Degree: Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Major: Communication Sciences
Program Overview
Typically, students who complete an undergraduate degree in communication sciences pursue graduate education in speech-language pathology or audiology. A master’s degree is the entry level degree for professional clinical practice in speech-language pathology. A clinical doctorate in audiology (AuD) is the entry level professional degree in audiology. Thus, for many students an undergraduate degree in communication sciences is a pre-professional degree in preparation for graduate study. As such, the undergraduate coursework in the communication sciences curriculum emphasizes the basic processes and acquisition of normal communication in children and adults. Graduate study then focuses on the study of disordered communication.
Undergraduate Policies
For undergraduate policies and procedures, please review the Office of Undergraduate Studies section of the General Bulletin.
Accelerated Master's Programs
Undergraduate students may participate in accelerated programs toward graduate or professional degrees. For more information and details of the policies and procedures related to accelerated studies, please visit the Office of Undergraduate Studies section of the General Bulletin.
Program Requirements
Students seeking to complete this major and degree program must meet the general requirements for bachelor's degrees and the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences. Students completing this program as a secondary major while completing another undergraduate degree program do not need to satisfy the latter set of requirements.
Students pursuing the BA are required to take 45 credit hours of course work which includes study in communication sciences and disorders, psychology, and English/linguistics, as well as in statistics and research design. A recommended course sequence is shown below. Please note, however, that an individual student's sequence may differ from this one. For example, undergraduate students may elect to take 400- or 500-level graduate courses with departmental/instructor permission.
Required Courses
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| COSI 109 | Introduction to Communication Disorders * | 3 |
| COSI 211 | Phonetics and Phonology | 3 |
| COSI 220 | Introduction to American Sign Language I | 3 |
| COSI 260 | Multicultural Aspects of Human Communication | 3 |
| COSI 313 | Language Development | 3 |
| COSI 321 | Speech and Hearing Science | 3 |
| COSI 325 | Anatomy and Physiology of Speech and Hearing Mechanism | 3 |
| COSI 345 | Communication and Aging | 3 |
| COSI 352 | Introduction to Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology | 3 |
| COSI 355 | Introduction to Linguistics | 3 |
| COSI 370 | Introduction to Audiology | 3 |
| PSCL 101 | General Psychology I | 3 |
| PSCL 230 | Child Psychology | 3 |
| PSCL 282 | Quantitative Methods in Psychology | 3 |
| PSCL 375 | Research Design and Analysis | 3 |
| Total Hours | 45 |
Departmental Honors
Juniors with a 3.0 overall grade point average and a 3.25 average in communication sciences are encouraged to apply to the honors program. The honors program consists of one three-credit course, COSI 395 Capstone and Honors Program , in which the student carries out an independent project in an area of interest, under the direction of a COSI faculty member. Satisfactory completion of the project qualifies the student to receive the Bachelor of Arts degree with departmental honors noted on the transcript. Admission to the honors program is by faculty approval.
Additional information is available from each student's academic advisor.
