Communication Sciences and Disorders Minor
The Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) minor will provide you with a background in communication sciences and disorders. Many students completing this minor plan to work in a field related to communication disorders, such as education or psychology; however, it may not be considered a minor for classroom teaching and is not certifiable.
Students interested in pursuing a graduate degree in audiology sometimes choose to complete the CSD minor instead of the CSD major, as many of the courses on the major are not required by audiology graduate programs and the minor provides a foundation for application to graduate school in audiology. If you are interested in pursuing audiology, you should complete the following minor courses to meet prerequisite requirements for graduate programs: CSD 230, CSD 278, CSD 330, CSD 331, CSD 431, CSD 463, and an elective
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CSD MINOR
If you are interested in the CSD minor you should meet with the CSD academic advisor, Dr. Stephanie Richards, to sign your minor. Once your minor is signed, you will be added to a Blackboard shell where you can access important advising information.
Speech-language pathology certification requirements
In addition to the minor courses, students planning to attend graduate school for audiology are encouraged to complete a few additional courses. These courses are currently required for certification through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Knowledge and Skills Acquisition (KASA) for speech-language pathologists. Although they are not required for audiologists at this time, it is possible that they will be at some point in the future. Additionally, they are courses that provide good background information if you are applying to audiology graduate programs. These recommended courses include:
| Coursework requirement | Recommended courses |
|---|---|
| Statistics | STA 282QR or PSY 211QR (particularly if you are pursuing a minor in psychology). Both courses meet the quantitative reasoning requirement. |
| Biology | BIO 101 (general biology) or BIO 150 (human biology). Both courses meet the group II-A requirement of the university program. |
| Chemistry or Physics | Any of the CHM or PHY courses in the group II-B section of the university program. |
| Social/behavioral sciences | Courses psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Choose a course in one of these areas that also meets the group III or group IV requirements of the university program. |
Program mission
The undergraduate program in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Central Michigan University is committed to the development of students who are well prepared for graduate programs in Speech-Language Pathology and/or Audiology and have a foundation for becoming professionals devoted to improving the lives of persons with communication disorders. Our program provides student-centered learning opportunities through coursework, clinical experiences, service-learning activities, and faculty-guided research opportunities designed to promote critical thinking, high ethical standards, a commitment to lifelong learning, an understanding of the clinical process, and knowledge of speech, language, and hearing development, disorders, and differences.
Program goals
- Graduates will have knowledge of the characteristics of speech, language, and hearing development, disorders, and differences.
- Graduates will have knowledge of the materials and procedures used for the prevention, assessment, and intervention of speech, language and hearing disorders.
- Graduates will know how to use the information gathered from the client, clinician, and literature to make evidence-based clinical decisions.
- Graduates will understand the professional and ethical requirements of speech-language pathologists and audiologists.