Hearing and Speech Sciences (HESP)

Abstract

The Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences provides the opportunity for advanced graduate study in the communication sciences and disorders. The department offers three degrees; this entry is for the Ph.D. program, with a concentrations in Hearing, Speech or Language. Students applying to the Ph.D. program can opt to receive an MA in Speech-Language Pathology en route to the final degree.

Students interested in the clinical MA degree in Speech-Language Pathology should see SPLA and use this code when applying for admission to study; students interested in a clinical doctorate in Audiology should see CAUD and use this code when applying for admission to study). At the doctoral level, the Ph.D. is offered in Hearing and Speech Sciences, with concentrations in Hearing, Speech or Language.

Admissions Information

Admission to the doctoral programs is on a very competitive basis. Our program is a mentoring-based program; we only accept doctoral students for whom there is an obvious mentor who is willing to work with that student. Students typically have high GPA and GRE scores, excellent letters of recommendation and statements of purpose, and a high-quality writing sample. Admission is primarily confined to fall matriculation; early application is encouraged.

Admission to the Ph.D. degree program may be offered to applicants with either a Bachelor's or Master's degree. Clinical certification is not required for the degree, although a clinical graduate degree may be needed in addition to the Ph.D. degree for employment in some university settings. Students who wish to receive both degrees can apply to the Ph.D. program and receive a clinical MA while working towards the doctoral degree. Requirements for completion of a program of doctoral study are dependent on a student's prior background in the communication sciences and disorders.

Students who wish to focus primarily on research in communication sciences may apply either to the department directly, or may apply to the Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS) and select HESP as the home department. Students who apply to HESP directly may work towards receiving a certificate in NACS in addition to the HESP Ph.D.

Application Deadlines

Type of Applicant Fall Spring

Domestic Applicants; US Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials; International Applicants seeking admissions under A, E, G, H, I and L visas and immigrants
Deadline: January 15

International Applicants seeking admission under F (student) or J (exchange visitor) visas
Deadline: January 15

Application Requirements

GRE General
3 Letters of Recommendation
official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate study
statement of purpose
for the Ph.D. program only, an additional writing sample is required

Type of Applicant	Fall	Spring
Domestic Applicants; US Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials; International Applicants seeking admissions under A, E, G, H, I and L visas and immigrants	Deadline: January 15
International Applicants seeking admission under F (student) or J (exchange visitor) visas	Deadline: January 15

Degree Requirements

Master of Arts (M.A.)

The Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences offers the Master of Arts degree with major emphasis in Speech-Language Pathology with either the thesis or the non-thesis option.The Master's degree is required by national credentialing standards for individuals intending to practice as speech pathologists in schools, hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, hearing and speech centers or in other clinical settings. Academic course work, which includes a minimum of 36 credits, is supplemented by additional credit registrations in supervised clinical practica in the University Speech and Hearing Clinic and in selected outside clinical facilities so that the graduate will meet the academic and practicum requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence (C.C.C.) issued by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and be eligible for licensure in the State of Maryland and other jurisdictions. The Master's degree program is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation, the national accrediting agency which oversees graduate programs in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. A full description of the Master's degree program is available at our web site, listed below.

Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.)
The Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences offers two doctoral degree options for individuals seeking a clinical doctorate in Audiology. See CAUD for more details. The Au.D. curriculum meets requirements specified in the Standards for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) of the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The CCC-A is the minimum qualification for practice in Audiology required by most states and jurisdictions. The Au.D. program for post-BA students requires 57 hours of graduate coursework, 6 credit hours for a doctoral research project, 14 hours of clinical practicum registration and 18 credit hours of full-time clinical internship registration, for a total of 95 credit hours. Au.D. students must pass comprehensive examinations and complete a research project. Full-time students are expected to complete the program in 4 years. The Au.D. "fast-track" program for returning students who already hold an M.A. degree in Audiology and Clinical Certification requires 30 credit hours of graduate coursework and 6 credit hours for a doctoral research project. There is no minimum requirement of supervised clinical practicum experience, although clinical practicum will be available to students as needed. The Clinical Ph.D. track in Audiology is designed for students wishing to be trained as scientist-practitioners. The Clinical Ph.D. program requires 60 credits of graduate coursework, 6 credit hours of pre-candidacy research, 12 credit hours of dissertation research, 12 credit hours of clinical practicum registration, and 18 credit hours of full-time clinical internship registration, for a total of 108 credit hours. The Clinical Ph.D. curriculum is designed to meet requirements specified in the Standards for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and by the Graduate School. Ph.D. students must develop an individual study plan with the approval of a faculty Program Planning Committee, pass comprehensive examinations, and complete a dissertation and oral defense. Full-time students are expected to complete the program in approximately 5-6 years.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
The Department also offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree with a major emphasis in speech, language or hearing. Students with a B.A. or M.A. are considered for admission to the doctoral program. Matriculated doctoral students will choose within their major a special interest area, which may focus on the normal aspects of their major or disorders related to the major. A student must also select a minor area of study either from within or outside departmental offerings. There are no foreign language requirements, but advanced courses in statistics and experimental research design are required for the degree. Course programs are planned by the student and a committee of at least four faculty members. All doctoral students are expected to participate in varied research activities within the Department for academic credit. Students must take written and oral comprehensive examinations for admission to candidacy after completing formal academic course work. Doctoral students must register for at least 12 semester hours of dissertation research credit before completing the degree. A full description of the Doctoral program, as well as listings of faculty research expertise, can be found at the Departmental web site, listed below.

Facilities and Special Resources

The Department's facilities include (1) numerous modern research laboratories equipped to support research in the areas of: acoustic phonetics, psychoacoustics, infant and adult speech perception, neuropsychology, language and language development, voice, fluency and electrophysiology. There are four sound-attenuating chambers, one semi-anechoic chamber, and one electrically-shielded chamber, devoted to research with humans, which are all integrated with computers and peripheral equipment for acoustic signal development, signal analysis, presentation and on-line data collection; (2) a Departmental library; (3) the Hearing and Speech Clinic at UMCP: this clinic serves as the initial practicum site for all students pursuing clinical training. The Clinic includes multiple audiological test suites equipped for diagnostic testing, a complete hearing aid dispensary, a group rehabilitation room, and state-of-the-art equipment for behavioral and electrophysiological diagnostic testing, as well as hearing aid selection and fitting. Ten speech and language diagnostic and therapy rooms are integrated with observation areas; and (4) an on-site language pre-school (LEAP, the Language-Learning Early Advantage Program), also equipped for observation. Students pursuing clinical training in Audiology will also have access to the Audiology Service, Division of Audiology-Head and Neck Surgery, of the University of Maryland and University Hospital in Baltimore (UMB), for part-time clinical rotations or full-time clinical externships. This Service provides a full range of auditory and vestibular diagnostic and rehabilitative services in a large metropolitan hospital setting. Externally-funded research projects are an integral part of the activities at UMB. All of the clinical and research facilities are potentially available for the conduct of student-directed research projects, or for student participation in faculty-initiated research projects. Additional research and clinical facilities are available in the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas. The Library of Congress, the National Library of Medicine and the libraries of various medical schools in the Washington-Baltimore area supplement the University's extensive libraries at College Park.

The Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences participates in the Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences graduate program (see NACS), the Comparative and Evolutionary Biology of Hearing Training Grant, the Biological and Computational Foundations of Language IGERT Training Grant, and has ties to the Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL); these connections afford students the opportunity to work with faculty in other departments at the University of Maryland, College Park, or at UMB.

Financial Assistance

A limited number of graduate assistantships and fellowships are available through the Department. Assistantships that carry teaching, research or clinical responsibilities are awarded on a competitive basis. The Department also recommends outstanding students for Graduate School Fellowships; many of these fellowships have early deadlines for recommendations, so students are encouraged to submit their applications to the department early to ensure full consideration for funding. (Students applying to the program near the January 15 deadline may not be able to be considered for some university funding opportunities.) Students may also seek assistantships elsewhere on campus (such as through the Dean's office or through other departments) or doctoral fellowships sponsored by Federal agencies (e.g., NIH or NSF) or private foundations (e.g., American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation).

Contact Information

Additional information about the M.A. and Ph.D. programs may be obtained by contacting Dr. Rochelle Newman, Ph.D., Graduate Director, or by e-mailing the program at hespadmissions@umd.edu; extensive information about the Department's programs, its faculty, research and facilities may be found at our web site: http://www.hesp.umd.edu.

Director of Graduate Studies: Rochelle Newman, Ph.D.
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences
0100 LeFrak Hall, College Park
MD 20742
Telephone: 301-405-4214
Fax: 301-314-2023
hespadmissions@umd.edu

http://www.hesp.umd.edu

Courses: HESP

Related Programs and Campus Units

Neuroscience and Cognitive Science
Clinical Audiology
Education: Human Development
Linguistics
Speech-Language Pathology