L. Robert Slevc

L. Robert Slevc is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland, with affiliations in the Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS) and the Maryland Language Science Center. He holds joint roles as Director of Graduate Studies and leads the Language and Music Cognition Lab. His research bridges psycholinguistics, music cognition, and language production, with a focus on cognitive mechanisms in normal and brain-damaged populations. He completed his Ph.D. at UC San Diego and a postdoc at Rice University before joining UMD.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Psychology, University of California, San Diego
• B.A. in Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder

Research Interests:

Dr. Slevc explores how language and music processing share cognitive resources, including studies on bilingual code-switching, aphasia, second-language acquisition, and the interplay between musical ability and cognitive functions. His work employs behavioral and neuroimaging techniques to uncover neural correlates of language and music syntax, attentional mechanisms in bilingualism, and developmental milestones.

Articles Trends:

Recent work emphasizes bilingualism’s cognitive effects, the role of musical training in language learning, and cross-domain priming between music and speech. His research highlights shared neural substrates for syntactic processing in both domains and the impact of auditory temporal processing on language skills.

Advising & Grants:

Currently not recruiting PhD students for Fall 2025. His grants and mentorship focus on promoting equity in music cognition research and advancing interdisciplinary methods in cognitive science.

Labs/Teams:

Directs the Language and Music Cognition Lab, investigating how language and music interact with cognition, memory, and attention through experimental and computational approaches.