Undergraduate Program General Information

The NMSU Program in Communication Disorders offers an undergraduate program that results in a pre-professional Bachelor of Science degree that prepares students for graduate work. For clinical practice, the minimum entry-level is a Master's degree for Speech-Language Pathology and a Doctoral degree for Audiology. Students who complete a Bachelor's degree must go on to complete a Master's to obtain state licensure and national certification in Speech-Language Pathology. A Doctoral degree is required for Audiology.

Further information regarding the fields of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology may be obtained on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association website.

At NMSU we currently have approximately 65 undergraduate students who have declared a major in Communication Disorders. These students are required to successfully complete a minimum of 132 credits for the Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Disorders. This includes a minimum of 54 upper division credits as well as a minimum of 9 credits from an approved list of electives.

Advising
Advising for our undergraduate students is provided through the College of Education Advising Center (phone 575-646-3404). This is currently located on the Second Floor of Zuhl Library while O'Donnell Hall is under renovation. Undergraduate students are encouraged to seek assistance of an academic advisor to plan their coursework.

Undergraduate General Requirements
Students should meet with an academic advisor in the College of Education Advising Center to review the degree requirements for the undergraduate degree in Communication Disorders.

Undergraduate Block Sequence
The core undergraduate curriculum in communication disorders at NMSU involves a series of courses that have prerequisites and must be taken in the required sequence. Each block in the block sequence must be completed successfully to progress to the next block. Students should meet with an academic advisor in the College of Education Advising Center to assure that they are completing the sequence properly. In addition, this block sequence is reviewed during the  CD221 Introduction to Communication Disorders course. Each prospective major must sign a disclosure agreement indicating that she/he understands the required block sequence.

Undergraduate Electives & Minors
Undergraduate students are required to choose from one of the following two options for Minors and/or Electives:
    1. Any established minor (Spanish or Linguistics are recommended, but others are accepted - see list of Minors).
    2. An 9 credits from the approved list of Electives (see alphabetical list of recommended Electives).

Students who are interested in exploring options for applying to graduate schools in Communication Sciences and Disorders may wish to review a presentation on this or explore the ASHA website.