Content area
Full Text
The University of Florida on-campus AuD program is described. To date, 63 students have been enrolled in this program. Sixteen doctoral-level audiology faculty teach in this program, either in the classroom or clinically. Coursework spans all areas included in the audiology scope of practice. The curriculum also has classes taught by faculty in other related disciplines, such as medicine, neuroscience, pharmacology, and counseling. Clinical practicum experiences throughout the program occur in a major health science center on campus, along with a number of other clinical sites. With the support of a large faculty and the availability of a wide variety of clinical placements, the University of Florida AuD program provides the necessary knowledge and skills for students to become autonomous professionals.
Key Words: audiology education, AuD, clinical doctorate, AuD curriculum
The AuD program at the University of Florida began in the fall of 1998. The program was designed to provide comprehensive preparation of autonomous audiologic professionals through effectively developing the skills and knowledge encompassed in the expanded scope of audiologic practice. It is unique in several ways. The audiology faculty is housed in two different departments in two separate colleges and works together to provide a broad range of clinical and academic expertise for the students. The AuD is granted through the University of Florida Graduate School. Six PhD faculty are in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and four PhD and six AuD faculty are in the Department of Communicative Disorders in the College of Health Professions (see the Appendix). During their program, students take classes and/or have clinical experiences with each faculty member affiliated with these two departments.
Program Overview
The program of study is designed to emphasize the principles and practices underlying the evaluation and (re)habilitation of human auditory disorders. It incorporates didactic instruction and clinical training followed by competency-based evaluations of critical reasoning skills. The program consists of 78 graduate credits of didactic classroom experience, including basic sciences, applied audiology, clinical research, statistics, audiologic rehabilitation, medical neuroscience, neuro-otology, cochlear implants, pharmacology, professional issues, programmable and digital hearing aids, counseling, and communication and aging. These courses are taught by the joint audiology faculty and faculty from the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy,...