beliefs.
The lab studies infants and children aged 5 months to 5 years, and each year we invite hundreds of families to the lab to participate in research studies. Students will gain direct experience working with participants, and become experts in cutting-edge techniques, including eye-tracking, pupillometry, infant looking-time, parent report, and shared book reading. Training also emphasizes research design, data analysis (usually in R), research communication, and writing. At the PhD level, students will have the opportunity to craft their own research questions within the context of the larger research program.
Students will also be members of the Centre for Research in Human Development and the Centre for Research in Mind, Language and Brain, and will have the opportunity to attend workshops, seminars, and lectures. Students are supported to present their work at local and international conferences, and travel expenses are typically fully funded for 1-2 conferences per year.
Financial Commitment
Graduate students in the Department of Psychology are guaranteed $17,500 annually throughout their studies, although average funding for students is higher. This support may include internal and external fellowships and awards, teaching assistantships, and direct support from the supervisor.
How to apply
Accepting applications
Step 1
Contact Dr. Krista Byers-Heinlein (k.byers@concordia.ca). Make sure to include information about your research interest, and attach your CV and unofficial transcript.
Step 2
Apply to the Graduate program (Research Option) at the Department of Psychology, Concordia University. It is important to contact Dr. Byers-Heinlein before submitting an application.
