Communication Sciences and Disorders

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Faculty

Margaret L. Johnson, Chair, Associate Professor
Carol L. Koch, Associate Professor
Karen L. Thatcher, Associate Professor
Candice Adams-Mitchell, Assistant Professor
Hollea Ryan, Assistant Professor
Kelly Martin Bagby, Instructor and Director of Clinical Education
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

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 3.0 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 3.0 or above in all coursework and a 21 ACT or 1000 SAT within the last five years.
   OR
2. Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 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 3.0 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.

University Core Curriculum and General Education Requirements

General Education Requirements  are detailed in the degree table, with some exceptions. In those cases where a requirement is not specified, consult the University Core Curriculum and General Education Requirements  and the Physical Activity Program  for a list of applicable activity courses.

Graduate Programs and Requirements

Degree/Major

Master of Science (M.S.)

Speech Language Pathology, M.S.  

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSDS) offers the master of science degree with a major in speech language pathology (SLPA). The master of science degree is designed to help students become a highly qualified speech-language pathologist with the skills, compassion, and motivation to make a difference in their community. Faith-based academic coursework and clinical placements are designed to help students reach their career goals, while emphasizing life-long learning, high moral, and ethical competencies. As students graduate, they will be prepared to impact people’s lives in truly meaningful ways.

Graduate Admission Requirements

Two options of admission status are designated:

1. Possess a CSD/SLP baccalaureate degree.

   Conditional admission: A completed bachelor’s degree is required prior to enrollment, as evidenced by a final official college/university transcript. Applicants may receive conditional acceptance with a letter from the registrar stating they have in fact completed the requirements for the degree. The “conditional” status is removed once an official transcript is received.

   Prerequisite courses:
   Biological science (4 credits)
   Physical science (must be chemistry or physics) (4 credits)
   Statistics (math, psychology, health sciences accepted) (3 credits)
   Social/Behavioral Science (i.e., sociology, psychology, anthropology) (3 credits)

2. Possess a baccalaureate degree or higher in a related field such as education, health sciences, psychology, or family sciences.

   Prerequisite courses:
   Biological science (4 credits)
   Physical science (must be chemistry or physics) (4 credits)
   Statistics (math, psychology, health sciences accepted) (3 credits)
   Social/Behavioral Science (i.e., sociology, psychology, anthropology) (3 credits)
   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 314 Rehabilitation Audiology (3)  
   CSDS 414 Clinical Methods in Communicative Disorders (4)  
   
   These courses may be taken at another university; however they must be approved by the chair of the department so that course content can be evaluated.

Additional requirements:

1. Obtain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and a minimum of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale in the last 60 hours. Undergraduate CSD or major area-no grade in a “major” area less than a C.
2. Submit GRE scores earned within the past five years (GRE minimum scores: Verbal: 160; Quantitative: 140; Analytical Writing: 4.0; CSDCAS Code: 6967.)
3. Submit three letters of reference submitted through the application system. The three required references should be from a) current or previous professor, b) work supervisor, c) professional colleague.
4. International applicants or American citizens who learned English as a second language must score at least 550 (paper), 213 (computer) or 80 (internet) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
5. Attend an on-campus interview.
6. Exceptions to any admission requirements will be handled on an individual basis.
7. If accepted, a non-refundable fee of $500 is required to secure admission into the program. This fee is applied to the first semester’s tuition.
8. The application may be found at https://portal.csdcas.org/.

Transfer Credit

At this time, students may not transfer in any credit to count towards the speech language pathology program.

Progression Policies

In order to progress in the graduate program in speech language pathology, the student must:

1. Have completed health and immunization forms on file in the CSDS department.
2. Submit proof of health insurance while enrolled at Samford.
3. Submit negative results on drug screen and background check.
4. Have achieved a passing grade of greater than or equal to 80% HIPAA, OSHA, and Bloodborne Pathogens Quizzes located on Moodle.
5. Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on all coursework.
6. Make a grade of B or better in each required or prescribed course in the SLPA curriculum. Note: A grade of C+ or lower constitutes failure in any required or prescribed course in the SLPA curriculum.
7. A student will be allowed to take a failed SLPA course one additional time, but must make greater than a B for a passing grade.
8. Failure in a course may cause an interruption in the students’ matriculation in terms of scheduling courses.
9. A student who fails (C+ or lower) two SLPA courses will be terminated from the department.
10. A student may not enroll in any SLPA course more than twice.
11. A student who fails to successfully complete a required SLPA course within one calendar year of academic probation notification will be dismissed from the program.
12. Students must be aware that matters of plagiarism, unethical, unprofessional, or unsafe conduct may result in immediate dismissal from the MS-SLPA program.

Students may not receive any grades lower than B for MS-SLPA courses. Courses with grades lower than B may be re-taken one time. When a course is retaken, both grades remain on the transcript and both are used in calculating the student’s grade point average (GPA). Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher and may not re-take more than two courses during their MS-SLPA studies. Students whose GPA falls below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation and will not be able to take more than three courses. Students who remain on academic probation for more than two semesters and students who receive a grade lower than B in more than two courses will be terminated from the MS-SLPA program. Students retain the right to appeal termination decisions via the grievance procedure outlined in the MS-SLPA Academic and Clinical Student Handbook.

Programs

• Communication Sciences and Disorders Major, B.S.

• Communication Sciences and Disorders Minor

• Speech Language Pathology, 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 (4)
• CSDS 417 - Roles, Responsibilities, & Trends for the Speech-Language Pathologist in the Special Education Setting (2)
• CSDS 418 - Senior Seminar (4)

• SLPA 501 - Beginning Clinical Practicum (1)
• SLPA 502 - Clinical Practicum (1)
• SLPA 503 - Neuroscience for Speech Language Pathologists (3)
• SLPA 504 - Research Methods in Speech Language Pathology (2)
• SLPA 505 - Practical Application of Speech Science (2)
• SLPA 506 - Language Disorders in Children I: Nature/Etiology (2)
• SLPA 507 - Language Disorders in Children II: Assessment (2)
• SLPA 508 - Language Disorders in Children III: Treatment Techniques (3)
• SLPA 509 - Articulation and Phonological Disorders (4)
• SLPA 511 - Prevention and Diagnosis of Speech, Language, & Cognitive Disorders (2)
• SLPA 512 - Counseling Strategies in Speech Language Pathology (2)
• SLPA 601 - Clinical Practicum (1)
• SLPA 602 - Clinical Practicum (2)
• SLPA 603 - Clinical Practicum (2)
• SLPA 604 - Evaluation and Treatment of Aphasia in Adults (3)
• SLPA 605 - Voice and Resonance Disorders across the Lifespan (3)
• SLPA 606 - Motor Speech Disorders (3)
• SLPA 607 - Medical Aspects of Speech Language Pathology (2)
• SLPA 608 - Dysphagia in Pediatrics and Adults (3)
• SLPA 609 - Cognitive-Communicative Disorders in Adults (3)
• SLPA 610 - Fluency Disorders across the Lifespan (3)
• SLPA 611 - Professional Trends in Speech Language Pathology (3)
• SLPA 612 - Capstone Seminar (3)