College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: sphsdept [at] indiana [dot] edu

Departmental URL: www.indiana.edu/~sphs/home/

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Introduction

The graduate curriculum in Speech and Hearing Sciences combines training for students wishing to pursue clinical careers in speech-language pathology or audiology, as well as graduate studies in speech, language, and hearing sciences, speech-language pathology, and audiology for research or academic careers. The department is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts in Speech and Hearing Science, Doctor of Philosophy in Speech and Hearing Sciences, and Ph.D. minor in Speech and Hearing Sciences. (The College of Arts and Sciences offers the Doctor of Audiology degree.)

Special Departmental Requirements

Adequate Progress

Individual student progress will be evaluated annually by program faculty. Students who are judged to be making inadequate progress on the basis of poor grades, incomplete coursework, or insufficient research accomplishments may be placed on academic probation. Students on academic probation will be offered a timetable for remedial work and re-testing, and will have restricted access to coursework and clinical experiences. If deficiencies are not corrected according to the revised timetable, the student is likely to be dismissed from the program. (See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Master of Arts in Speech and Hearing Sciences

Course Requirements

The clinical M.A. degree requirements include 38 credit hours of required graduate academic coursework, including two to four electives; 4-6 credit hours of clinical practicum (S561); and two off-campus externships (S563, M550) for a total of 54-60 credit hours, with no more than 6 credit hours in

S780. The required academic coursework includes:

S501 Biological Foundations of Speech and Hearing S520 Phonological Disorders

S531 Cognitive-Communication Disorders in Brain Injury and Disease

S532 Language Disorders in Children

S537 Aphasia

S540 Voice Disorders

S544 Dysphagia

S550 Stuttering

S555 Motor Speech Disorders

S561 Clinical Methods and Practices

S563 Medical Externship

S580 Critical Thinking about Research in Communication Disorders

The non-clinical M.A. degree is a minimum of 36 credit hours, with the specific course requirements to be determined by the Coordinator of the M.A. program in Speech and Hearing Sciences in consultation with academic faculty.

Practicum

Students wishing to receive clinical certification must enroll in clinical practicum (S561, S563) each semester, and must complete at least four semesters of practicum with grades of B (3.0) or higher. Students who wish to earn the M.A. degree but do not choose to complete practicum requirements and clinical certification may complete a non-clinical M.A. degree.

Examinations

Each student must pass a written comprehensive examination evaluated by a faculty committee.

Combined Clinical M.A./Ph.D Degree

The department offers the opportunity for students to pursue a combined clinical M.A./Ph.D. degree. Students must complete all of the requirements for both degrees, but there is some overlap in degree requirements so that the total credit hours required may be less than the simple sum of about 144-150 credits required for both degrees. A maximum of 30 credit hours obtained in the M.A. program can be applied towards the 90 credit hours required for the Ph.D. Ultimately, the decision regarding which credits in the M.A. program will count toward the Ph.D. will be made by the student’s Ph.D. advisory committee. Because the 54-60 credit hours in the M.A. program are all required, so as to comply with national clinical certification requirements, Ph.D. courses cannot be substituted for required M.A. courses. It is recommended that M.A. students wishing to pursue the combined M.A./Ph.D. degree declare this interest and be admitted into the Ph.D. program by the end of the first academic year in the M.A. program. Likewise, Ph.D. students wishing to pursue this combined degree should do so as soon as possible to facilitate planning, but must do so no later than the end of the second academic year in the Ph.D. program.

Au.D. Degree

The department also offers a professional doctorate in Audiology, the Au.D. This degree is conferred by the College of Arts and Sciences, not the University Graduate School. The Au.D. is currently a 3-year, 90-credit-hour degree. The curriculum and clinical requirements for this degree are described in more detail on the department’s website: http://www.indiana.edu/~sphs/academics/aud/.

Combined Au.D./Ph.D degree

The department offers the opportunity for students to pursue a combined Au.D./Ph.D. degree. Students must complete all of the requirements for both degrees, but there is some overlap in degree requirements so that the total credit hours required may be less than the simple sum of 180 credits required for both degrees. A maximum of 30 credit hours obtained in the Au.D. program can be applied towards the 90 credit hours required for the Ph.D. Ultimately, the decision regarding which credits in the Au.D. program will count toward the Ph.D. will be made by the student’s Ph.D. advisory committee. Because the 90 credit hours in the Au.D. program are all required, so as to comply with national clinical certification requirements, Ph.D. courses cannot be substituted for required Au.D. courses. It is recommended that Au.D. students wishing to pursue the combined Au.D./ Ph.D. degree declare this interest and be admitted into the Ph.D. program no later than the end of the second academic year in the Au.D. program. Likewise, Ph.D. students wishing to pursue this combined degree should do so as soon as possible to facilitate planning, but must do so no later than the end of the second academic year in the Ph.D. program.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences

Course Requirements

At least 90 credit hours of graduate coursework with a grade of B (3.0) or above are required for the research PhD in Speech and/or Hearing Sciences. This coursework must include S681, S682, S683, S685, S702, one seminar in Language Science (S696 or S674), one seminar in Speech Science (S686 or S674) one seminar in Hearing Science (S674) and courses required for an outside minor. In addition, students must complete at least 6 credit hours of graduate coursework in experimental design and statistics or demonstrate equivalent competency. No more than 12 credit hours of coursework in experimental design or statistics may count towards the required total of 90 credit hours for the degree. Additional required coursework may be determined by the student’s Ph.D. advisory committee.

Examinations

After completing the required coursework, students must pass a qualifying exam consisting of written questions and oral defense of the answers. Exam questions are tailored for each student by their Ph.D. advisory committee, which also evaluates student performance. Students who do not pass the qualifying exam will be placed on academic probation and given a second opportunity to take the exam. Students who do not pass after two attempts are likely to be dismissed from the program.

Research and Dissertation

Each student must complete three research projects: first-year (S681), second-year (S682), and dissertation research projects. The first and second year projects will be evaluated by the student’s Ph.D. advisory committee after the student has presented the research in a departmental colloquium. The dissertation will be evaluated by the student’s dissertation research committee.

Ph.D. Minor in Speech and Hearing Sciences

Students wishing to obtain a minor in Speech and Hearing Sciences must have a faculty advisor from the department. Adjunct faculty must receive approval from SPHS faculty to serve as the advisor for the student’s minor. The advisor will approve the student’s program of coursework in the minor and will serve on the student’s advisory committee, research committee, or both. The student is required to complete at least 12 credit hours of graduate coursework in the minor department with a grade of B or higher. A written qualifying examination is not required, but will be administered at the request of the major department.

Ph.D. Double Major in Speech and Hearing Sciences

Students who are admitted into the double major Ph.D. program must complete the requirements for Speech and Hearing Sciences and the other major department as specified in the University Graduate School Bulletin. The advisory committee must include at least two members from Speech and Hearing Sciences and two faculty members from the second major field. Qualifying examination format will be determined by the advisory committee with input from both major fields of study. A minor concentration is optional, but if a minor is undertaken, there must be one additional advisory committee member to represent that discipline. At least 30 graduate credit hours must be completed in Speech and Hearing Sciences or cross-listed courses for the double major.