Program Overview

Introduction to the Professional Doctorate in Audiology (AuD)

The Professional Doctorate in Audiology (AuD) is a joint doctoral program between San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego). This program is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.

Program Overview

The AuD program is a four-year graduate degree program designed for individuals who intend to specialize in clinical practice and meet professional standards requiring a clinical doctorate as the entry-level degree for a licensed and ASHA-certified audiologist. The program encompasses academic, clinic, and research experiences in audiology and otology through the combined resources from the School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at SDSU and the Department of Surgery (Division of Otolaryngology) in the School of Medicine at UC San Diego.

Admissions

• Students will apply to the AuD joint doctoral program through SDSU.
• Applicants must meet the general requirements for admission to both universities with classified graduate standing.
• Special requirements include:
  • Submission of scores on the GRE
  • Prerequisite completion of at least one course in statistics, one course in biological sciences, one course in physical sciences, and one additional course in biological or physical sciences, one course in behavioral/social sciences, and one course in American Sign Language
• Applicants must submit transcripts of all post-secondary course work, three letters of recommendation, and an applicant essay (statement of purpose)
• Details of these requirements are available through the SDSU website

Application Process

• Students seeking admission to the AuD program should consult the SDSU website for instructions and deadlines
• Students will be admitted to the AuD program only in the fall semester
• Applicants must complete two online applications by the deadline posted on the SDSU AuD website
• International students should submit materials at least two weeks earlier than other applicants

Specific Requirements for the AuD

• The AuD program is a four-year program, including summer semesters
• An exact unit minimum is not specified due to the mixing of semester units (SDSU) and quarter units (UC San Diego) and differences in clinical hours at different settings; however, the program is approximately 140 semester-equivalent course units
• All students in the AuD program will fulfill the following requirements:
  • Fourteen core courses, half of which are to be taken at each campus
  • Fourteen elective courses, with a minimum of four to be taken at each campus
  • The student's faculty adviser must approve all courses

Clinic Requirements

• Each student will progress through a variety of clinical experiences involving patient assessment and management throughout their program of study
• Clinic experiences will require concurrent enrollment in clinic courses appropriate for the campus in which they are doing the clinical work
• Students must maintain an average grade of B or better to pass clinic courses
• Prior to the fourth-year externship, each student will obtain approximately seven hundred hours of clinic experience

Examinations

• All students in the program will be evaluated at the following levels:
  • First-Year Evaluation: Students must have achieved a 3.0 cumulative grade point average for core and elective courses during the first year and have appropriate clinical skills
  • Second-Year Evaluation: Students must have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 for core and elective courses and have appropriate clinical skills
  • Third-Year Examination: At the end of the third year, and after advancement to candidacy, the student will take a comprehensive examination that covers broad professional content

Advancement to Candidacy

• Candidates will be recommended for advancement to candidacy after successfully completing all prerequisite course requirements, all course and clinic requirements for Year 1 and Year 2, satisfactory performance on the first- and second-year evaluations, and approval of the doctoral project proposal
• Students cannot enroll in the doctoral project course, take the comprehensive examination, or register for their externship until advanced to candidacy

Doctoral Project

• Each student will complete a data-based doctoral project
• Students will select a doctoral project committee comprised of two AuD program faculty (one from each campus) and at least one additional tenured faculty member from either campus external to the program
• The executive committee will approve each student's doctoral project committee
• All doctoral projects will be written in a format approved by the student's doctoral project committee

Award of the Degree

• The doctor of audiology (AuD) will be awarded jointly by the Regents of the University of California and the Trustees of the California State University in the names of both cooperating institutions

Financial Support

• Funding for graduate students cannot be guaranteed, although every effort will be made to provide some financial support for as many students as possible through graduate/teaching assistantships, research grants, clinical traineeships, and/or scholarships
• Financial support will be awarded consistent with the policies of the two universities
• Tuition and fees will be charged in accordance with the extant policies at the campus in which the student is matriculated in a given year