In addition to the University of Iowa's Regional accreditation from the Higher Learning commission, the Doctor of Audiology (AuD) 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.

Graduate students interested in audiology combine work toward an AuD with PhD studies. These students begin their graduate work by enrolling in the AuD program and formally apply to change the degree objective to the combined AuD/PhD 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 University of Iowa Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic, where AuD 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 patients from the local and surrounding communities each year, providing audiology services.

Departmental Audiology Experiences 

UISAFE (Sound Awareness for Everyone) is an AuD outreach service program that all students participate in. UISAFE provides healthy hearing education and hearing screenings for the University of Iowa as well as for the community (local, county and state level).  We partner with the University of Iowa School of Music, the College of Education, as the Recreation Department to provide healthy hearing educational classes. We work with local schools, businesses, and community groups to provide hands-on healthy hearing presentations. We provide hearing and speech-language screenings for local preschools. As a member of UISAFE, your role will be to participate in University of Iowa presentations as well as organize and carry out hearing loss prevention and identification activities in the community. 

Communication Explorers is a summer preschool program provided by the University of Iowa Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic.  This program is open to children with hearing loss. The goal of Communication Explorers is to foster the development of spoken language and listening skills in children who are deaf or hard of hearing in a preschool setting. Preschoolers participate in a combination of group and individual therapy sessions designed to enhance communication skills using an auditory-oral approach to communication. Audiology student clinicians are paired with speech-language pathology student clinicians to provide services to the preschoolers participating in the program. Audiology students can participate in this program to complete their pediatric aural habilitation competencies during their first or second summer of the AuD program. 

Building a sense of community is a strong component of the AuD graduate student experience. Incoming students participate in a clinic orientation their first semester of graduate school. Clinic orientation offers introductory information about clinical practice and orientation to the in-house training clinic. 

Many AuD 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.  

The AuD 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.

The AuD 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 AuD 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. AuD 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.