in addition to the University of Iowa's Regional accreditation from the Higher Learning commission, the Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) education program in audiology {residential} at The University of Iowa 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.

On average, the University of Iowa accepts 8-12 students into the Au.D. program each fall. Decisions for admissions are based on several factors including undergraduate GPA and completion of required prerequisite coursework. Completed applications are due January 15, and decisions regarding admission are made by a committee consisting of both didactic and clinical faculty. All applicants will participate in a virtual. 

To be admitted to the Au.D. program, you must meet the following requirements:

1. Agree to adhere to ASHA’s Code of Ethics. In particular, students must be prepared to adhere to ASHA’s rules regarding nondiscrimination “on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity/gender expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, disability, culture, language, or dialect” and sign the Nondiscrimination Notification.
2. Attest that you possess the essential functions required to practice audiology, as outlined in the Student Success Document.
3. Have fulfilled the prerequisite coursework requirements (see below).
4. Have earned a Grade Point Average (GPA) that meets or exceeds the program's admission criteria (please see below).

Required Undergraduate Coursework

• Phonetics
• Basic Acoustics
• Introduction to Hearing Science
• Hearing Loss and Audiometry
• Anatomy and Physiology of Speech Production
• Language Acquisition
• Rehabilitative Audiology
• Introductory Statistics
• Biology/Physical Sciences (3 credit hours)
• Social/Behavioral Sciences (6 credit hours)

Clinical observation hours
Applicants must complete 25 hours of clinical observation as documented by a practitioner with ASHA certification before beginning the graduate program.

GRE/GPA requirements
The Au.D. program no longer requires scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Criteria for admission to the Graduate College of the University of Iowa are available on the Graduate College website. There are no additional requirements for admission other than those imposed by the Graduate College, but applicants with GPAs of less than 3.0 in undergraduate study are not likely to be accepted.

All applications to the Doctor of Audiology must be made through the Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application Service (CSDCAS), as well as through the University of Iowa Graduate College.

To apply, you must submit the following: 

• a personal statement, 
• transcripts, and 
• three letters of recommendation. 

Some materials will be submitted to CSDCAS and some to the University of Iowa. CSDCAS will require submission of the personal statement, transcripts, and the names of your references. The University of Iowa will need your transcripts, but not until after you have been admitted into the program.

1. Apply to Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application Service (CSDCAS) and to University of Iowa Graduate College. It is the applicant’s responsibility to meet the application deadlines.
   
   The CSDCAS portal is found at https://csdcas.liaisoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login.

   CSDCAS Application Deadline: January 15th (midnight, Eastern time) for admission for the following fall semester.

   The University of Iowa portal is found at https://grad.admissions.uiowa.edu/apply.

   UI Graduate College Application Deadline: January 15th for admission for the following fall semester.

2. Submit your personal statement to CSDCAS. The essay should be one page single-spaced or two pages double-spaced. Please respond to the following: 

   ---

   1. Describe how your lived experiences, education, background, and interests have prepared you for audiology graduate studies and professional training at the University of Iowa.

You do not need to submit your personal statement/essay or recommendation letters to the University of Iowa. If the UI online form does not allow you to skip over these items, write “see CSDCAS app.”
 

1. All official transcripts MUST be sent to CSDCAS at: CSDCAS Transcript Processing Center, P.O. Box 9113, Watertown, MA 02471.
   You may wait until you hear that you have been admitted into the program to send transcripts to the University of Iowa. If denied admission, you do not have to send transcripts to Iowa.

Questions?

• CSDCAS Customer Service is available Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm, EST. Phone: 617-612-2030; Email: csdcasinfo@csdcas.org. The website also has a live chat feature.
   
• For more information on CSDCAS, visit CSDCAS's Frequently Asked Questions.
   

• For specific questions regarding the Iowa Au.D. Program, please visit the Graduate Advising page for contact information.

   

When will I hear a decision about admission?
Students accepted into the program will be notified by early to mid-March for the following fall semester. Students may be placed on a deferred list at that time and will be informed of the wait-list decision late-March. The Au.D. program is designed for full-time, residential students only.

The Au.D. program generally requires 4 years to complete (4 fall terms, 4 spring terms, and 2 summers), for a total of 89 semester hours. The current, complete list of required coursework and course descriptions can be found in the UI General Catalog.

Graduate students interested in audiology combine work toward an Au.D. with Ph.D. studies. These students begin their graduate work by enrolling in the AuD program and formally apply to change the degree objective to the combined Au.D./Ph.D. after two years of study.  If accepted, the student forms a committee to assist in merging the requirements of both graduate programs efficiently. Decisions about approving the request to change degree objectives are made on a case-by-case basis; those decisions may be influenced by funding availability as well as the consent of an appropriate research mentor.

The primary training site is the in-house Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Clinic, where Au.D. students are mentored by clinical educators in audiology who are licensed by the state of Iowa and certified by ASHA. The clinical faculty follow best practices as recommended by ASHA and the American Academy of Audiology. The Clinic serves approximately 700 clients from the local and surrounding communities each year, providing both speech-language and audiology services.

Clinical Placements in the Local Community
During the second and third years in the program, students are placed in a variety of settings locally. At these placements, students develop broad-based skills in clinical areas including general diagnostics, auditory brainstem response testing, otoacoustic emission testing, hearing aids, cochlear implants, tinnitus assessment and management, vestibular assessment and management, and educational audiology. Opportunities are provided to work with individuals across the agespan with diverse backgrounds, as well as those with varying abilities/disabilities. Most sites are within walking distance from the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Clinic; those sites include:  

• The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Department of Otolaryngology
  • Diagnostic Audiology Clinic
  • Hearing Aid Clinic
  • Cochlear Implant Center
  • Tinnitus Clinic
• Center for Disabilities and Development, University of Iowa
• Veterans Administration Medical Center, Iowa City 
• Iowa Area Education Agencies and Public Schools
• Local Private Practice Audiology Clinics

Fourth Year Externship
During the final year in the AuD program, students work on a full-time basis at an external site. The Au.D. faculty have established relationships with many excellent sites across the U.S. Fourth-year placements are competitive; the application process is undertaken in the third year of the program. Students work with the Director of Clinical Education in Audiology throughout the application process to ensure an appropriate site for clinical development is found. Fourth-year externs continue as students in the department and are registered for clinical coursework during externships. A sampling of fourth-year sites from Iowa Au.D. graduates includes:

• Boystown National Research Hospital
• Center for Disabilities and Development ILEND grant position
• Central Institute for the Deaf
• Duke Medical Center
• Johns Hopkins Hospital
• Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, FL
• Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN
• Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, AZ
• Oregon Health and Science University
• The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Department of Otolaryngology
• University of Miami Mailman Center for Child Development
• VA Medical Center, Iowa City
• VA Medical Center, Kansas City
• VA Medical Center, Nashville
• VA Medical Center, San Diego
• Vanderbilt University

The Au.D. degree is primarily a clinical degree. However, as practicing clinicians, audiologists enrich their skills by having the ability to critically evaluate and integrate information from professional journals and conferences throughout their careers. To support this approach to lifelong learning, all Au.D. students enroll in the Evidence-Based Practice Seminar, a course that introduces students to the design and conduct of research and evidence-based clinical practice.

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders continues to house some of the top research programs in the country. See the Research link to explore our research labs. Au.D. students benefit by the many ongoing research projects and the opportunity to participate if they desire. Many projects have direct clinical application and correspond to clinical coursework.

Building a sense of community is a strong component of the Au.D. graduate student experience. Incoming students participate in a one-week “boot camp” prior to their first semester of classes. Boot camp offers introductory information about clinical practice, orientation to the in-house training clinic, and social events that help new students get to know one other, current students, and the faculty. 

Many Au.D. students become active members of the SAA (Student Academy of Audiology) group, and its work in advocacy, philanthropy, and professional development. Every year, SAA holds fundraisers to benefit those with limited resources to purchase hearing aids and supplies.  

Au.D. students are also members of UI-SAFE (University of Iowa-Sound Awareness for Everyone), an outreach program providing healthy hearing education and hearing screenings for the university, local, and state-wide communities. UI-SAFE partners with the UI School of Music, College of Education and Recreation Department to provide healthy hearing classes. In addition, UI-SAFE provides hearing and speech-language screenings for local preschools. 

Communication Explorers is a summer program for children with hearing losses housed in the Clinic. The program's goal is to foster the development of spoken language and listening skills in children who are deaf or hard of hearing in a preschool setting. Audiology student clinicians -- paired with speech-language pathology student clinicians -- lead young participants in a combination of group and individual therapy sessions to enhance skills with an auditory-oral approach to communication. Students may participate in Communication Explorers to complete pediatric aural habilitation competencies in the first or second year of the program.

Current tuition and fees are listed in the Office of the Registrar's Tuition and Fees Rate Tables.

All Au.D. students are considered for funding based on merit and availability of funds. Funding is awarded via tuition scholarships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships.

For more funding opportunities, consult Resources and the Grad College's Funding page. 

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is located in the Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center on the west (medical) side of the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. 

Virtual Information Days

Learn more about our graduate programs and how to apply during our virtual information days, offered over the summer and in the fall. 

• July 31, 2024, 2:00pm CST
  • Register here
• October information Day TBD

Contact

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Center
250 Hawkins Drive
Iowa City, Iowa 52242
319-335-8718
speech-path-aud@uiowa.edu

For specific questions regarding the Graduate Program, please visit the Graduate Advising page for contact information.