The School of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences offers a clinical doctorate in audiology (Au.D.) leading to professional certification in audiology.

This clinical doctorate in audiology is designed so that fulltime students typically can complete the 166-quarter hour program in four years. The program includes a planned sequence of required core courses, electives, clinical and research experiences, and concludes with a nine-month fulltime supervised externship. Students must pass the National Teacher’s Examination (PRAXIS) in Audiology and satisfy the ASHA academic and clinical requirements for certification. Depending on the student’s background, additional coursework may be necessary for professional certification and graduation.

There are four targeted areas of study and training in the first three years. First, didactic coursework provides the student with the foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills of the profession. Second, professional clinical training provides an informal setting to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom as well as to discuss clinical issues. Third, thestudent will have direct patient contact informal and closely supervised settings. Clinical experiences evolve in quantity, scope and complexity within a variety of supervised settings on- and off-campus providing experiences more extensive and diverse than those offered by many urban programs. Fourth, guided clinical research experiences are provided in areas such as hearing aid technology and benefits, cochlear implants, psychophysics and signal processing, diagnostic audiology, otoacoustic emissions, and physiological measures of the auditory system.

The fourth and final year of the Au.D. program consists of a full-time supervised externship. Students can select from our large nationwide network of clinical sites. The externships are available with certified professionals contingent on mutual approval by our Coordinator of Clinical Services and outside agencies. By graduation, students will have completed 400 clinical hours in addition to the nine-month full-time externship, thus exceeding ASHA standards for obtaining professional certification.

In addition to the application requirements discussed above, a personal or phone interview is required. Favorable candidates will be contacted by the School of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences to coordinate the interview. Personal interviews are encouraged but not required.