天堂鸟先生

The purpose of the Joint option is to provide a student who wishes to pursue a PhD the opportunity to take doctoral-level courses, directed studies, and engage in research experiences during the AuD program, which mainly focuses on clinical training. This is highly beneficial for those select students for three reasons: a) they have an incentive to apply to and complete the PhD, given that they have already started some of the coursework b) they are more prepared for successful study at the doctoral level and c) they can complete two degrees (AuD + PhD) in six or seven years (instead of 8 years). A student pursuing this option is required to complete the same curricular requirements as all students who pursue the AuD. Students also will complete the same requirements as those who pursue a PhD.

A student who wishes to pursue this option may express interest in the application to the AuD program. The Joint program is highly selective, with one or two students enrolled each year. The HSLS faculty members have a formalized process in place to determine the student鈥檚 qualification for the Joint option. The minimum criteria include a formalized interview process and one letter of recommendation from a faculty member that supports the student鈥檚 outstanding research potential.

If accepted, the student will be assigned a faculty mentor and will be advised on a program of study that will integrate doctoral level coursework and experiences (e.g., research directed studies, statistics, working in a mentor鈥檚 research lab) into the coursework required for the AuD (Note: Any student in the AuD program may elect to take research directed studies and/or statistics as electives.) Each student in the Joint option will complete a predissertation research project in addition to the Third Year AuD Project. Each plan of study for a student in the Joint option will be unique, given their area of research interest. At the time of admission into the Joint option, the student will be informed that they must still apply for the PhD at a later time and that PhD acceptance is not guaranteed. By the semester in which the student applies to the PhD program (end of Year 3), the student will have completed 76 hours for the AuD program and 34 hours for the PhD (note: no more than 34 credits from AuD coursework may be applied to the doctoral degree).

At the end of Year 3, students apply to the PhD program and must meet the following criteria: a) cumulative GPA of at least 3.0; b) completion and presentation of the AuD research project; c) completion of predissertation research project (or substantial progress made); and d) acceptable performance on research mentor鈥檚 lab work. All of the expectations for doctoral course work in the AuD program as well as the PhD entrance criteria are clearly described in the student鈥檚 letter of acceptance in the Joint option.

As noted, the curriculum requirements of the 鈥渟tandard鈥� program and the Joint option for the AuD degree are the same. A side-by-side comparison is shown below. The differences are: a) it will take the student longer to complete the AuD (up to 2 academic years) because they are integrating doctoral experiences into their AuD coursework, and b) the sequencing of coursework, that is, having doctoral-level studies and research experiences prior to applying to the PhD program

天堂鸟先生 to the Joint option is contingent upon satisfactory completion of the following core undergraduate classes: 

• Introduction to Communication Disorders
• Phonetics
• Speech Science
• Anatomy/Physiology of Speech and Language
• Hearing Science
• Basic Audiology
• Language Development
• American Sign Language I
• Biological sciences (human or animal sciences)
• Physical Science (chemistry or physics)
• Social/behavioral sciences

NOTE: The pre-dissertation project timeline and completion of the comprehensive exam will vary dependent upon student progress in the program. Dissertation defense will vary dependent upon student progress in the program. Students will have the option to return Year 7 to complete the dissertation. No funding is promised for Year 7.

*Courses associated with doctoral level study

HSLS 6351, 6921 - clinical methods and practicum courses that are repeatable