Dear Auditory List,
We are seeking two PhD students to join the newly established UnICoRN group at RWTH Aachen University’s Institute of Psychology, Germany. Focusing on the shift from
Unidirectional to Interactive
Communication, we combine behavioral, physiological, and acoustic methods to
Reveal how voice and Noise shape speaking and listening from a psychological perspective. The two positions outlined below lie at the intersection of auditory cognition, experimental
psychology, and voice research.
Doctoral Position 1 – Listening Effort and Memory
This PhD project examines how a speaker’s voice quality and body posture influence listening effort, comprehension, and memory. The candidate will design and conduct ecologically valid, partly VR-based experiments to investigate how visual and auditory cues
interact when listeners process and remember connected speech (e.g., university lectures). They will collect and analyse behavioral and physiological data (e.g., heart rate variability, pupillometry) to identify key mechanisms of speech processing under challenging
conditions and refine existing theoretical models.
Doctoral Position 2 – Auditory Feedback Modulation
This PhD project investigates how real-time alterations of voice quality through auditory feedback modulation affect vocal motor control. The candidate will design and conduct experiments that begin with sustained vowels and later extend to more natural speech
(words and sentences). Participants will receive acoustically modified feedback of their own voice via headphones, and their phonatory responses will be recorded and analysed. The findings will inform refined models of voice production and feedback loops,
with potential practical applications for voice therapy or training.
Here is the link to the job offer, where you can find further information on the positions, including salary and application requirements:
https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/wir/karriere/rwth-jobportal/~kbag/details/?file=V000010958&lidx=1
Application deadline: May 12, 2026.
Start date: earliest possible, but not before August 2026.
If you know of promising and motivated candidates for either of the positions below, please feel free to share this announcement or contact me with any questions.
Best,
Isabel
____
Dr. Isabel Sarah Schiller, PhD
Work- and Engineering Psychology
Institute for Psychology
RWTH Aachen University
Kackertstraße 9 (building 2010, room C363)
52072 Aachen, Germany