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

The Master of Arts in Audiology is an advanced non-clinical degree program designed for those students seeking careers in hearing and acoustics. Those interested in becoming a licensed clinical audiologist should see the Doctor of Audiology program description and requirements described below.

The Doctor of Audiology is a professional doctorate that prepares students to be licensed clinical audiologist. Graduates are independent professionals who specialize in the diagnosis, management and treatment of hearing and balance disorders. This program may be undertaken in conjunction with the Ph.D. program described below.

The Doctor of Philosophy program in Audiology provides the student with a strong theoretical background and research competencies in communication processes and/or disorders and is ideal for those interested unacademic and research careers in communication sciences. This program may be undertaken simultaneously or sequentially with the Au.D. program.

M.A., Au.D., Ph.D.: Official college transcript(s), GRE scores, goal statement and three letters of recommendation. Students applying to any of the programs are required to have earned a recognized Bachelor's degree, but not necessarily in areas of speech and hearing. However, students wishing to enter the Master's program who have neither 1) completed an undergraduate degree in speech and hearing (i.e., speech-language pathology/audiology/communication disorder), nor 2) the necessary coursework specific to professional clinical training in these areas are required to complete a core group of courses (essentially the major-specific KSU courses required of UG students in speech-language pathology and audiology) prior to being considered for admission into the Master's program. See the program website for more specific information.

Please refer to the university policy for graduate admission.

M.A.: The Master's program requires a minimum of 30 credit hours and custom designed to fit the individual needs and interests of the student.

Au.D.: This doctoral program is a full-time, continuous, 48-month post baccalaureate course of study designed to integrate classroom, laboratory and clinical experiences culminating in the qualification for National certification and State (Ohio) licensure as an audiologist. All students attend full-time and take a fixed sequence of classroom- and clinic-based courses. The program emphasizes 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.
• Satisfactorily complete the 120 credit hours as detailed in the plan of study.
• Accrue 2000 clock hours of clinical experience.
• Meet the requirements for provisional Ohio licensure in audiology.
• Pass academic and clinical competency-based examinations.

Licensure Requirement (not required for graduation):
Candidates seeking Audiologist licensure are required to pass Praxis II test Audiology (0342).

Ph.D.:Students may be admitted to the Ph.D. program on a part-time basis; however, all students must meet a residency requirement with two consecutive semesters of full-time enrollment prior to acceptance into candidacy.

After admission to the Ph.D. degree program, students and their sponsor/advisor cooperatively devise a program of a least 45 (post master's degree) or 75 (post bachelor's degree) semester credit hours of pre-candidacy study which will encompass their general needs and specific interest, while consisting of at least 24 hours in a major area of focus, 15 hours in each of two minor focus areas and a minimum 6 semester hours of research tools coursework. Students who have not completed a master's thesis are required to complete and successfully defend a research project in lieu of thesis prior to taking their comprehensive examinations. Students must maintain an overall grade point average of at least 3.000 throughout the program. After completion of coursework, students take the candidacy examinations, consisting of both written and oral portions. The written portion entails 16-20 hours of writing on material studied within the major and minor concentrations as predetermined by the examination committee. The oral portion occurs two to four weeks later and can cover pertinent general information in addition to that 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.

Doctoral Candidacy:
Once admitted, candidates are expected to maintain continuous enrollment in Dissertation, including summers, until the dissertation is defended. Candidates must have attained a minimum of 60 semester credit hours beyond their master's degree (90 hours if entering with a bachelor's degree) and successfully defend their dissertation to complete the program.

Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology