(ACOMD)
The department offers the Master of Arts in communication disorders with or without a thesis. The thesis option requires 33 hours of coursework plus six hours of thesis credit. The non-thesis option requires 39 hours of coursework and successful completion of a comprehensive examination. Required coursework is designed to enable students to satisfy requirements for professional certification in speech-language pathology.
Classes required of all students include: COMD 7281 Acquired Neurological Language Disorders (3), COMD 7282 Acquired Neurological Cognitive Communication Disorders (3), COMD 7381 Language and Learning Disorders (3) , COMD 7382 Voice Disorders (3) , COMD 7385 Neuropathologies of Speech (3) , COMD 7480 Measurement and Diagnosis of Communication Disorders (3) , COMD 7153 Research Design in Communication Science and Disorders (3) , COMD 7384 Early Communicative Intervention (3) , and COMD 7783 Dysphagia (3) . Students must also complete six credit hours of clinical practice. Thesis students include six hours of COMD 8000 Thesis Research (1-12 per sem.) . Non-thesis students include a 7000-level seminar and a 7000-level elective approved by the department.
Thesis students defend their theses orally to their thesis committee members. Non-thesis students write a comprehensive examination that is evaluated by a departmental committee.