The Ph.D. degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders prepares professionals for academic careers, and therefore its emphasis is on research and the scholarly study of the science of human communication and its disorders. All students in the doctoral program must pursue their studies on a full-time basis, conducting scientific experiments in one or more of the department’s laboratories under the guidance of a research mentor. Ph.D. students also gain experience in curriculum development and classroom teaching.
Learning Outcomes
- Doctoral students will demonstrate entry level competency skills (for university teaching) in principles and methods of teaching college-level coursework.
- Doctoral students will demonstrate entry level competency skills (for university-level research) in the principles and methods of conducting and disseminating research.
Degree Requirements (57 Post-Masters Hours)
Doctoral students must complete a minimum of 45 semester hours of graduate course work beyond the master’s degree in speech-language pathology plus 12 semester hours of dissertation preparation (COMD 899). Students who are nationally certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association generally pursue two years of academic/research preparation followed by one or more years to complete the dissertation. Master’s-level speech-language pathologists who are wishing to pursue their ASHA certification while enrolled in the doctoral program will take slightly longer. Finally, students with bachelor’s degrees from other related scientific disciplines (e.g., psychology, linguistics, engineering, exercise science), who aspire to become speech-language-hearing scientists with no interest in clinical practice, take three years of course work (up to 18 additional semester hours, as determined by their doctoral planning committee) prior to the dissertation year. In addition to the courses listed below, all Ph.D. students must take PUBH 700.
Speech, Language, & Hearing Science (9 Hours Minimum)
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| COMD 820 | Advanced Speech Science | 3 |
| COMD 821 | Advanced Hearing Science | 3 |
| COMD 822 | Normal Bases of Speech Production | 3 |
| COMD 823 | Normal Bases of Language | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours | 12 |
Advanced Professional Course Work (24 Hours Minimum)
Examples include, but are not limited to the following. Courses in other departments may also be included, as approved by the students Doctoral Planning committee.
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| |
| PUBH 700 | Perspectives in Public Health | 3 |
| COMD 714 | Gerontology and Communicative Disorders | 1-3 |
| COMD 760 | Cochlear Implants | 3 |
| COMD 800 | Seminar in Speech Pathology | 3 |
| COMD 801 | Advanced Topics in Speech Pathology | 3 |
| COMD 805 | Advanced Study of Language Disorders in Adults | 3 |
| COMD 827 | Connections between Oral and Language Literacy | 3 |
Research/Statistics Preparation (12 Hours minimum)
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| |
| BIOS 700 | Introduction to Biostatistics | 3 |
| BIOS 757 | Intermediate Biostatistics | 3 |
| COMD 791 | Research Methodology | 3 |
| EPID 700 | Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 |
| EPID 701 | Concepts and Methods of Epidemiology | 3 |
| EDRM 700 | Introduction to Research in Education | 3 |
| EDRM 710 | Educational Statistics I | 3 |
| EDRM 711 | Educational Statistics II | 3 |
| EDRM 712 | Nonparametric Statistics | 3 |
| EDRM 718 | Research and the Statistical Packages | 1-3 |
| EDRM 789 | Principles and Applications of Structural Equation Modeling | 3 |
| EDRM 801 | Principles and Applications of Educational Research | 3 |
| EDRM 816 | Correlational and Multivariate Methods | 3 |
| EDRM 878 | Seminar in Research Techniques | 1-3 |
| PSYC 580 | Intermediate Statistics for Psychologists | 3 |
| PSYC 709 | Basic Quantitative Methods in the Analysis of Behavioral Data I | 3 |
| PSYC 710 | Basic Quantitative Methods in the Analysis of Behavioral Data II | 3 |
| PSYC 823 | Multivariate Analysis of Behavioral Data | 3 |
| BIOS 770 | Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis | 3 |
| BIOS 825 | Multivariate Biostatistics | 3 |
| HPEB 715 | Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health | 3 |
Dissertation Preparation (12 Hours)
Course List | Course | Title | Credits |
| COMD 899 | Doctoral Research and Dissertation Preparation | 12 |
| Total Credit Hours | 12 |
Additional Information
Upon the completion of a program of study, approved by both the student’s academic program committee and The Graduate School, and prior to embarking upon a dissertation, doctoral students must successfully pass written and oral comprehensive examinations. The doctoral program culminates in the successful defense of the dissertation, consisting of the collection and analysis of original scientific data.
