Communication Sciences and Disorders

Faculty

Margaret L. Johnson, Chair, Professor
Carol L. Koch, Professor; Program Director, Speech Language Pathology
Karen L. Thatcher, Associate Professor
Aaron L. Johnson, Assistant Professor; Director of Clinical Education, Audiology
Laura S. Promer, Assistant Professor; Director of Undergraduate Studies
Hollea Ryan, Assistant Professor; Program Director, Audiology
Sarah H. Szynkiewicz, Assistant Professor
Kelly F. Jackson, Instructor, Clinical Lab Coordinator
Anna Webb, Instructor; Director, Clinical Education

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 Minor

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:

Cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above in all coursework and a 21 ACT or 1000 SAT within the last five years.
OR
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:

Have a completed Health Data Record (with all required immunizations) updated annually and on file in the CSDS department.
Submit negative results on drug screen and background check.
Have a signed HIPAA confidentiality statement on file in the CSDS department.
Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above on all coursework.
Earn a grade of C or higher in biological sciences, physics, and/or chemistry, statistics, and social sciences.

Majors in the CSDS department make a commitment to the study of communication disorders and this signifies the student’s calling, motivation, and drive to commit to the academic standards that are required for admission into a CAA-accredited institution for graduate work in either speech language pathology or audiology.

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

Major

Communication Sciences & Disorders Major (B.S.)

Minor

Communication Sciences & Disorders Minor

Courses

Communication Sciences & Disorders