Clinical Doctorate in Audiology, AuD

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Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Please note that the Clinical Doctorate in Audiology, AuD program has been approved by Western Washington University and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities: the first student cohort enrolled for the 2017-18 academic year. The Clinical Doctoral (AuD) program in Audiology at Western Washington University is a Candidate for Accreditation by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. This is a “pre-accreditation” status with the CAA, awarded to developing or emerging programs for a maximum period of five years.

Graduate Faculty

Darling, Rieko M., PhD, audiology, amplification, geriatrics, central auditory processing disorders, aural rehabilitation.
Diedesch, Anna C., AuD, PhD, audiology, amplification, binaural hearing, psychoacoustics, central auditory processing, auditory neurophysiology.
Peters, Kimberly A., PhD, audiology, pediatric audiology, auditory physiology, aural (re)habilitation, cochlear implants, social cognition, social competence.
Sladen, Douglas P., PhD, audiology, cochlear implants, speech perception, aural habilitation and rehabilitation, auditory development, auditory aging.

AuD Graduate Program Director: Rieko Darling, AI 372, 360-650-3143.

Goals

The objectives of the clinical doctorate program in Audiology at Western Washington University are to prepare competent entry-level professionals in audiology and to prepare students for advanced study at the PhD level. The program is a full-time, four-year program. During the first three years of the program, students enroll in coursework and clinical practicum experiences developed and sequenced to provide knowledge and skills in the evidence-based diagnosis and treatment of hearing and balance disorders across the lifespan. The program culminates in a fourth year externship taken after other academic and clinical requirements have been completed.

Western Washington University also offers diagnostic and rehabilitative audiological services at its campus Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. The Clinics at Western provide a unique educational opportunity to graduate students in both Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology while providing a valuable community service. Students who intend to seek employment in this profession, whether in a public school, clinic, rehabilitation center or hospital setting, are advised that certification/licensure at the state and/or national levels is required. Out-of-state students should recognize that other requirements may exist for employment in different geographic locations.

Prerequisites

Students must have completed an undergraduate major in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) or an equivalent professional core curriculum. The BA or BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders (Speech Pathology and Audiology) must have been completed within the past five years in order to be considered as an applicant for the graduate program in CSD. Grade point average requirements are consistent with those of the Graduate School.

Students must have completed the Graduate Record Exam, General Test or REVISED General Test beginning August 2011. Students who are not native speakers of English must demonstrate competence in written and spoken English. This can be done by submitting a satisfactory score on the international TOEFL, taken within one year of the date of application. A minimum composite score of 600 is required for the paper-based test; the scaled score for the computer-based test is 250; the Internet-based minimum score is 100. The TOEFL scores must be on file in the Graduate School prior to receipt of the application for graduate study.

Application Information

Enrollment is limited to 12 new graduate students per year.

Admit Quarter: Fall quarter only. The clinical doctorate in audiology is a lock-step program that offers courses in sequence once a year beginning in the fall.

Deadline: Application priority deadline is February 1, rolling admissions through June 1 until cohort is full.

TA Deadline: Application deadline is February 1.

Specific Test Requirements: Graduate Record Exam, General Test or REVISED General Test beginning August 2011. (No test scores are required if an applicant holds an advanced degree — MA, MS, PhD.)

Supporting Materials:

Application with $100 fee (subject to change)
Three recent letters of reference
One official transcript from every school attended (no more than two years old)
One-page statement of purpose
One-page résumé

Requirements (147 credits)

❑ CSD 501 - Counseling in Audiology Credits: 3
❑ CSD 504 - Audiology Grand Rounds Credits: 1 (students must take for a total of 10 credits)
❑ CSD 505 - Audiology Clinical Levels Credits: 1 (students must take for a total of 4 credits)
❑ CSD 506 - Seminar: Professional Issues and Practices Credits: 3 (students must take for a total of 9 credits)
❑ CSD 507 - Capstone Project/Research Project Credits: 1-3 (students must take for a total of 9 credits)
❑ CSD 508 - Audiology Research Methods Credits: 4
❑ CSD 561 - Advanced Audiology I Credits: 3
❑ CSD 562 - Advanced Audiology II Credits: 3
❑ CSD 563 - Seminar: Aural Rehabilitation Credits: 5
❑ CSD 564 - Advanced Clinical Practice in Aural Rehabilitation Credits: 2 (students must take for a total of 14 credits)
❑ CSD 565 - Psychoacoustics Credits: 3
❑ CSD 566 - Auditory Neurophysiology Credits: 3
❑ CSD 568 - Advanced Clinical Practicum in Audiology Credits: 2 (students must take for a total of 16 credits)
❑ CSD 570 - Medical Audiology Credits: 4
❑ CSD 571 - Hearing Aids I Credits: 3
❑ CSD 572 - Hearing Aids II Credits: 3
❑ CSD 573 - Seminar: Speech Acoustics Credits: 3
❑ CSD 577 - Pediatric Audiology Credits: 3
❑ CSD 578 - Seminar: Electrophysiological Testing Credits: 4
❑ CSD 579 - Aging and the Ear Credits: 3
❑ CSD 587 - Cochlear Implants Credits: 3
❑ CSD 589 - Auditory Processing Disorder Assessment and Management Credits: 3
❑ CSD 590 - Educational Audiology Credits: 3
❑ CSD 593 - Balance Disorder Assessment Credits: 3
❑ CSD 594 - Balance Disorder Treatment Credits: 3
❑ CSD 595 - Tinnitus Assessment and Management Credits: 3
❑ CSD 596 - AuD Internship Credits: 2 (students must take for a total of 6 credits)
❑ CSD 692 - Fourth Year Externship Credits: 5 (students must take for a total of 20 credits)

Additional Information

Clinical Competence

In addition to meeting academic requirements, students specializing in audiology must demonstrate satisfactory competence in diagnosis and treatment of hearing and balance disorders across the lifespan. Refer to course description for additional information. No student in CSD may participate as a primary clinician in the clinic or on an internship until cleared by the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Federal Bureau of Investigation via a background check. Clearance is valid for specified time frames.

Procedure and fee information are provided to students upon acceptance into the graduate program. At times, the requirements for the completion of clinical practicum courses may fall outside the regular University calendar. Contact the department for further details. Students are permitted to retake a clinical practicum (CSD 564 and CSD 568) only once. If a grade of B is not achieved in the retake, students will not be permitted to continue in the practicum courses.

Not everyone is suited to work with clients in the clinical fields of speech-language pathology and audiology even though the student may maintain a satisfactory academic record. The faculty and staff of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders thus reserve the right to counsel students with this in mind, and to recommend a change of academic focus for the student who appears to have personality traits that would prevent the student from being successful in the discipline.

Internship

An internship is required for all CSD students. This experience provides an opportunity for each student to refine and expand basic clinical skills by participating in a supervised, full-time work experience in a professional setting. The terminal objective of this training phase is to facilitate each clinician’s transition from student in training to competent entry-level professional. As such, the internship is taken after other academic and clinical requirements have been completed with the exception of the capstone project. In addition to the required full-time externship (CSD 692), students must also complete three part-time internships (CSD 596). Both the full-time and part-time placements require assignment to clinical settings off campus (e.g., schools, hospitals, private clinics, et cetera).

Accreditation

The clinical doctorate in audiology at Western Washington University is a candidate for accreditation by the Council of Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard #310, Rockville, Maryland 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700.

Audiology Clinical Levels

All graduate students are required to pass, with a “satisfactory” grade, four audiology clinical level examinations prior to completing the clinical doctorate degree in audiology. These clinical levels are administered at the end of each quarter beginning in the winter quarter of the first year (CSD 505).

Capstone Project

All graduate students are required to complete a capstone project prior to completing their clinical doctorate in audiology. Capstone projects carry variable credit and include research-based and non-research based projects.