John Hajda holds a BS/AB in Mechanical Engineering and Music from Stanford University. He received his PhD from UCLA under the mentorship of Roger Kendall (systematic musicology) and Edward Carterette (cognitive psychology). In addition to teaching for the Music Department, Hajda teaches a class on audition (hearing) for the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. He is the Associate Director of the SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind at UCSB.