2025-2026 Graduate Catalog 
    
    Aug 04, 2025  
2025-2026 Graduate Catalog

Audiology, AuD


Chair

Kathy Vander Werff, Ph.D.
621 Skytop Road, Suite 1200

Contact:

Phone: 315-443-9637
Email: csd@syr.edu

Faculty

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

Program Description

The clinical Doctor of Audiology (AuD) at Syracuse University is a nationally ranked, accredited programs with a long history of excellence. While pursuing an audiology degree, students can work with researchers in state-of-the-art laboratories and to learn from certified audiologists who have expertise that span all areas of hearing. In addition, the location of the University provides students opportunities to gain clinical experience in diagnosis and treatment with a wide variety of clinical populations.

The AuD program provides both substantive knowledge and practical experience through a carefully selected sequence of academic study, clinical practice, and research training. The general educational objectives of the AuD program of study are to: (1) prepare audiology practitioners who are well-grounded in the basic sciences; (2) provide didactic coursework and supervised clinical practicum experiences necessary to enable students to develop competencies in the areas outlined by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and (3) expose students to research in an effort to develop skills that will allow them to use evidence-based approaches to clinical practice.

Any student holding a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university in this country, or its equivalent in a foreign institution, will be eligible for the AuD program in audiology. Potential students need not have an undergraduate degree in communication sciences and disorders but will be required to have coursework in hearing science and basic clinical audiology (or introduction to clinical audiology) prior to entering the program. They will also be required to have coursework in basic sciences (biological, physical, and behavioral sciences) and statistics which are recommended before beginning the program but must be completed prior to completing the program to graduate with the AuD.

Students will have a wide variety of clinical experiences. They will begin work in the Gebbie Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, where they will receive maximum supervision. Later in the program they will be placed at one of our local extern sites, which include clinical rotations in hospitals, private-practices, rehabilitation centers, and schools in the Syracuse area. We have extern sites located in large metropolitan areas and also in less populated areas that serve more rural communities.

Students complete a fourth-year externship, which is a full-time clinical experience. Externship sites may be located in the Syracuse area, throughout New York State, or across the country. These placements typically require a competitive application process, during which students receive guidance and support from the clinic director.

At the conclusion of their academic and local clinic work, each student must pass an examination designed to comprehensively and intensively assess his/her academic and clinical preparation.

Consistent with the requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) described by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), students must complete the equivalent of 12 months of full-time experience equaling 1,820 hours of supervised clinical practicum in the field of audiology during the clinical doctoral degree program.

Accreditation:

The Doctor of Audiology (AuD) education program in Audiology (residential) is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard, #310, Rockville, MD 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700. 

Admission:

Admission occurs once per year for fall entry. Applicants must complete a common application on the CSDCAS system for consideration. See our website for links to the online application: https://artsandsciences.syracuse.edu/department-communication-sciences-disorders/graduate-program-overview/apply-ms-slp-and-aud/

Applicants are required to submit undergraduate transcripts, essays, and three letters of recommendation. Although the minimum GPA is generally 3.0, a 3.4 or higher is recommended to be competitive. GRE scores are optional. If submitted, strong GRE scores will enhance applications; GRE scores will not be used to deny admission or funding. 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.

Student Learning Outcomes


1. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the foundations of practice, including the biological, physical and psychophysical, cognitive, medical, social, psychological foundations of hearing and hearing loss and the ramifications of hearing loss on communication, educational, vocational, social, and psychological functioning.

2. The student will describe (and when possible) perform clinical procedures that prevent hearing and balance loss, screen those at risk for hearing or balance loss, and promote hearing and balance wellness.

3. The student will describe and perform behavioral and electrophysiological measures of hearing and balance and will combine the results of those measures with relevant case history to arrive at a diagnosis (making appropriate referrals when appropriate).

4. The student will provide (or describe/simulate) intervention services to individuals with hearing loss, balance disorders, and other auditory dysfunction that compromise quality of receptive and expressive communication or balance.

5. The student must demonstrate the ability to critically examine patient outcomes, research findings, and emerging technologies in order to validate current practices and improve services.

Degree Requirements


This is a four-year program that requires the completion of a minimum of 58 credits of academic coursework and 19 clinical practicum credits for a total of 77 graduate credits.

Students will complete the Audiology Intensive Exam at the end of their third year of study, prior to their one-year externship placement.

To complete the degree, students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students with an academic GPA below 2.6 at the end of their first semester in the program, or an academic or clinic GPA below 3.0 at the end of the first academic year or in any subsequent semester, may be dismissed from the program. Additionally, clinic hours earned during a semester in which a student fails to achieve a passing grade in CSD 650 will not count toward the required 1,820 clinical hours.  If a student receives more than one failing grade in CSD 650, they may be subject to dismissal from the program.

II. Clinical Practicum Credits - 19 credits


Facilities


The CSD academic department and Gebbie Speech Language Hearing Clinic are located at 621 Skytop Road on South Campus.

Transfer Credit


Students may petition to transfer up to 12 graduate credits from another university into the Doctor of Audiology program.

Part-time Study


Part time study is not available in the Doctor of Audiology program.

Total Credits = 77