CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1
Graduate Study

CHAPTER 2
Admission and
Registration

CHAPTER 3
Degree
Requirements

CHAPTER 4
Fields
of Study

CHAPTER 5
Members of
Graduate Studies
Committees

APPENDIX
Course
Abbreviations

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Degrees Offered
Master of Arts
Doctor of Philosophy

Facilities for Graduate Work

Facilities include state-of-the-art laboratories in psychoacoustics, auditory physiology, and speech production. Two audio laboratories in the Department of Communication Studies are also available. The Speech and Hearing Center of the College of Communication provides a comprehensive facility for clinical training and research. Additional facilities include Academic Computing and state and community institutions and agencies.

Areas of Study

The master's and doctoral degree programs in communication sciences and disorders provide training in speech/language pathology (medical speech/language pathology, child language, and bilingual/multicultural communication disorders), audiology (general audiology, bilingual/multicultural audiology, and aural rehabilitation), deafness studies/education of the deaf, and speech and hearing science.

Graduate Studies Committee

The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee in the spring semester 2000-2001.

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the program must meet the requirements for admission to the Graduate School; however, satisfying these minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Each applicant's credentials are scrutinized by members of the faculty of the program. No single criterion, such as grade point average or GRE score, is given undue weight in the decision process; every attempt is made to assess the special strengths that the applicant might bring to the program.

Degree Requirements

Students seeking professional certification in speech/language pathology, audiology, or education of the deaf must meet coursework and clinical requirements specific to the specialization or area of study. Information about certification requirements is available from the graduate adviser.

To be counted toward the degree, all coursework in the major must be at the graduate level. Individual study programs must be arranged in consultation with the graduate adviser.

Master of Arts

The Master of Arts provides graduate preprofessional training in several specializations. A brief description of each is given below.

Speech/Language Pathology

In speech/language pathology, students select one of three areas of concentration. All students complete the same set of core courses and basic clinical practicum. Additional coursework and practicum experiences are required for each area.

Medical speech/language pathology. Designed for students interested in working in hospital, nursing home, or rehabilitation center settings, this area of study requires coursework in anatomy and physiology of the speech production system; neuroanatomy; and characteristics, evaluation, and treatment of individuals with orofacial, voice, and nervous system disorders. Supporting coursework is chosen from neuropsychology, neurolinguistics, and cognition.

During the two-year program, students obtain clinical practicum experience at two or more off-campus medical sites with pediatric and adult populations with cleft palate, aphasia, dysarthria, dysphagia, and voice disorders. Academic and clinical practicum experiences are designed to allow students to meet basic competence requirements to work as professionals with each of these groups of individuals. Students also have the opportunity to learn administrative procedures in the medical setting, medical terminology, the interpretation of medically related appraisal and evaluation tools and protocols, and intervention models in acute and chronic care environments.

Child language. Coursework in child language emphasizes understanding, assessing, and treating, in public and private settings, speech and language disorders in children. It covers multicultural considerations in assessment and treatment, collaboration with families and teachers, and clinical research methods. Students who complete this track are expected to acquire current knowledge of language development and disorders in infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children, and of the residuals of these disorders in adults. During a two-year period, students complete core courses in assessment, research, articulation, fluency, neurogenics, and voice. Students also complete courses that are specific to child language disorders and two additional courses, offered outside the department, related to child language development or disorders.

Students also complete a series of clinical practicum experiences that include observations in educational settings, participation on child language assessment teams in the UT Speech and Hearing Center, a minimum of one on-campus child language intervention experience, and two intensive off-campus placements in settings that serve child language clients.

Bilingual/multicultural communication disorders. The bilingual/multicultural communication disorders curriculum is designed for students who are planning to work with individuals from linguistically and culturally diverse populations. Training is available for students interested in working with Spanish/English bilingual speakers and speakers of dialects, such as African American English and Spanish-influenced English. Both bilingual and monolingual students are admitted into the concentration. Bilingual students must have native or near-native proficiency in Spanish. Monolingual students are teamed with bilingual graduate students during practicum experiences. Through coursework and clinical experiences, students are expected to develop competence and knowledge in the following areas:

• Typical language acquisition patterns for monolingual Spanish speakers, dialect speakers, and bilingual speakers
• Phonological characteristics of monolingual Spanish speakers, dialect speakers, and bilingual speakers
• Principles for identification of bilingual, monolingual, and dialect speakers with communication impairments, focusing on linguistically and culturally responsive assessment and the distinction between difference and disorder
• Principles for management of bilingual, monolingual, and dialect speakers with communication impairments, focusing on development of linguistically and culturally appropriate intervention goals and long-term plans
• Related professional practices such as bilingual education and bilingual special education
• Principles of collaboration and consultation to provide supervision and training to paraprofessionals, consultation services to regular education and special education teachers, and consultation services to monolingual speech/language pathologists and audiologists

Employment opportunities for professionals who have received this training are available in school systems, rehabilitation centers, clinics, and hospitals. Students who complete this program of study will receive a multicultural certificate. Students who demonstrate proficiency in Spanish on the Texas Oral Proficiency Test are awarded a certificate of Multicultural Specialization with Bilingual Proficiency.

Audiology

All preprofessional students in audiology complete the same set of core courses and basic clinical practicum. Students may select the general preprofessional track, or they may choose a concentration in bilingual/multicultural audiology or aural rehabilitation, which require additional coursework and practicum experiences.

Deafness Studies/Education of the Deaf

The specialization in deafness studies/education of the deaf is inactive. Current information about its status is available from the graduate adviser.

Speech and Hearing Science

Students in speech and hearing science follow a broad, research-oriented program of study that is not designed to lead to professional certification. Additional information is available from the graduate adviser.

Doctor of Philosophy

The Doctor of Philosophy is a research degree; doctoral students can expect opportunities to work closely with the faculty on research and to participate in the publication of research findings. All doctoral students are expected to achieve mastery of research design principles and methods appropriate to their program of study.

For More Information

Campus address: Jesse H. Jones Communication Center (Academic) (CMA) A7.202, phone (512) 471-2385, fax (512) 471-2957; campus mail code: A1100

Mailing address: Graduate Program, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1089

E-mail: csdgrad@uts.cc.utexas.edu

URL: http://csd.utexas.edu/graduate.html

Communication Sciences and Disorders Courses: CSD

Graduate Catalog
Contents
Chapter 1 - Graduate Study
Chapter 2 - Admission and Registration
Chapter 3 - Degree Requirements
Chapter 4 - Fields of Study
Chapter 5 - Members of Graduate Studies Committees
Appendix - Course Abbreviations

Related Information
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Office of the Registrar
University of Texas at Austin

26 July 2001. Registrar's Web Team

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