Applications are encouraged from students of any undergraduate major. Successful graduates of our Au.D. program have come with diverse backgrounds including study in the fields of biology, cognitive sciences, music and more.  Although no one standardized curriculum exists, it is required that students have evidence of coursework that is broadly based including the following:

Minimum Required Coursework

Life Sciences — 3 semester hours

At least one life science course is required. Courses include human physiology & anatomy, human biology, or other similar biology topics. Other life sciences biological courses may also meet this requirement.

Physical Sciences — 3 semester hours

At least one physical science course is required. Courses include physics, physics for music, general chemistry or similar topics. Other physical science courses may also meet this requirement.

Social Sciences — 3 semester hours

At least one social science course is required. Courses may include psychology, sociology, or human development.

Mathematics/Statistics — 3 semester hours

At least one college-level algebra course or higher or a statistics course is required. Research statistics within a psychology/social science/mathematics department may also meet this requirement.

Additional Coursework

For clinical certification students are required to demonstrate knowledge of normal development of speech and language, language and speech characteristics and their development across the life span, and phonologic, morphologic, syntactic, and pragmatic aspects of human communication associated with hearing impairment. This knowledge is typically acquired through undergraduate coursework in communication disorders; however, knowledge can also be acquired as part of the Au.D. program through additional coursework, independent study or other related activities.  Students with non-traditional backgrounds are strongly encouraged to contact the admissions chair (Dr. Kathleen Cienkowski) with questions.