Communication Sciences & Disorders, College of Letters & Science and School of Education
Advisor: Director of Undergraduate Studies, Ruth Litovsky, Ph.D. undergrad@csd.wisc.edu. Departmental Office: 378 Goodnight Hall (608-262-3951), 1975 Willow Drive, https://csd.wisc.edu/index.htm.
Group Advising Sessions for Undergrads can be found here.
Prospective and declared CSD students can access major advising. Please note that CS&D advising is not available over Summer. The department website is being updated over Summer 2016 and will be available by Fall 2016.
Field of Study: The study of three complex aspects of human behavior: speech, language and hearing. This discipline developed primarily out of concern for people with disorders in the process of communication, but now encompasses a whole range of basic sciences (e.g. general and neuro-anatomy, linguistics, cognitive neurosciences, acoustics, child development) for complete expertise.
Possible Careers: Speech-language pathologist or audiologist in schools, clinics, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, government agencies, universities, or private practice; speech scientist; hearing scientist; university professor.
Special Opportunities & Additional Information
- Supervised diagnostic and therapeutic experiences are provided for a limited number of qualified students.
- A master’s degree is required for employment as a speech/language pathologist a doctoral degree is required for employment as an audiologist; admission to a graduate program is highly competitive.
- Interested students should consult with a departmental advisor prior to enrolling in courses for their sophomore year. Students planning to major in Communicative Disorders through the School of Education should also arrange for advising through Educational academic Services (608-262-1651).
- Beginning the major the junior year may add one or two semesters to the undergraduate program.
- A course in statistics, e.g., Stat 301 or Psych 210, is required. Selected courses in psychology, humanities, ethnic studies, and physical or natural sciences are also required.
- Courses to explore this major:
- Open to freshmen – CSD 110: Intro to Communicative Disorders [survey course], currently available in Fall & Spring semesters
- Requires Sophomore standing or consent of instructor – CSD 210: Neural Basis of Communication, currently available in Spring semester & Summer-online
- Students should take a Chem OR Physics course as an undergraduate for eventual certification through the American Speech & Hearing Association [after completion of an accredited Master’s program] to practice Speech-Language Pathology
- CSD Research/Labs Overview
- NSSHLA–the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, UW-Madison Chapter
- Fun fact: the UW Speech and Hearing Clinic at Goodnight Hall was the first speech clinic in the country, and has provided over 100 years of service experience to the community! –
- Intro Biology: Zoology 101 optional
- Calculus: None
- General Chemistry: None
- Organic Chemistry: None
- Physics: Physics 103 or 109 optional
- Statistics: Psych 210, Stats 301 or 371