See you, hear you: The contribution of visual information to understanding speech in background noise

Being able to see the face of a talker helps people to understand speech in noisy environments. This visual information is thought to be particularly beneficial to people who have impaired hearing, such as cochlear implant users. This project will examine whether the ability to benefit from visual speech information varies according to the fidelity of the auditory signal, and whether audiovisual training aids listening in noisy environments. This topic is both theoretically relevant for audiovisual integration theories and practically useful in trying to improve the ability of hearing impaired people to successfully process speech in noisy environments.

Entry requirement
A good UK honours degree or equivalent in a related subject.

Eligibility
Applications can be accepted from UK/EU and also International students. The minimum English language proficiency requirement for candidates who have not undertaken a higher degree at a UK HE institution is IELTS 6.5 (with no element to be below 6.0) or TOEFL 560/iBT 94 - 95.

Applying
For informal enquiries about the studentship, please contact the named PhD supervisor for the project you are interested in, or alternatively the School Research Degrees Coordinator, Professor Matt Henn – [Email Address Removed]

To download an application pack, please visit http://www.ntu.ac.uk/research/graduate_school/studentships/index.html

Please return completed application forms, with copies of academic certificates, to:
[Email Address Removed]

The closing date for receipt of completed application forms is 9 am, Friday 15 February 2013. Application by CV only will not be accepted.