Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.)
As of Fall 2006, the University of Massachusetts Amherst will offer the Au.D. degree. This degree program, which is designed to meet the new certification requirements for Audiology, is a four-year, full-time program. The first three years will be in residence in Amherst with students completing course work, on- and off-campus clinical rotations, and a capstone research project. During the fourth year students will be placed in an intensive off-campus clinical residency. Students interested in completing a research degree in addition to the academic and clinical requirements for professional credentialing should refer to the Ph.D. with a clinical track option for information about this program and its degree equipments.
Applicants are not required to have an undergraduate degree in communication disorders but they must show evidence of having taken course work in math, science, social science, basic human communication processes and speech/language disorders. Applicants with an undergraduate degree in a major other than communication disorders must complete the required prerequisite course work listed below:
Basic Science Course Work:
- Life sciences (e.g., biology)
- Physical sciences (e.g., physics, chemistry)
- Mathematics (non-remedial, e.g., statistics, calculus)
- Behavioral and/or social sciences (e.g., psychology)
Basic Human Communication Processes Course Work:
- Anatomy and physiology of the speech and hearing mechanisms
- Physical and psychophysical aspects of speech, hearing, and language production and perception
- Normal development of speech, hearing, and language
- Applied phonetics or speech science
Speech-Language Disorders Course Work:
- Phonological, morphological, syntactic, and pragmatic aspects of human communication associated with hearing loss.
Curriculum
All students must complete the required core courses listed below. Students may be waived from one or more of the required courses only if comparable course work has been completed at another institution or previously at this institution.
Required Courses for the Au.D. Program
| COMM-DIS 520 | Counseling in Communication Disorders |
| COMM-DIS 530 | Neurological Bases of Speech, Language and Hearing |
| COMM-DIS 630 | Graduate Research in Communication Disorders |
| COMM-DIS 640 | Advanced Diagnostic Audiology |
| COMM-DIS 641 | Advanced Hearing Rehabilitation |
| COMM-DIS 642 | Hearing Aids and Amplification |
| COMM-DIS 643 | Hearing Conservation and Industrial Audiology |
| COMM-DIS 645 | Theories of Hearing |
| COMM-DIS 646 | Assessment/Rehabilitation of Balance Disorders and Tinnitus |
| COMM-DIS 647 | Implantable Auditory Prostheses |
| COMM-DIS 650 | Pediatric Audiology |
| COMM-DIS 651 | Electrophysiological Procedures in Audiology |
| COMM-DIS 691G | Seminar in Audiotory Processing |
| COMM-DIS 691H | Advanced Clinical Seminar in Audiology (2 semesters) |
| COMM-DIS 692A | Medical Audiology |
| COMM-DIS 697A | Instrumentation in Audiology |
In addition, Au.D. students must complete the following non-departmental course work:
- Statistics/research design course work: 6 credits
- Non-departmental electives: 6 credits
Finally, each student will design and complete a 6-credit capstone research project. During this project students will work closely with a faculty member to gain experience with planning, conducting, analyzing, and writing up results of a small-scale experiment.
Students begin their clinical education in the Department’s Center for Language, Speech, and Hearing, which offers a wide range of diagnostic and rehabilitative services to individuals in the general community. Students then gain additional clinical experience at several of the Department’s numerous off-campus cooperating programs (hospitals, private clinics, schools for the deaf, etc.). The Au.D. program culminates in an intensive fourth year residency experience.
