The Doctor of Audiology (AuD) is a professional doctoral degree and is administered through the Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions. The AuD serves either as preparation for professional clinical audiologists or as preparation for further graduate study leading to the PhD degree. The AuD program provides a broad range of basic science courses and specialized offerings emphasizing assessment, intervention, and prevention techniques used with individuals of all ages who have hearing, auditory processing, or balance related disorders. Students are prepared for careers as clinicians in schools, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, private practice and community clinics.

Clinical practicum opportunities occur at the on-campus Speech and Hearing Center and many affiliated rehabilitation centers, schools, private practices, ENT clinics, and hospitals. Within this framework, students are prepared to meet the academic and clinical practicum requirements for national certification (the Certificate of Clinical Competence, CCC-A,  awarded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) and Alabama state licensure. The AuD Program is a full-time in-residence program, and typically extends for 11 academic semesters including three semesters of full-time clinical externship. 

Details regarding the admissions process and deadline are available on the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology website.

To be considered for admission, applicants must:

1. Have earned or be in the process of completing a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.

2. Demonstrate a preferred minimum 3.0 (A=4.0) overall undergraduate GPA.

3. Complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), including analytical writing section, within the last five years and submit according to application instructions.

4. International applicants must submit documentary evidence showing TOEFL test scores of at least 600 (written form), 250 (computer version), or 100 (internet based version), or bachelor’s or graduate degrees earned at accredited United States institutions of higher education. A minimal IELTS score of 7 is considered equivalent to the TOEFL scores required.

5. Provide three references from faculty at the undergraduate institution. Two of these references should be provided by Ph.D. faculty within the applicant's undergraduate department.

6. Include a Personal Essay stating the applicant's reasons for pursuing the degree, and addressing specific questions outlined in the application instructions.

Because the number of applicants is greater than the number of vacancies in the program, admission is competitive, and applicants are evaluated based on the criteria stated above. Students are admitted in fall semester only. Details regarding the Admissions process and deadline are available on the Department of Speech-Pathology and Audiology website. 

Applicants for admission to the MS SLP or AuD program with record of academic misconduct violation(s) or who have been convicted of or plead guilty to misdemeanor or felony offense(s) will be evaluated on an individual basis. Admission may be denied to applicants with any academic misconduct violation(s) and conviction/guilty plea of misdemeanor and/or felony offense(s) as these violations may impact clinical placement opportunities and professional certification and state licensure upon graduation.

1. Any term in which a graduate student enrolled in the AuD program drops below a 3.0 GPA, the student will be placed on probationary status and has a period of one semester to attain a 3.0 GPA or be dismissed from the program.

2. Any student who receives a grade lower than a "C" in a graduate level course will be dismissed from the program.

3. A "C" in any combination of two or more AUD courses will result in academic dismissal.

4. A passing grade on comprehensive examinations administered during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years of the AuD program is required in order to progress to the next year of study.  Students who successfully complete an optional research-based thesis and successfully defend this project are only required to complete the comprehensive examination process in years 1 and 2 of the AuD program. In the event that the thesis is not satisfactorily completed, the student will be required to successfully pass the 3rd year comprehensive examination prior to graduation.

5.  Students whose performance falls below standards in a course or clinical experience may be required to complete additional and/or augmentative coursework or clinical experiences as needed to meet ASHA’s standards for clinical certification.  As such, graduation could be delayed.

6. If for any reason a student must withdraw from the AuD program, re-admission will require approval of the Department Chair and the Dean of the Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions.

7. If a student is dismissed from a program prior to the end of the regular semester and that dismissal occurs after the University's refund deadline, the student will not receive any type of refund even if the next series of classes have not begun.

The Doctor of Audiology (AuD) degree requires:

1. A minimum of eleven full-time semesters of academic study.  Typically, the final three semesters are spent off campus completing a full-time externship.

2. A minimum GPA of 3.0.

3. A passing grade on comprehensive examinations administered during years 1, 2, and 3 of the program. Students must also complete formative assessments throughout the program.  Students who successfully complete an optional research project under the mentorship of program faculty and successfully defend this project are only required to complete the comprehensive examination process in years 1 and 2 of the AuD program. In the event that the research project is not satisfactorily completed, the student will be required to successfully pass the 3rd year comprehensive examination prior to graduation.

4. Demonstration of academic and clinical competencies as reflected in the ASHA Standards for Clinical Certification for Audiology.

5. Completion of at least 1820 supervised clinical clock hours.

6.  The Praxis Examination in Audiology must be taken prior to graduation.

First Year Courses

Course ID	Course Description	Hours
AUD 612	Anatomy & Physiology of the Hearing Mechanism	4
AUD 614	Instrumentation & Acoustics	3
AUD 640	Basic Audiologic Assessment	3
AUD 641	Immittance & Otoacoustic Emission Measures	3
AUD 680	Clinical Methods in Audiology	2
AUD 613	Psychoacoustics	3
AUD 622	Medical Audiology	4
AUD 630	Electroacoustic Characteristics of Amplification Systems	3
AUD 681	Clinical Practicum I	1
AUD 681L	Clinical Practicum I - Lab	2
AUD 631	Selection, Fitting, & Verification of Amplification Systems	3
AUD 642	Pediatric Audiology	3
AUD 681	Clinical Practicum I - Lab	1
AUD 681L	Clinical Practicum I - Lab	2
	Total	37

Second Year Courses

Course ID	Course Description	Hours
AUD 616	Research Design in Hearing Science	3
AUD 645	Evoked Potential Measures	3
AUD 656	Vestibular Assessment	4
AUD 682	Clinical Practicum II	1
AUD 682L	Clinical Practicum II - Lab	2
AUD 647	Adult Audiologic Rehabilitation	3
AUD 657	Management of Vestibular Disorders	2
AUD 658	Advanced Neurophysiological Measures	3
AUD 682	Clinical Practicum II	1
AUD 682L	Clinical Practicum II - Lab	2
AUD 643	Audiology & Aging	3
AUD 655	Speech-Language Pathology for the Audiologist	3
AUD 682	Clinical Practicum II	1
AUD 682L	Clinical Practicum II - Lab	2
	Total	33

Third Year Courses

Course ID	Course Description	Hours
AUD 621	Professional Issues	3
AUD 633	Advanced Sensory Aids	3
AUD 651	Assessment & Treatment of Central Auditory Processing	3
AUD 683	Clinical Practicum III	1
AUD 683L	Clinical Practicum III - Lab	2
AUD 649	Pediatric Habilitation & Educational Audiology	3
AUD 653	Industrial & Forensic Audiology	3
AUD 654	Tinnitus & Hyperacusis	3
AUD 683	Clinical Practicum III	1
AUD 683L	Clinical Practicum III - Lab	2
AUD 684	Clinical Externship in Audiology	6
	Total	30

Fourth Year Courses

Course ID	Course Description	Hours
AUD 684	Clinical Externship in Audiology	6
AUD 684	Clinical Externship in Audiology	6
	Total	12
	Total Credit Hours	112