Speech and Hearing Science
Head of Department: Ron D. Chambers
Department Office: 901 South Sixth Street, Champaign, (217) 333-2230
The undergraduate curriculum in Speech and Hearing Science can be
taken as a broad background in the biological, behavioral, linguistic,
and social foundations of human communication to prepare interpersonal
human communication specialists who may pursue graduate education
in many fields related to human communication and health. The curriculum
may also be taken as a preprofessional program for individuals who
specifically plan to work as speech-language pathologists in medical
or school settings or as audiologists. The degree requires at least
128 hours, excluding military training. Undergraduate students who
wish to become speech-language pathologists or audiologists must plan
on continuing their studies at the graduate level as required for
certification by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
The Human
Communication Science Concentration offers students a more broad-based
communications degree that may allow them to pair their interest in
communication disorders with other areas outside the department such
as but not limited to: computer science, education, law, library and
information science, linguistics, mathematics, medical sciences, music,
neuroscience, physics, physiology, psycholinguistics, psychology,
special education, and speech communication. Students interested in
pursuing this option are advised to work in close consultation with
the undergraduate academic adviser. For further information, contact
the Department of Speech and Hearing Science, 220 Speech and Hearing
Building, 901 S. Sixth Street, Champaign, IL 61820, (217) 333-2230.
Requirements Including General Education
The Department of Speech and Hearing Science requires that certain
courses from the approved lists be taken as noted below. The prescribed
courses prepare the student for upper division study and may be used
to satisfy General Education requirements provided they are on the
appropriate General Education List.
| Hours |
Communication Arts |
| 4-6 |
Composition I |
| 3 |
Advanced Composition |
| Hours |
Quantitative Reasoning I & II |
| 6 |
From approved campus list
(must include a course in statistics from approved campus list) |
| Hours |
Humanities and the Arts |
| 6 |
From approved campus list |
| Hours |
Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| 6 |
From approved campus list |
| Hours |
Natural Sciences and Technology |
| 6 |
From approved campus list |
| Hours |
Cultural Studies1 |
| 3 |
From Western cultures
approved campus list |
| 3 |
From U.S. minority cultures
or non-Western cultures approved campus list |
| |
Foreign Language: Completion
through the third level of the same language in high school
or college |
| 31-33 |
Total General Education
hours |
| Hours |
Speech and Hearing Science Professional Core Requirements |
| 3 |
SHS 170 - Hum Comm:
Sys, Proc & Dis |
| 1 |
SHS 191x - Orientation for SHS majors |
| 3 |
SHS 200 - General Phonetics |
| 3 |
SHS 240 - Intro Sound
& Hearing Science |
| 4 |
SHS 300 - Anat &
Physiol Spch Mechanism |
| 4 |
SHS 301 - General Speech
Science |
| 3 |
SHS 320 - Development
of Spoken Language |
| 3 |
SHS 330 - Intro Phonological
Disorders |
| 4 |
SHS 450 - Intro Audiol
& Hear Disorders |
| 28 |
Total |
Areas of Concentration
| Hours |
Speech-Language Pathology Concentration* |
| 2 |
SHS 199A - Pre-practicum in Speech Pathology |
| 3 |
SHS 331 - Language Disorders
in Children |
| 3 |
SHS 332 - Assess Spch
Lang Dis in Child |
| 3 |
SHS 410 - Introduction
to Stuttering |
| 3 |
SHS 411 - Intro to Voice
Disorders |
| 3 |
SHS 451 - Aural Rehab
Children to Adults |
| Hours |
Audiology Concentration* |
| 1 |
SHS 199 LEC - Pre-practicum in Audiology |
| 2 |
SHS 230 - Manual Communication |
| 3 |
SHS 331 - Language Disorders
in Children |
| 3 |
SHS 332 - Assess Spch
Lang Dis in Child |
| 3 |
SHS 411 - Intro to Voice
Disorders |
| 3 |
SHS 451 - Aural Rehab
Children to Adults |
| Hours |
Human Communication Science |
| 24 |
Courses to be approved
by undergraduate academic advisor. Selection will be based on
student's interests and professional goals. |
| Hours |
Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology Correlate Requirement |
| 4 |
PSYC 100 - Intro Psych
or PSYC 103 - Intro Experimental Psych |
| 3 |
PSYC 216 - Child Psych
or EPSY 236 - Child Dev for Elemen Teachers |
| 3 |
Choose from: |
| |
PSYC 224 - Cognitive
Psych |
| |
PSYC 230 - Perception
& Sensory Processes |
| |
PSYC 238 - Abnormal
Psych |
| |
PSYC 248 - Learning
and Memory |
Recommended Possible Electives
All students are encouraged to take electives in and outside the department that will count toward the 128 required hours for graduation (the total number of electives students may take may vary with each individual). Students are encouraged to select electives that will complement their areas of interest and future goals. Areas listed below are only a sampling of possibilities; they are not to be considered as requirements and students are not limited to these choices. All students are responsible for addressing course pre-requisites and course availability may vary.
Anthropology (ANTH), Communications (COMM), Kinesiology and Community Health (CHLH; KIN), Educational Organization and Leadership (EOL), Currculum & Instruction (CI), Educational Policy Studies (EPS), Educational Psychology, Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS), Human Development and Family Studies, Library and Information Science (LIS), Linguistics (LING), Psychology (PSYC), Recreation, Sport, & Tourism, Rehabilitation Counseling, Special Education (SPED), Sociology (SOC), Social Work (SOCW), and Speech Communication (SPCM). Additional areas to explore may include: courses in foreign language beyond the completion of the University’s requirement, as well as additional courses in science (IB, MCB, etc), microcomputer applications (ACE,etc), and courses in cultural studies.
For students planning to pursue eventual certification in speech-language
pathology to work in the public schools.
| Hours |
Recommended Electives |
| 3 |
SPED 117 - The Culture
of Disability |
| 3 |
EPS 201 - Foundations
of Education |
| 3 |
EPSY 201 - Educational
Psychology |
| 9 |
Total |
Summary of Degree Requirements
| Hours |
Requirements |
| 34-37 |
General Education |
| 28 |
Speech and Hearing Science
Professional Core |
| 25-28 |
Area of Concentration
(and Correlate, if required by concentration) |
| 9 |
Recommended Possible Electives |
| |
Free electives to total
128 |
| 128 |
Total hours required for
graduation |
Recommended Elective Areas. To reach the 128 semester hours
required for a degree, students are encouraged to choose electives
in the following areas: math, computer science, physics, psychology,
education, physiology, linguistics, psycholinguistics, special education,
and additional courses in speech and hearing sciences.
Departmental Honors. Students whose overall grade point
average is 3.5 or higher are eligible to earn Departmental Distinction
by completing a significant independent project/senior thesis. Qualified
students will be expected to register for two hours of credit in
SHS 395 during each of their last two undergraduate semesters and
to complete significant work as part of that course. A statement
of these requirements is available in the department office.
Note: 25 hours of clinical observation are required for those pursuing the concentrations of Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology, and should be completed and recorded prior to graduation. Any hours not completed prior to the pre-practicum (SHS 199A or SHS199LEC) may be done while serving as a senior clinical participant.