Speech and Hearing Sciences

Graduate opportunities

Graduate opportunities

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

We offer course work leading to a Master of Arts or Master of Science degree in Speech–Language Pathology and a Doctor of Audiology degree. In addition, completion of required course work, laboratory training and clinical practicum experiences qualifies you for national professional certification from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Texas state licensure in speech-language pathology or audiology.

You can gain valuable research experience by working with our faculty members on various projects. Our department maintains laboratories for research, clinical treatment rooms, a clinic library, a student workroom and a computer lab. Faculty research includes studying:

• Articulation
• Auditory evoked potential
• Speech perception
• Swallowing disorders
• Vocal pathologies

Other ongoing research projects are conducted with the College of Music, the Department of Biological Sciences, the Department of Electrical Engineering and the Department of Physics.

In addition to the on-campus practicum at the UNT Speech and Hearing Center, opportunities are available at more than 100 off-campus practicum sites throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region. These sites include area hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and public schools administering hearing screenings and raising hearing loss awareness in the presence of a clinical supervisor.

Our doctoral students are thoroughly prepared academically and clinically throughout four years. To ensure they are mastering their clinical skills, clinical competencies are reviewed each semester with the clinical supervisor. Academic knowledge is also assessed by administering formative assessment the second year in the program and a summative assessment in the third year. Our programs are accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech- Language Pathology (2200 Research Blvd., Rockville, Md. 20850-3289; telephone 800-498-2071). We were among the first programs in the Southwest to receive CAA accreditation.

Attending UNT

Admission requirements

You must meet the admission requirements for the Toulouse Graduate School as well as the following program requirements:

• Completed program application
• GRE scores
• Official transcripts from all schools attended
• Three letters of recommendation
• A personal statement of future professional goals

Applicants to the speech-language pathology degree program should submit a completed application by Feb. 15 admission for the following fall semester. Audiology applicants should submit an application for admission by March 1. The graduate school’s admission requirements are outlined at www.gradschool.unt.edu or www.unt.edu/catalog.

Degree requirements
M.A. and M.S.

There are two master’s degree options:

• 45 semester hours and a clinical practicum
• 39 semester hours, 6 semester hours of thesis and a clinical practicum Each option includes 6 semester hours in audiology.

If you write a thesis, you must pass an oral exam administered by the thesis committee on your 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.

Au.D. in Audiology

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

• 70 semester hours of course work
• 44 semester hours of clinical practicum (with a minimum of 1,850 clock hours)
• A faculty-directed research project
• A second-year formative assessment and third-year summative assessment

During the fourth year of the program, you must complete a clinical residency in an external practicum site, which may involve relocation or travel.

Financial assistance

Semester-long graduate assistantships and scholarships are available. Faculty members may also have research money available for partial support of a research assistant. All assistantships and scholarships are competitive. More information about financial assistance programs is available at financialaid.unt.edu or www.gradschool.unt.edu.