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 Wendell Johnson Speech 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 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 AuD 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 AuD 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

Building a sense of community is a strong component of the AuD 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 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.  

AuD 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.

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.