DOCTOR OF AUDIOLOGY DEGREE PROGRAM

The Graduate Council has approved a proposal by the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences to upgrade its master’s degree in audiology to a professional doctorate, the doctor of audiology degree (Au.D.). The audiology master’s program at UNT has trained hearing healthcare professionals for the last thirty-four years. Audiology graduates of UNT have consistently scored above the national average on the professional examination in audiology and have a near-perfect job placement rate upon graduation. Employment opportunities for audiology graduates are projected to increase in many states, including Texas, and national surveys continue to rank audiology among the best career choices. However, the master’s degree in audiology soon will be obsolete: the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has mandated that, beginning in 2007, audiologists must have an earned doctorate to attain professional certification. The Au.D. degree emerged nationally in the late 1980s in response to a rapidly increasing knowledge base and changing technology.

The proposed Doctor of Audiology will offer students an enhanced, rigorous curriculum, rooted in the hearing sciences, clinical practica, and research methodology, with a financial burden to the College of Arts and Sciences that will be more than offset by the increased formula funding the Au.D. will generate. Students will complete 73 academic and 48 clinical semester credit hours. Clinical practica will include on- and off-campus placements.

The State of Texas has approved Au.D. programs at Texas Tech University and the University of Texas at Dallas. The state needs several more doctoral programs in audiology to help meet regional and national demands for licensed and certified audiologists. The audiology program at UNT has the faculty expertise, facilities, and financial resources to implement an excellent Doctor of Audiology program.

We request endorsement of this proposal by the Board of Regents and authorization for the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs to seek approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to offer the proposed Au.D. in Audiology.