Audiology - M.A., Au.D. and Ph.D. Download to print

The Master of Arts in Audiology is designed for those students seeking careers that may be well served by a non-clinical advanced degree in hearing and acoustics. Students wishing to enter the Master's program, either without an undergraduate degree in speech-language pathology or audiology or with inadequate preparation for professional training are required to complete a core group of courses (basically the same as those offered to undergraduate students majoring in speech pathology and audiology at Kent State University) prior to being considered for admission into the Master's program.

Those interested in clinical practice should see the Doctor of Audiology program and requirements.

The Doctor of Audiology is a professional doctorate that prepares students as competent audiologists. Graduates are independent professionals who specialize in the diagnosis, management and treatment of hearing and balance disorders.

The Ph.D. program in Audiology provides the student with a strong theoretical background and research competencies in communication processes and/or disorders.

 Official transcript(s), GRE, goal statement and two letters of recommendation.

M.A.: The Master's program will be customized to fit the individual needs and interest of the student.

Au.D.: The curriculum is a continuous 48-month post baccalaureate course of study designed to integrate classroom, laboratory and clinical experiences. All students attend full-time and take the same courses in appropriate sequence. The emphasis of the program is on the principles and practices underlying evaluation, treatment and provision of hearing care services.

For progression and graduation, students must meet the following degree requirements:

• Maintain an overall grade point average of 3.0.
• Complete a minimum of 122 semester hours.
• Accrue 2000 clock hours of clinical experience.
• Meet the requirements for provisional Ohio licensure in audiology.
• Pass academic and clinical competency-based examinations.
• Satisfactorily complete the required course.

Ph.D.: After admission to the Ph.D. degree program, students plan a program of study with their respective faculty advisory committee headed by their advisor. Students’ programs may include at least one appropriate graduate-level minor or cognate as well as the major.

Specific school requirements include completion of 45 semester hours of precandidacy graduate work beyond the master’s degree and acceptable performance on a written and oral comprehensive examination.

Students who have not completed a master’s thesis are required to complete and defend a research project prior to taking their comprehensive examination.

The 45 semester hours of precandidacy study consists of 24 hours in a major area of focus, 15 hours in two minor areas of focus, and 6 semester hours of research tool courses.

Doctoral Candidacy:
Students may be admitted to the Ph.D. Program on a part-time basis; however, students must also meet a residency requirement of two consecutive semesters of fulltime enrollment prior to acceptance into candidacy.

After completion of coursework, students take the candidacy examinations, consisting of both written and oral portions. The written portion entails 16 hours of writing on material studied within the major and minors. The oral portion occurs two to four weeks later and can cover information on any topic in addition to those covered on the written portion. Successful completion of these examinations culminates in "admission to candidacy" and allows the candidate to begin work on the dissertation.

Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology