Audiology (AuD)
Degree Requirements
The Doctor of Audiology (AuD) is a professional doctoral degree and is administered through the Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions. The AuD serves either as preparation for professional clinical audiologists or as preparation for further graduate study leading to the PhD degree. The AuD program provides a broad range of basic science courses and specialized offerings emphasizing assessment, intervention, and prevention techniques used with individuals of all ages who have hearing, auditory processing, or balance related disorders. Students are prepared for careers as clinicians in schools, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, private practice and community clinics.
Clinical practicum opportunities occur at the on-campus Speech and Hearing Center and many affiliated rehabilitation centers, schools, private practices, ENT clinics, and hospitals. Within this framework, students are prepared to meet the academic and clinical practicum requirements for national certification (the Certificate of Clinical Competence, CCC-A, awarded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) and Alabama state licensure. The AuD Program is a full-time in-residence program, and typically extends for 9 academic semesters (3-year program) or 11 academic semesters (4-year program) including three semesters of full-time clinical externship.
Details regarding the admissions process and deadline are available on the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology website.
Regular Admission
To be considered for admission, applicants must:
- Have earned or be in the process of completing a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
- Demonstrate a preferred minimum 3.0 (A=4.0) overall undergraduate GPA.
- International applicants must submit documentary evidence showing TOEFL test scores of at least 600 (written form), 250 (computer version), or 100 (internet based version), or bachelor’s or graduate degrees earned at accredited United States institutions of higher education. A minimal IELTS score of 7 is considered equivalent to the TOEFL scores required.
- Provide three references from faculty at the undergraduate institution. Two of these references should be provided by Ph.D. faculty within the applicant's undergraduate department.
- Include a Personal Essay stating the applicant's reasons for pursuing the degree, and addressing specific questions outlined in the application instructions.
- Applicants may choose to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, including analytical writing section, taken within the last five years to increase the competitiveness of their application to the program.
Because the number of applicants is greater than the number of vacancies in the program, admission is competitive, and applicants are evaluated based on the criteria stated above. Details regarding the Admissions process and deadline are available on the Department of Speech-Pathology and Audiology website.
Applicants for admission to the MS SLP or AuD program with record of academic misconduct violation(s) or who have been convicted of or plead guilty to misdemeanor or felony offense(s) will be evaluated on an individual basis. Admission may be denied to applicants with any academic misconduct violation(s) and conviction/guilty plea of misdemeanor and/or felony offense(s) as these violations may impact clinical placement opportunities and professional certification and state licensure upon graduation.
Retention Policies
- Any term in which a graduate student enrolled in the AuD program drops below a 3.0 GPA, the student will be placed on probationary status and has a period of one semester to attain a 3.0 GPA or be dismissed from the program.
- Any student who receives a grade lower than a "C" in a graduate level course will be dismissed from the program.
- A "C" in any combination of two or more AuD courses will result in academic dismissal.
- A passing grade on comprehensive examinations administered during each academic year of the AuD program is required in order to progress to the next year of study. Students who successfully complete an optional research-based thesis and successfully defend this project are not required to complete the last comprehensive examination process of the AuD program. In the event that the thesis is not satisfactorily completed, the student will be required to successfully pass the last comprehensive examination prior to graduation.
- Students whose performance falls below standards in a course or clinical experience may be required to complete additional and/or augmentative coursework or clinical experiences as needed to meet ASHA’s standards for clinical certification. As such, graduation could be delayed.
- If for any reason a student must withdraw from the AuD program, re-admission will require approval of the Department Chair and the Dean of the Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions.
- If a student is dismissed from a program prior to the end of the regular semester and that dismissal occurs after the University's refund deadline, the student will not receive any type of refund even if the next series of classes have not begun.
Requirements for the Degree
The Doctor of Audiology (AuD) degree requires:
- A minimum of nine (3-year program) or eleven (4-year program) full-time semesters of academic study. Typically, the final three semesters are spent off campus completing a full-time externship.
- A minimum GPA of 3.0.
- A passing grade on comprehensive examinations administered during each academic year of the program. Students must also complete formative assessments throughout the program. Students who successfully complete an optional research-based thesis and successfully defend this project are not required to complete the comprehensive examination process in the last academic year of the AuD program. In the event that the thesis is not satisfactorily completed, the student will be required to successfully pass the comprehensive examination completed by other students in the cohort during the last academic year of the program prior to graduation.
- Demonstration of academic and clinical competencies as reflected in the ASHA Standards for Clinical Certification for Audiology.
- Completion of at least 1820 supervised clinical clock hours.
- The Praxis Examination in Audiology must be taken prior to graduation.
Typical Course Sequence
| First Year | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| AUD 612 | Anatomy-Physio Hearing Mech | 4 |
| AUD 614 | Instrumentation and Acoustics | 3 |
| AUD 640 | Basic Audiologic Assessment | 3 |
| AUD 641 | Immit & Otoacous Emission Meas | 3 |
| AUD 680 | Clinical Methods in Audiology | 2 |
| AUD 613 | Psychoacoustics | 3 |
| AUD 630 | Electroac Char of Amp Systems | 3 |
| AUD 642 | Pediatric Audiology | 4 |
| AUD 681 | Clinical Practicum I | 1 |
| AUD 681L | Clinical Practicum I-Lab | 1 |
| AUD 631 | Sel, Fit & Verif of Amp Sys | 3 |
| AUD 655 | Spch-Lang Path for Audiologist | 3 |
| AUD 681 | Clinical Practicum I | 1 |
| AUD 681L | Clinical Practicum I-Lab | 1 |
| Hours | 35 | |
| Second Year | ||
| AUD 616 | Resrch Design Hearing Sci | 3 |
| AUD 656 | Vestibular Assessment | 4 |
| AUD 682 | Clinical Practicum II | 1 |
| AUD 682L | Clinical Practicum II-Lab | 2 |
| AUD 645 | Evoked Potential Measures | 3 |
| AUD 647 | Adult Audio Rehabilitation | 3 |
| AUD 657 | Management of Vestibular Disor | 2 |
| AUD 682 | Clinical Practicum II | 1 |
| AUD 682L | Clinical Practicum II-Lab | 2 |
| AUD 621 | Professional Issues | 3 |
| AUD 658 | Advanced Neurophys Measures | 3 |
| AUD 682 | Clinical Practicum II | 1 |
| AUD 682L | Clinical Practicum II-Lab | 1 |
| Hours | 29 | |
| Third Year | ||
| AUD 622 | Medical Audiology | 3 |
| AUD 633 | Advanced Sensory Aids | 3 |
| AUD 651 | Assess-Treatmnt Cent Aud Proc | 3 |
| AUD 683 | Clinical Practicum III | 1 |
| AUD 683L | Clinical Practicum III-Lab | 1 |
| AUD 653 | Industrial-Forensic Audiology | 3 |
| AUD 654 | Tinnitus and Hyperacusis | 3 |
| AUD 683 | Clinical Practicum III | 1 |
| AUD 683L | Clinical Practicum III-Lab | 1 |
| AUD 684 | Clin Externship in Audiology | 6 |
| AUD 649 | Ped Habil & Educ Audiology | 2 |
| Hours | 27 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| AUD 684 | Clin Externship in Audiology | 6 |
| AUD 684 | Clin Externship in Audiology | 6 |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 103 | |