Student Profiles: Human Communication Sciences

Human Communication Sciences Purav Brahmbhatt, human communication sciences major, talks about his courses, entrance into Northwestern's Honors Program in Medical Education, and how he spends his free time. Watch the video >>

Eric Liang: Supported by the people

Eric Liang (C12) came to Northwestern because of "the people," and the people haven’t let him down. "The amount of support you get at Northwestern is incredible," Liang said.  "Whether it is a classmate or professor or teaching assistant, everyone here is excited about helping you learn. The professors are so accessible and will gladly take the time to answer questions and clarify concepts."

A pre-med human communication sciences major, Liang devotes much of his time to research outside of his regular course load. He was recently awarded an academic year grant by Northwestern’s undergraduate research grant program for his efforts with the Communication Neural Systems Research Group within the School of Communication.

"We’re researching the relative advantages of different kinds of bilingualism—English-Mandarin, English-Korean, etc.—and the project will form the basis for my senior honors thesis in CSD," he said. "I designed this experiment, including program coding, myself with input from my advisors, and I'm very proud that I was able to start such an impressive undertaking. It was something I never could have imagined myself doing in high school."

Liang regularly corresponds with a professor on this research project, "sharing insights and discussing all sorts of things… one-on-one."

Having visited six other schools before choosing Northwestern, Liang feels confident in saying, "I challenge you to find that kind of attention at any other school the size of Northwestern."