Audiology — AuD

The Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences offers the professional clinical degree: the Doctor of Audiology (AuD). As opposed to the PhD research degree, the AuD is a clinical practice degree. The AuD degree program spans four years (11 semesters including summers), each cohort group begins fall semester. Details are provided at the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences website: https://www.cla.auburn.edu/speech-language-hearing-sciences/.

Most graduates of the AuD program work in clinical settings, such as major hospitals, ear, nose and throat clinics, and private practice facilities. A few graduates teach in clinical programs in academic institutions.

To complete the program, students must have transportation for courses and clinics in both Auburn and Montgomery as well as for additional clinical experiences and internships located in other cities within the surrounding region.

Admissions Requirements

A bachelor's degree from an accredited university is necessary, however highly qualified students from any discipline are considered. Foundation courses in language development and phonetics will be added to the curriculum for students without a bachelor's degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Science. At least one undergraduate course each of math, life sciences, statistics, physical sciences (chemistry or physics required), and behavioral sciences is an accreditation expectation, and applicants lacking any of these must comply before conferral of the AuD degree.

Potential students must apply both to the Auburn University Graduate School and to Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application System (CSDCAS).

Application to Auburn University’s Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Department requires that you complete both the electronic application through the Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application Service (CSDCAS) AND the online application to the Auburn University Graduate School. Here are the specific steps:

1. Apply online to AU’s Graduate School and submit payment.
2. Complete the Casper Assessment through Altus Suite. Casper scores are sent directly to Auburn University so you do not need to upload your scores to CSDCAS.
3. Official transcripts from every college or university attended must be sent to CSDCAS.
4. Three professional letters of recommendation must be submitted to CSDCAS.
5. A video: See website for instructions and prompt.
6. A letter of interest, which will serve as a writing sample. See website for instructions.
7. For international students whose native language is not English, the TOEFL must be taken and submitted to both CSDCAS and AU Graduate School. In keeping with the requirements of the Auburn University Graduate School, successful international applicants must score at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) paper version (pBT), 213 on the computer version (cBT), and 79 on the internet version (iBT). Additionally, successful applicants must score minimums of 16 on the listening, reading, speaking, and writing components of the iBT.

January 15^th is the annual deadline for applications to the graduate program. To be considered for admission, all materials need to be submitted to AU and CSDCAS no later than January 15^th.

Graduation Requirements

The curricular plan of study is a static sequence of academic and clinical coursework. The academic and clinical components of the AuD program interact in a logical progression over a four-year period. A total of 124 semester hours are required for the degree.

The early portion of training is largely academic, and the later portions involve mostly applied clinical work. As the program progresses, the balance of academic and clinical work changes substantially. During the first two years of the program, the emphasis is on academic preparation for clinical work. Students must pass comprehensive exams at the end of the 1^st and 3^rd year (see handbook). In the third year of the program, academic courses are combined with advanced seminars on current issues in clinical practice and the completion of an applied clinical research project referred to as a capstone experience. During this third year of the program, students are engaged in a series of intensive clinical internships at off-campus clinical settings. Students must successfully complete internships at three different clinical settings during the third year and return to campus to participate in seminar course work. In the final year of the program, students participate in a clinical residency during which they work full time for a period of nine months. Clinical residencies may be done at any facility in the United States where a certified audiologist agrees to supervise the student within ASHA guidelines.

Plan of Study

The four-year sequence of academic and clinical course work, including the semester hours, is as follows:

Internships and Clinical Residency

During third year, students complete internships in three different locations, and in the final year, they work full-time under the supervision of a certified audiologist. Off campus clinical experiences for the third year are typically located within a two hour drive time radius to allow the student a quality experience and the ability to return to campus for class and capstone research work. The fourth year clinical residency experience can be anywhere in the United States with appropriate supervision and a broad scope of practice.

Other Requirements for the AuD

Along with their course work and internships, students are required to pass comprehensive written exams in order to advance to candidacy. Oral examinations will be conducted if written responses lack detail or clarity. To graduate, students must also successfully complete a capstone project, which can be a planned audiology-related research or clinical project designed to explore a research hypothesis or meet a clinical outcome.

Graduate Assistantship Opportunities

A limited number of graduate assistantships are available for meritorious students to assist in teaching, research, or clinical roles.