Communicative Disorders, BA

Communicative Disorders students typically enjoy working with people and their families and are highly motivated to explore communication problems in depth. These individuals display excellent communication and interpersonal skills. They are highly motivated to complete the training necessary to become licensed professionals. They are creative problem solvers, sensitive to the needs of others, deal with multiple demands, pay close attention to detail, and work effectively in a team environment.

Admission into the Major

Students must have sophomore standing to enroll in any CD course. Students are expected to formally declare a major no later than the fourth semester of full-time enrollment (or at 61 semester hours for transfer students). Students who would like to declare Communicative Disorders as their major should contact the department.

Grade Point Average

A 2.0 GPA in the major is required for completion of the degree. Please see the Office of University Registrar's explanation of grade point average calculations. A minimum of a 3.3 GPA overall and a 3.0 GPA in required CD courses must be obtained for clinical practicum opportunities. See the Admission to Clinical Practicum section below.

Prerequisites

Sophomore standing is required to enroll in any CD course except for CD 102 Communicative Disorders First-Year Overview and CD 103 Communicative Disorders First-Year Overview Honors. Completion of all 200-level CD courses (with the exception of CD 277 Preprofessional Lab Experience) is required for enrollment in 300- and 400-level CD courses. Students are strongly encouraged to take courses in a sequential series – 200 level courses before 300 level courses, and 300 level courses before 400 level courses.

CD 305 Language Development is a prerequisite for CD 420 Pediatric Disorders
CD 352 Neurology for SLP is a prerequisite for CD 422 Acquired Neurological Disorders
CD 443 Basic Audiology is a prerequisite for CD 444 Aural Rehabilitation

CD 447 Clinical Practicum I ,CD 345 Introductory Audiology Lab Experience and CD 445 Audiology Lab Experience are by application only. Permission of the instructor is also required prior to enrollment in any CD 350 Independent Study or CD 360 Independent Study- Honors course.

Special Opportunities

The Department of Communicative Disorders provides students with an opportunity to participate in research with a departmental faculty member. Students are also encouraged to become active in the local and national chapters of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Junior- and senior-level scholarship awards are available for students majoring in Communicative Disorders. For eligible students, the department also offers clinical practicums for hands-on experience in speech-language pathology and audiology. Our department has an ambassador program that upper level CD students may apply for.

Degree Requirements

Students earning the bachelor of arts degree (BA) with a major in Communicative Disorders must complete all University, College and departmental degree requirements. These include the general education requirements, the following major requirements, all requirements for an approved minor and other sufficient credits to total a minimum of 120 applicable semester hours.

Code and Title		Hours
Major Courses
CD 225	Intro Comm Disorders	3
CD 244	Phonetics	3
CD 261	A&P 1	3
CD 262	A&P 2	3
CD 277	Preprof Lab Exp	1
CD 305	Language Development	3
CD 310	Acoustics of Speech	3
CD 351	Hearing Science	3
CD 352	Neurology for SLP	3
CD 420	Pediatric Disorders	3
CD 422	Neurological Disorders	3
CD 443	Basic Audiology	3
CD 444	Aural Rehabilitation	3
Ancillary Courses
Grades in ancillary courses are not computed into the major GPA. The major in Communicative Disorders requires the successful completion of the following courses outside the major. Many of these courses can be used to satisfy general education requirements. Science courses must include a lab.
PY 101	Intro To Psychology	3
Select one of the following biological science courses:		4
BSC 108	Intro Biology Non Maj I
BSC 109	Intro Biology Non Maj II
BSC 114	Principles Of Biology I
BSC 115	Laboratory Biology I
BSC 116	Principles Biology II
BSC 117	Laboratory Biology II
BSC 118	Honors General Biology I
BSC 120	Honors Gen Biology II
Select one of the following physical science courses:		4
CH 101	General Chemistry
CH 102	General Chemistry
CH 104	Introductory Chemistry
CH 105	Introductory Org Chem
CH 117	Honors General Chemistry
CH 118	Honors General Chemistry
PH 101	General Physics I
PH 102	General Physics II
PH 105	General Physics W/Calc I
PH 106	General Physics W/Calc II
PH 115	Des Ph Non-Science Maj
PH 125	Honors Gen Ph W/Calculus
PH 126	Honors Gen Ph W/Calculus II
Select one of the following statistics courses:		3
BER 345	Educational Statistics
PY 211	Elem Statistical Methods
ST 260	Statistical Data Analysis
CJ 381	Statistics
Credit Hours Subtotal:		51
Total Hours		51

Electives

Students may choose to take elective CD courses:

Code and Title		Hours
CD 102	CD First-Year Overview	3
CD 103	CD First-Year Overview Honors	3
CD 345	Intro Audio Lab Exp	1
CD 350	Independent Study	1-3
CD 360	Independent Study- Honors	1-3
CD 370	Global Clinical Perspectives	3
CD 380	Global Clinical Persp Honors	3
CD 400	Research Exp CD	3
CD 402	Psychology of Language	3
CD 414	Autism Spectrum Disorders	3
CD 425	Applied Research in CD	3
CD 445	Audiology Lab Experience	3
CD 447	Clinical Practicum I	3
CD 449	Sociolinguistics in SLP	3
CD 450	Junior/Senior Seminar- CD	3
CD 457	Clinical Practicum Honors	3
CD 475	Voice & Swallowing	3

Upper-level Residency

A minimum of 12 hours of 300- and 400-level courses in the major must be earned on this campus.

Required Minor

This major requires the completion of a minor.

Additional Major Requirements

Students are advised that the Communicative Disorders major is considered to be pre-professional. A master's degree or the equivalent is necessary for membership in and certification by the national professional organizations and for licensure by the state of Alabama and most other states. The Department of Communicative Disorders offers a program leading to the master of science degree in speech-language pathology (see UA graduate catalog).

Students are responsible for ensuring that they have met all requirements. However, each student must meet with an advisor in the major department for academic planning and to be approved for registration each semester. College advisors are also available for additional assistance with minor, College and University requirements.

Students majoring in Communicative Disorders who wish to participate in clinical practicum or audiology practicum must apply for admission into CD 447 Clinical Practicum I, CD 457 Clinical Practicum Honors, CD 345 Intro Audio Lab Exp, or CD 445 Audiology Lab Experience.

Admission into Clinical Practicum

Clinical Practicum: CD 447 Clinical Practicum I and CD 457 Clinical Practicum Honors admission requirements include the following:

minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3
completion and minimum 3.0 GPA in all of the following:

Code and Title		Hours
CD 225	Intro Comm Disorders	3
CD 244	Phonetics	3
CD 275	Anat Physio Sech Hear Mechansm	3
CD 277	Preprof Lab Exp	1
CD 305	Language Development	3
CD 420	Pediatric Disorders	3

CD 420 Pediatric Disorders may be taken concurrently
The electronic application is on our department website https://cd.ua.edu/resources/

Clinical Practicum CD 345 Intro Audio Lab Exp requirements include the following:

minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
completion and minimum 3.0 GPA in all of the following

Code and Title		Hours
CD 225	Intro Comm Disorders	3
CD 244	Phonetics	3
CD 275	Anat Physio Sech Hear Mechansm	3
CD 277	Preprof Lab Exp	1
CD 351	Hearing Science	3

CD 351 Hearing Science may be taken concurrently
The electronic application is on our department website https://cd.ua.edu/resources/

Clinical Practicum CD 445 Audiology Lab Experience requirements include the following:

minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3
completion and minimum 3.0 GPA in all of the following

Code and Title		Hours
CD 225	Intro Comm Disorders	3
CD 244	Phonetics	3
CD 275	Anat Physio Sech Hear Mechansm	3
CD 277	Preprof Lab Exp	1
CD 351	Hearing Science	3
CD 443	Basic Audiology	3

CD 443 Basic Audiology may be completed concurrently
The electronic application is on our department website https://cd.ua.edu/resources/

Types of Jobs Accepted

The undergraduate program is not the terminal degree for either the speech-language pathology or audiology professions. Our recent graduate students have accepted positions in local and national schools, hospitals, and skilled-nursing facilities. Learn more about opportunities in this field at the Career Center or by contacting the department.

Learn more about opportunities in this field at the Career Center

2024-25 Undergraduate Catalog