Speech and Hearing Sciences

Opportunities for graduate studies

The Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences prepares you to work effectively with people who have communication impairments and promotes the advancement of the discipline through professional, clinical and research activities.

The department offers master of arts and master of science degrees with a major in speech-language pathology and a doctorate in audiology. Completion of the programs, which include course instruction and clinical practicum experience, satisfies the educational and clinical requirements for national professional certification (i.e., the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) and Texas state licensure in speech-language pathology or audiology.

The programs are accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology [10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. 20852, telephone (800) 498-2071]. UNT's program was among the first in the Southwest to receive CAA accreditation.

Admission requirements

You must meet the admission requirements of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and the following program requirements.

Applicants for speech-language pathology should submit a completed application form by Feb. 15 for admission for the following fall semester. Audiology applicants should submit an application for admission by March 1. Only speech-language pathology applicants may apply for admission for the spring semester (the deadline is Oct. 1 of the preceding year). Application forms are available from the department office.

The graduate admissions committee of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences ranks applicants based on GRE scores, grade point average, letters of recommendation and a personal statement of future professional goals.

Degree requirements

M.A. and M.S. in speech-language pathology

The two degree options are:

• 45 semester hours and a clinical practicum
• 39 semester hours, 6 semester hours of thesis and a clinical practicum

Each option also requires you to take 6 semester hours in audiology.

If you write a thesis, you must pass an oral exam administered by the thesis committee on the thesis topic. A written comprehensive examination is required if you do not write a thesis. The comprehensive examination focuses on the various content areas of speech and language pathology, including normal aspects of speech, language and hearing, rather than on specific courses that may constitute an individual degree plan.

Au.D. in Audiology

This is a four-year, post-baccalaureate degree. The degree requirements include a minimum of:

• 70 semester hours of course work
• 44 semester hours of clinical practicum (with a minimum of 1,850 clock hours)

You must complete a faculty-directed research project and pass a third-year formative assessment examination before your fourth academic year. During the fourth year of the program, you complete a clinical residency in an external practicum site, which may involve relocation or travel.

Facilities

The Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences and the UNT Speech and Hearing Center are housed in an 16,600-square-foot facility that opened in 1999. The facility contains laboratories for research, clinical treatment rooms, a clinic library, a student workroom and a computer lab.

In addition to on-campus practicum at the UNT Speech and Hearing Center, the department offers opportunities at more than 100 off-campus practicum sites throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Off-campus sites include area hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and public schools.

Financial assistance

Semester-long graduate assistantships are available. Scholarships are also offered under the auspices of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. Faculty members may also have research money available for partial support of a research assistant. All assistantships and scholarships are competitive.