Chair

Kathy Vander Werff, Ph.D.
621 Skytop Road, Suite 1200
315-443-9637

Faculty

Academic: Jamie Desjardins, Karen Doherty, Beth Prieve, and Kathy Vander-Werff; Clinical: Joseph Pellegrino, Kristen Kennedy and Tammy Kordas; Adjunct instructors for specialty areas.

Doctor of Philosophy in Audiology

The Ph.D. program in audiology consists of academic, research, and clinical experiences, with an emphasis on basic and applied science. Sponsorship of the Ph.D. student by a faculty member must be agreed upon prior to the time of enrollment. Interested students should contact the department to match with a faculty sponsor prior to applying.

Admission Requirements

Candidates for admission to the Ph.D. degree should possess a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale in the last 60 semester credits of their undergraduate degree. If a candidate has a master’s degree or AuD, a minimum GPA of 3.5 in their graduate work is required. In addition, the candidate should obtain a minimum percentile score of 40% in the Verbal section, 50% in the Quantitative section, and a 4.0 in the Writing section on the Graduate Record Examination taken within the last 5 years. International students, except those from English-speaking Canadian schools, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, must submit TOEFL or IELTS scores (less than two years old) as proof of English proficiency. This requirement is waived for non-residents who have completed four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate study in the U.S. The recommended minimum scores are 105 on the TOEFL iBT and 7.5 on the IELTS.

Three strong letters of recommendation, a CV/resume, and a detailed personal statement responding to all required prompts will be required when submitting application materials. The student should also submit at least one example of research writing, which may include a research paper, literature review, significant writing assignment from a course, article critique, or other demonstration of research-related writing to provide the advisor with an indication of the student’s written communication skills and level of experience with research-related writing prior to agreeing to serve as their research mentor. 

To be admitted to the Ph.D. program, a CSD faculty member must agree to initially mentor a student. Therefore, prospective students must discuss their research interests with a faculty member of their own choosing in order to determine if these interests could be met within the department. The Ph.D. is a research degree and very little or no clinical training is offered. Candidates interested in obtaining such training, should apply to the Doctor of Audiology program in the department.

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Student Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate a basic knowledge of central concepts in audiology
2. Apply knowledge of analytical/methodological skills used to evaluate and conduct research
3. Demonstrate ability to formulate hypotheses based on current concepts in the field and design, conduct, and interpret their own research
4. Demonstrate skills in communicating scientific research results in a clear and effective manner

The Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 83 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree.  Coursework for the Ph.D. degree in Audiology is individually designed. It may include courses within the Audiology/Communication Sciences and Disorders curriculum as well as a variety of courses in complementary areas such as psychology, engineering, computer science, statistics, sensory processes, neuroscience and gerontology. An additional specialty area of concentration may be obtained in some of these areas, such as in the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Graduate Program or as part of the Aging Studies Institute. Each student’s program of study will be uniquely tailored to their interest and research areas.

Because most of the research in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology requires considerable expertise in statistics, candidates must pass at least three 3 courses in statistical methods and 1 in experimental design (which may include CSD 798). Some coursework may be taken in other units of the university after consultation with the advisor. There must be a minimum of 2 dissertation credits (CSD 999). 

Students begin their research early in the program, working in faculty labs under the guidance of a faculty advisor. They are expected to design, conduct, analyze, and write a journal article based on their mentored research project. This article must be submitted for publication before the student can take the Qualifying Examination.

All Ph.D. candidates must pass a pre-qualifying exam at the end of their first year of full-time study and qualifying exams at the end of their coursework.

These academic and research experiences lead to the dissertation, which is typically begun in the third year. The Ph.D. program is typically completed in 4-5  years of full-time study.