Speech and Hearing Science
Department Office: 901 South Sixth Street, Champaign, (217) 333-2230
Undergraduate Major
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 a career or graduate education in many fields related to human communication and health. The degree requires at least 128 hours, excluding military training. The program has three concentrations: Human Communication Science, Audiology, and Speech-Language Pathology.
The Human Communication Science concentration offers students a broad-based degree that allows them to pursue an area of interest in speech, language and hearing sciences and disorders, or to pair this interest with areas outside the department in preparation for careers in other fields such as dentistry, physical or occupational therapy, physiology, linguistics, or law. The concentration also includes an American Sign Language Track. Students interested in pursuing the Human Communication Science concentration are advised to work in close consultation with an SHS faculty member and the SHS undergraduate academic advisor.
The Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology concentrations may be taken as a pre-professional program for individuals who specifically plan to work as speech-language pathologists in medical or school settings or as audiologists. 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.
A concentration must be declared prior to the senior year. Students are advised to consult Undergraduate Advising on a regular basis to ensure they are meeting all requirements.
For an overview of the program and career opportunities, download the brochure. 
. 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
General Education
The Department of Speech and Hearing Science requires that courses from the General Education lists at http://courses.illinois.edu/cis/gened/ be taken as noted below.
| Hours | Communication Arts |
|---|---|
| 4-6 | Composition I |
| 3 | Advanced Composition |
| Hours | Quantitative Reasoning I & II |
|---|---|
| 6 | From approved campus list. Students pursuing a graduate degree (MA, AuD, PhD) are strongly urged to take a calculus course. |
| 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. Students pursuing a professional graduate degree (MA, AuD) will need 1 physical science and 1 life science course. |
| Hours | Cultural Studies |
|---|---|
| 3 | From Western cultures approved campus list |
| 3 | From U.S. minority cultures or non-Western cultures approved campus list |
| 0-12 | Foreign Language: Completion through the third level of the same language in high school or college |
| 37-51 | Total General Education hours |
Speech and Hearing Science Professional Core Requirements
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| 4 | SHS 450 - Intro Audiol & Hear Disorders |
| 25 | Total Core Hours |
Areas of Concentration
| Hours | Human Communication Science |
|---|---|
| 24 | Students work closely with an SHS faculty member and the undergraduate adviser to plan their program, based on student's interests and professional goals. A major in Speech and Hearing Science with a Human Communication Science concentration provides a bachelor’s degree with a strong foundation for many careers. NOTE: Students choosing this concentration must also be aware of the 21 upper level (300 or 400 level) coursework residency requirement. |
| Hours | Audiology Concentration |
|---|---|
| 4 | SHS 121 ASL I |
| 3-4 | SHS 451 - Aural Rehab Children to Adults |
| 1 | SHS 475 - Prepracticum in SHS |
| 6-8 | Two of the following: |
| SHS 430 – Phono Disorders | |
| SHS 431 – Preschool Lang Dis | |
| SHS 470 - Neuro | |
| SHS 473 – AAC | |
| 3 | Additional hours in SHS |
| 17-20 | Total Audiology Concentration Hours |
| Hours | Speech-Language Pathology Concentration |
|---|---|
| 3 | SHS 451 - Aural Rehab Children to Adults |
| 1 | SHS 475 - Prepracticum in SHS |
| 9-12 | Three of the following: |
| SHS 410 - Introduction to Stuttering | |
| SHS 411 - Intro to Voice Disorders | |
| SHS 430 – Phono Disorders | |
| SHS 431 – Preschool Lang Dis | |
| SHS 470 - Neuro | |
| SHS 473 – AAC | |
| 3-4 | Additional hours in SHS |
| 17-20 | Total SLP Concentration Hours |
| Hours | Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology Concentration 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 |
|
| 10 | Total Correlate Hours |
Electives
All students will need to take 22-42 hours of electives in order to complete the 128 required hours for graduation. Students are encouraged to choose rigorous courses both within Speech and Hearing Science and outside of the department in areas that complement their interests, such as: physiology, neuroscience, math, computer science, physics, psychology, education, linguistics, anthropology, sociology, and so on. In selecting elective courses, all students are responsible for addressing any prerequisites. Course availability may vary.
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.
Summary of Degree Requirements
| Hours | Requirements |
|---|---|
| 37-51 | General Education |
| 25 | Speech and Hearing Science Core |
| 24-30 | Area of Concentration (and Correlate, if required by concentration) |
| 22-42 | Electives |
| 128 | Total hours required for graduation |
Speech and Hearing Science Minor
The undergraduate Speech and Hearing Science Minor is designed for students who seek a basic familiarity with the physical, behavioral, biological, and social aspects of human communication. The minor is tailored to each student’s individual needs, thus accommodating students from different disciplines across the campus. There are no prerequisites for this minor. For more information contact Kathi Ritten, Academic Advisor, at ritten@illinois.edu.
| Hours | Requirements |
|---|---|
| 3 | SHS 170-Hum Comm: Sys, Proc & Disorders |
| 6-7 | Select two of the following: |
|
|
| 8-9 | Eight to Nine additional hours of speech and hearing science courses chosen from the following list: |
|
|
| 17-19 | Total hours |
*Students must take at least six credit hours of speech and hearing science courses at the 300 or 400 levels.