Program Overview

Bachelor of Science Degree in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences

The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) is designed to provide undergraduate students with a clinical science foundation that is rigorous and appropriate preparation for a wide range of clinical, educational, and related fields such as nursing, kinesiology, physical therapy, dietetics, orientation & mobility, counseling, and teaching in primary, secondary, and special education. The SLHS undergraduate degree also prepares students to acquire the prerequisites necessary to apply for graduate study in speech-language pathology and audiology.

Program Overview

Undergraduates enter the program in their junior year, usually after having completed most or all of the general education requirements for a Bachelor's degree. Students who have questions regarding general education requirements need to consult with a general education advisor. All undergraduate students must complete 120 units to graduate from the university. Undergraduate students may take up to 6 units of SLHS graduate coursework, beyond the 120 units required for graduation, during their final semester as an undergraduate.

Required Academic Courses

Course Listing & Sequence

The following courses are required for the SLHS major:

• SLHS 300: Introduction to Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences (3 units)
• SLHS 651: Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech Mechanism (3 units)
• SLHS 652: Audiology (3 units)
• SLHS 654: Audiometry (3 units)
• SLHS 655: Language Development (3 units)
• SLHS 656GW: Diagnosis of Communicative Disorders - GWAR (3 units)
• SLHS 657: Aural Rehabilitation (3 units)
• SLHS 658: Developmental Speech-Language Disabilities (3 units)
• SLHS 659: Articulatory and Phonological Disorders (3 units)
• SLHS 661: Neurolinguistics (3 units)
• SLHS 663: Introduction to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (3 units)
• SLHS 664: Clinical Phonetics (3 units)
• SLHS 668: Typical and Atypical Social Communication Development (3 units)
• SLHS 680: Practicum in Communication Therapy (1 unit)

Academic Course Schedule

The academic course schedule is designed to facilitate completion of the SLHS degree and university undergraduate requirements within the shortest amount of time. The schedule is as follows:

Freshman/Sophomore Years: Fall or Spring

• BIOL prefix course: Biology course required by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (3 units)
• Physical Science course: Chemistry or Physics course required by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (3 units)
• Social Sciences course: Social Science course required by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (3 units)
• Statistics course: Statistics course required by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (3 units) Total units: 12

Junior Year: Fall

• SLHS 651: Anatomy & Physiology of the Speech Mechanism (3 units)
• SLHS 652: Audiology (3 units)
• SLHS 655: Dynamics of Language Development (3 units)
• SLHS 300: Human Communicative Disorders (3 units)
• Optional: UD GE Elective(s) (3 units) Total units: 12-15

Junior Year: Spring

• SLHS 661: Neurolinguistics (3 units)
• SLHS 654: Audiometry (3 units)
• SLHS 680: Audiometry Lab (1 unit)
• SLHS 658: Atypical Language Development (3 units)
• Optional: UD GE Elective(s) (3 units) Total units: 10-13

Senior Year: Fall

• SLHS 664: Phonetics (3 units)
• SLHS 657: Aural Rehabilitation (3 units)
• SLHS 656GW: Diagnostics (3 units)
• SLHS 711: Clinic Aide (Optional) (1 unit)
• Optional: UD GE Elective(s) (3 units) Total units: 9-13

Senior Year: Spring

• SLHS 668: Typical and Atypical Social Communication Development (3 units)
• SLHS 659: Typical and Atypical Articulation and Phonological Development (3 units)
• SLHS 663: Augmentative & Alternative Communication (3 units)
• SLHS 711: Clinic Aide (Optional) (1 unit)
• Optional: UD GE Elective(s) (3 units) Total units: 9-13

Academic Standards

The SLHS department maintains expectations for students to meet high academic standards. To advance in the academic sequence, students in the SLHS major must maintain:

1. An overall C average (2.0 GPA) for the program.
2. Students who receive a grade lower than C- in SLHS 651 can take SLHS 652, SLHS 680, and SLHS 658 the following semester, but must wait to take SLHS 661 until the following year, after they've retaken SLHS 651 and received a C- or higher.
3. Students who receive a grade lower than a C- in SLHS 652 can take SLHS 661 and SLHS 658, but must wait to take SLHS 654 and SLHS 680 until the following year, after they've retaken SLHS 652 and received a C- or higher.
4. Beginning fall 2017, undergraduate students may repeat a maximum of 16 units of coursework taken at San Francisco State University for the purpose of excluding the original grade from grade point determination (grade forgiveness).

Students who do not meet these criteria cannot take ANY other SLHS courses. They must re-take the courses in which they received grades below C the next time they are offered before taking additional SLHS courses.