About
Can you picture yourself working with people with hearing loss and/or balance problems? Are you interested in using technology and evidence-based care to do so?
The profession of audiology has been ranked as one of the top five jobs with respect to physical demands, work environment, income, stress, and hiring outlook (CareerCast.com; 2013). East Carolina’s AuD program allows you to work closely with faculty and other audiology students to develop hearing health care skills. As an AuD student, you will learn to analyze and apply information related to the auditory and vestibular anatomy, diagnostic and rehabilitation, and non-medical treatments of the hearing and balance systems. The program also allows opportunities for clinical rotations throughout the community and nation, and mentored teaching and research with faculty members. Our departmental Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic offers a unique first experience in developing clinical skills in a variety of practice areas.
The profession of audiology will allow you to combine your interest in client interactions and the use of technology for evaluation and management. The process of identifying hearing loss can be emotional, but so can the experience of helping that individual with their communication abilities. The final year of the AuD experience is the Clinical Residency; students are encouraged to seek clinical placements throughout the nation, depending upon clinical practice interests.
ECU Advantage
East Carolina’s program offers an on-campus audiology clinic with extensive and close interaction with our audiology faculty throughout the degree program. Special opportunities within the on-campus clinic include the hearing aid clinic, adult cochlear implant clinic, vestibular clinic, central auditory processing evaluations, pediatric and adult hearing evaluations, and participation with the aural rehabilitation and tinnitus groups. AuD students are challenged to connect research and classroom learning by using best practice measures in areas of clinical assessment and care. Students are offered the opportunity to complete a faculty mentored capstone project to pursue a project in a special area of interest.
What You Will Study
The admissions committee will make a holistic judgment of applicant qualifications. Admission to study at the doctoral level requires acceptance by the Graduate School and the department. The application for admission to the Graduate School and official transcripts from each college or university attended must be sent to the dean of the Graduate School.
Applicants seeking admission to doctoral study should have completed a well-integrated program of study that includes coursework in biological and physical sciences and mathematics, behavioral and/or social sciences, and human communication sciences and disorders.
1. Bachelor's or master's degree or its equivalent from an institutionally accredited institution with a minimum overall grade point average of 3.2 (on a scale of A=4.0). 2. The following undergraduate course prerequisites are required: life sciences (6 s.h.), physical sciences (3 s.h.), behavioral sciences (6 s.h.), English (3 s.h.), mathematics (3 s.h.), statistics (3 s.h.), anatomy and physiology (3 s.h.), and language development (3 s.h.). Other courses in communication sciences and disorders are strongly encouraged. 3. Graduate Record Examination within five years. Recent applicants have had mean GRE scores of 150 for verbal, 150 for quantitative, and 4.0 for analytic writing. The GRE is waived as an entrance requirement for EC Scholars at East Carolina University if other criteria are met. 4. ECU students accepted in the Early Assurance program are guaranteed entry upon completion of their undergraduate degree provided they satisfy program requirements. 5. Three (3) letters of recommendation, at least two from faculty of the college(s) or university(s) previously attended. 6. A statement that summarizes reasons for pursuing a clinical doctorate in audiology. 7. Telephone, online video chat, or face-to-face interview.
Additional requirements for admission will be posted to the department website on an annual basis.
Baccalaureate admission: The post-baccalaureate audiology degree program consists of a minimum of 99 graduate credit hours to include broad-based knowledge in areas of applied clinical audiology, structure and development of hearing and communication disorders, speech and hearing sciences, statistics, computers and instrumentation, and research design.
Post-Master's admission: Students with a master's degree may seek admission to the audiology program. Admission decisions will be made on an individual basis with review of the educational background as well as the admissions requirements. Individuals seeking post-master's entrance will be required to complete the minimum 99 graduate semester hours. Those hours may include up to one third of the credit hours in a graduate certificate or degree program from an institutionally accredited college or university. For more information, see Transfer Credits in the Academic Regulations section.
Minimum degree requirement is 99 s.h. as follows:
- CSDI 6103 - Research Design in Speech and Hearing
- CSDI 8000 - Methods in Clinical Audiology
- CSDI 8002 - Assessment and Management of the Vestibular System
- CSDI 8003 - Advanced Pediatric Assessment
- CSDI 8005 - Methods in Amplification
- CSDI 8006 - Auditory Processing
- CSDI 8007 - Methods in Clinical Audiology Lab
- CSDI 8009 - Psychoacoustics
- CSDI 8011 - Advanced Acoustics
- CSDI 8013 - Methods in Clinical Audiology II
- CSDI 8016 - Auditory Physiology
- CSDI 8017 - Advanced Methods in Amplification II
- CSDI 8019 - Electrophysiological Measures in Audition I
- CSDI 8021 - Aural Rehabilitation
- CSDI 8026 - Electrophysiological Measures in Audition II
- CSDI 8027 - Cochlear Implants
- CSDI 8028 - Auditory Pathologies
- CSDI 8029 - Counseling in Audiology and Speech-Language Practice
- CSDI 8032 - Hearing Conservation
- CSDI 8033 - Cochlear Implant Technology and Research
- CSDI 8100 - Advanced Audiology Methods Lab
- CSDI 8102 - Vestibular Lab
- CSDI 8103 - Electrophysiological Measures in Audition I – Laboratory
- CSDI 8104 - Electrophysiological Measures in Audition II – Laboratory
- CSDI 8150 - Audiology Licensure, Certification and Related Issues
- CSDI 8234 - Audiology Clinical Rotation
- CSDI 8993 - Clinical Residency
- BIOS 7021 - Biostatistics for Health Professionals I
- COHE 6600 - Management of Health Care Operations
- CSDI 6100 - Language Disorders
- CSDI 6110 - Brain, Language, and Aphasia
- CSDI 6200 - Multicultural Communication Disorders
- CSDI 8004 - Embryology, Genetics, and the Auditory System
- CSDI 8010 - Computer and Instrumentation Applications to Speech and Hearing Science
- CSDI 8012 - Physiological Phonetics
- CSDI 8014 - Acoustic Phonetics
- CSDI 8015 - Electronic Instrumentation and Calibration in Speech and Hearing
- CSDI 8018 - Neurolinguistics
- CSDI 8020 - Advanced Seminar in Communication Sciences
- CSDI 8022 - Advanced Seminar in Audiology
- CSDI 8024 - Advanced Electrophysiological Measures
- CSDI 8030 - Doctoral Colloquium
- CSDI 8031 - Auditory Perception of Speech
- CSDI 8040 - Audiology Capstone I
- CSDI 8041 - Audiology Capstone II
- CSDI 8234 - Audiology Clinical Rotation
- CSDI 8999 - Predoctoral Independent Study
A minimum of 30 clinical hours are required.
Select up to 7 s.h. from the following:
The clinical residency will be the final clinical placement in audiology that may range from half-time to full-time and that allows for the development of comprehensive clinical knowledge, skills and abilities.
All ECU graduate programs require students to successfully complete a comprehensive assessment. The assessment for this program requires that students pass a Gateway Exam at the completion of the first year. The examination format is written. Faculty will rate the responses as satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Faculty will inform students of their performance on the examination within one-month of completing the exam. If the student receives unsatisfactory for any part of the Gateway examination, the student must meet with the faculty to discuss areas of weakness prior to retaking those portion(s) of the exam. The student must re-write the unsatisfactory portion(s) of the comprehensive examination. Rewrites and final decisions are made prior to the start of the student's second year of the audiology program. Failure to rewrite and successfully pass the unsatisfactory portion(s) of the exam prior to the start of the student's second year will result in termination of the student from the program.
A doctoral degree program must be completed before the end of the twelfth semester, excluding summers, following initial enrollment. With endorsement of the student's major professor and program committee and also the departmental chair, a student may request one extension of not more than two semesters, summers included.
Graduate School regulations for most academic issues are utilized and can be found in the Academic Regulations section of this catalog. For the purposes of retention in the audiology degree program, the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has developed and adopted stricter standards than the Graduate School.
The Graduate School requires a 3.0 GPA for retention and graduation. In addition, the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders requires that students earn no less than a grade of "B" in more than 1 course during their degree program. This includes all departmental courses including didactic, clinical, or research taught by any delivery method.
Upon receipt of the second grade of less than a "B," a review of the student's academic and clinical progress will be conducted by the student's advisor, the Director of Doctoral Education, and the Department Chair. Recommendations for continuance or termination will be made to the Doctoral Education Committee for consideration. If the decision of the Doctoral Education Committee is for termination, this will be communicated by the Director of Doctoral Education to the student and the Graduate School. If the decision is for continuation, this will be communicated to the student.
Upon the 3rd course with lower than a "B" grade, the Director of Doctoral Education shall notify in writing the student and the Graduate School that the student's degree program is terminated. The student can appeal this termination by writing a letter to the Director of Doctoral Education and asking the Doctoral Education Committee for reinstatement. The Director of Doctoral Education will convey the decision of the committee to the student and the Graduate School. If allowed to continue in the program, the student may not earn any additional credit hours of less than a "B" grade. If terminated at this point the student may appeal the decision through the ECU School Appeals procedure. (Rev. September 2011).