Communication Sciences and Disorders

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Faculty

Margaret L. Johnson, Chair, Professor
Carol L. Koch, Professor
Karen L. Thatcher, Associate Professor
Candice Adams-Mitchell, Assistant Professor
Aaron Johnson, Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Education, AUD
Hollea Ryan, Assistant Professor
Kelly F. Jackson, Instructor, Clinical Lab Coordinator, SLPA
Laura S. Promer, Instructor and Director of Undergraduate Studies

Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSDS) in the School of Health Professions is to prepare highly qualified speech-language pathologists through faith-based academic coursework and clinical placements designed to foster lifelong learning, attainment of personal career goals and high moral and ethical competency so that practitioners will be of service to others in their community and throughout the world.

Vision for the CSDS Department

• Learning through commitment
• Preparing professionals for service
• Distinctive education for the 21st century clinician
• Helping and serving others through educational experiences
• Creating leaders as speech-language pathologists and audiologists

CSDS Code of Values and Philosophy

• Faith - we live our faith by our words and actions
• Excellence - we strive for excellence in our academic programming and in our students’ learning outcomes
• Integrity - we embrace persons who hold themselves to a higher standard
• Learning - we provide a platform for becoming lifelong learners
• Teamwork - we believe that together we are stronger
• Service - we believe in serving others as our gifts and talents allow

“Don’t be jealous or proud; be humble and consider others more important than yourselves. Care about them as much as you care about yourselves and think the same way that Jesus thought.” Philippians 2: 3-5

Undergraduate Programs and Requirements

Major

Communication Sciences & Disorders Major (B.S.) 

Minor

Communication Sciences & Disorders Major (B.S.) 

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSDS) offers a major in communication sciences and disorders leading to a bachelor of science degree. Students are required to earn at least 50 percent of the credit for a first undergraduate degree in each degree program from Samford.

The department also offers a minor in communication sciences and disorders.

Admission Requirements

Freshman applicants: Must be accepted for admission to Samford University. Must achieve a minimum composite score of 21 on the ACT or 1000 on the SAT. High school graduates must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above, have completed four units of English, two units of math, and two units of lab sciences with a grade of C (2.0) or better.

Transfer students with less than 24 semester credits or 36 quarter credits in total at other institutions must also meet the requirements of entering freshmen.

Transfer students with 24 credits or more must meet one of the following admission requirements:

1. Cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above in all coursework and a 21 ACT or 1000 SAT within the last five years.
   OR
2. Have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 on all coursework attempted.

Program Specific Requirements:

Progression Policy: In order to progress in the undergraduate program in communication sciences and disorders, the student must:

1. Have a completed Health Data Record (with all required immunizations) updated annually and on file in the CSDS department.
2. Submit negative results on drug screen and background check.
3. Have a signed HIPAA confidentiality statement on file in the CSDS department.
4. Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above on all coursework.
5. Make a grade of B- or better in each required or prescribed course in the CSDS curriculum. Note: A grade of C or lower constitutes failure in any required or prescribed course in the CSDS curriculum. The CSDS department will accept no lower than a C- in any required general education course.
6. A student will be allowed to take a failed CSDS course one additional time, but must make greater than a B- for a passing grade.
7. A student who fails (C) two CSDS courses will be terminated from the department.
8. A student may not enroll in any CSDS course more than twice.

General Education: University Core Curriculum and Distribution Requirements

General Education Distribution Requirements are noted in the individual degree tables. In those cases where a requirement is not specified, see General Education Overview  in the Howard College of Arts and Sciences introductory pages for a list of required and applicable courses.

Programs

• Communication Sciences & Disorders Major (B.S.)

• Communication Sciences & Disorders Minor

• Non-Background M.S. in Speech Language Pathology (Bridge Program) (M.S.)

Courses

• CSDS 110 - Introduction to Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology (4)
• CSDS 211 - Clinical Phonetics (4)
• CSDS 212 - Anatomy & Physiology of the Speech & Hearing Mechanism (4)
• CSDS 213 - Development of Language in Children (4)
• CSDS 312 - Principles of Audiology (3)
• CSDS 313 - Language Disorders in Children (4)
• CSDS 314 - Rehabilitation Audiology (3)
• CSDS 315 - Developing Leadership Potential in Health Professions (3)
• CSDS 318 - Basic Speech Science (3)
• CSDS 319 - Speech Sound Disorders in Children (4)
• CSDS 412 - The Basics of Critical Thinking in the Helping Professions (2)
• CSDS 413 - Low Incidence Disorders (4)
• CSDS 414 - Clinical Methods in Communicative Disorders (4)
• CSDS 415 - Communication Disorders in the Medical Setting (4)
• CSDS 416 - Supervision in Communication Sciences & Disorders (2)
• CSDS 417 - Roles, Responsibilities, & Trends for the Speech-Language Pathologist in the Special Education Setting (2)
• CSDS 418 - Senior Seminar (4)
• CSDS 467 - Exploring Medical Missions (2)