CDS Undergraduate Program

The Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences offers a pre-professional major that focuses on the development and breakdown of speech, language, and hearing processes. Courses focus on the nature and causes of communicative disorders, the techniques used to assess and diagnose speech, language, and hearing disorders,and the current methods and therapies used to remedy these problems.

The requirements for this major ensure that students obtain a foundation in basic human communication, assessment and prevention procedures, and appropriate intervention techniques.The breadth of the discipline and the range of its applications make communicative disorders and sciences appealing to students with interests in diverse areas such as linguistics, psychology, allied health professions, and those who desire a more practical application of theory and knowledge.

The two primary sub-fields in communicative disorders and sciences are speech-language pathology and audiology. An undergraduate degree does not require that a student specialize in one of these sub-areas. This specialization is determined with entry to the required graduate program. All CDS majors take courses in both speech-language pathology and audiology and gain a solid foundation in the fundamentals of both upon successful completion of the B.A..