Communication Studies
Communication Sciences Disorders
Communication sciences and disorders is a discipline that has evolved from hearing, speech, and language sciences research and from the clinical assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of communicative disorders. The curriculum provides the student with an understanding of normal and abnormal human speech, language, and hearing communication, and, when combined with the required research and methodology courses, the major prepares the students for graduate or pre-professional work.
The major requires five courses in the department, including Introduction to Communication Sciences and Disorders, Phonetic Transcription and Phonology, Language Development in Children, Advanced Communicative Disorders, and Audiology, as well as Human Anatomy and Physiology or Human Neuropsychology, and two to five electives from within the department or in related disciplines. Students should also take a research methodology course before the end of the junior year and demonstrate proficiency in public speaking.
Communication sciences and disorders majors take a foursemester, supervised practicum in the college’s Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic, which functions as an outpatient clinic to the Wooster community. Clients of all ages, with varying types of disorders, are served. There are no fees for clinic services during the academic year.