Speech: Communication Studies, B.A.

Deana Lacy McQuitty, Speech Program Director

Objectives

The Speech Program prepares pre-professional students in the two concentrations of Speech Communication Studies (Speech Communications) and Speech Language Pathology and Audiology (Communication Sciences and Disorders) at the undergraduate level. The objectives of the department are twofold: (1) to prepare its candidates to impact people’s lives in a variety of contexts via their knowledge and skills and (2) to develop visionary leaders with the critical thinking skills necessary to transform a diverse society.

Mission

The mission of the Speech Program is to provide academic and clinical training and prepare knowledgeable and skilled visionary leaders for an ever-changing diverse society in the areas of speech language pathology and audiology (communication sciences and disorders) and speech communication studies.

Vision

The Speech Program strives to prepare nationally competitive scholars, practitioners, and innovators who positively impact their professions and society through their knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

Objectives

The objectives of Speech Communication Studies/Speech Language Pathology and Audiology are as follows:

1. To assist students in developing critical thinking skills through a disciplined process of actively and skillfully applying, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication.
2. To provide students with the knowledge of basic human communication, to include normal and abnormal processes within the domains of biological, psychological, developmental and culturally and linguistically based functions.
3. To provide students with the knowledge of communication philosophy which examines the ontological, epistemological, existential implications of the fact that humans are communicative beings and the symbolically mediated exchange of ideas, beliefs, information and attitudes is essential to defining individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions
4. To encourage collaborative research opportunities, scholarly publications and creative productions for undergraduate students.
5. To provide instruction in the major theories of communication and the relevance of these theories to the students’ concentration.
6. To integrate academic training and research with clinical practice using teacher/scholar and analogous clinician/research models in the context of evidence-based clinical practice.
7. To provide students with the knowledge of ethical dimensions of communicative acts ranging from classical Aristotelian ethics to the numerous points of ethical contact that exist in human communication today.
8. To encourage the use of technologies associated with communication and how these technologies are used in the students’ concentration, particularly the technical applications necessary in the field of communication sciences and disorders for diagnosis and treatment of future clients.
9. To provide inter- and multi-disciplinary learning opportunities such as international and global service-learning experiences.

Degrees Offered

Speech (Communication Studies- Bachelor of Arts
Speech (Speech/Language Pathology & Audiology-Communication Sciences and Disorders) - Bachelor of Arts

Minor Offered

Speech (Communication Studies) - Minor

General Program Requirements

The admission of students to the undergraduate degree programs in Speech Communication Studies/Speech Language Pathology and Audiology are based upon the general admission requirements of the University. All students are expected to maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.50 overall in the major.

Departmental Requirements

Speech Communication Studies. A student admitted in the speech program must successfully complete a minimum of 120 hours and:

1. Maintain a minimal 2.50 grade point average in the course of study.
2. Repeat any major course in which a grade of “D” or lower was achieved and receive a grade of “C” or better only once.

Speech (Speech / Language Pathology & Audiology): A student admitted in the Speech Language Pathology & Audiology program must successfully complete a minimum of 120 hours and:

1. Maintain a minimal 3.0 grade point average or better in the course of study.
2. Maintain a minimal 3.0 grade point average overall.
3. Make a grade of “C” or better in all major core courses.
4. Repeat any core courses or clinical practicum courses in which a grade of “D” or lower was achieved and receive a grade of “C” or better, only once.

Career Opportunities

A Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication Studies will prepare students to pursue advanced degrees in communication, business, and law The specific areas of emphasis include preparing students to become researchers, educators, advocates, and business and communication leaders.

A Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech/Language Pathology and Audiology (Communication Sciences and Disorders) will prepare students to enter a graduate program in Speech / Language Pathology, Audiology (Communication Sciences and Disorders) or Speech and Hearing Sciences. Undergraduates have to be prepared to attend and gain admittance to prestigious graduate schools to prepare them for their area of expertise. The specific areas of emphasis include preparing students to become researchers, educators, clinicians and community leaders that prevent, assess, and treat speech, language, and/or hearing disorders in a culturally diverse population. Students must receive the master’s degree in Speech/Language Pathology and Audiology in order to gain employment in early intervvention, preschool, K-12 schools, colleges/universities, hospitals, residential healthcare facilities, nonresidential health career facilities, private practice, corporte speech language pathology, local, state and federal government agencies, and global speech language pathology.