Overview

What kinds of jobs are available to graduates with degrees in speech-language pathology and audiology?

Graduates of the Communication Sciences & Disorders program at The College of Wooster have a solid understanding of human speech, language, and hearing, and have practical experience from the four semesters they spend working in the college’s Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic, an outpatient clinic for community members with speech, language, or hearing disorders. Many graduates go on to graduate  programs to earn a master’s in speech-language pathology or a doctor of audiology degree, Au.D., while other graduates choose careers in education, social work, law, medicine, nursing and more.

Communication Sciences & Disorders at The College of Wooster

Students who want to enter the fields of audiology or speech-language pathology will benefit from the student-led research, courses taught by experts in the field, and access to internships and practicums at The College of Wooster. Each student at The College of Wooster completes an independent study under the guidance of a faculty mentor, and students in Communications Sciences and Disorders spend the two semesters of their senior year working on a major investigative project. The program is available as a major or a minor, and the multidisciplinary nature of Wooster’s courses allows many students to double major or explore other disciplines, notably education and psychology.

History of the Department

The Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders has had a long and distinguished history at The College of Wooster. Louis Holden,the College’s president from 1899-1915, who himself had been a professor of oratory at Beloit College before assuming presidency at Wooster, founded the Department of Oratory at the College in 1900.

The Department did not firmly establish itself until 1908, with the arrival of Professor Delbert Lean. Lean had studied public speaking at Emerson School of Oratory (today known as Emerson University) and argumentation at Harvard. Under his leadership and that of President Charles Frederick Wishart, who was president from 1919-1944, the major in speech was created in 1930.

Today, the Department of Communication resides in Wishart Hall, named after President Wishart, described in the building’s plaque of dedication as “Master of the Spoken Word.” Wishart eloquently defended Wooster’s decision to teach evolution against attacks by William Jennings Bryan in 1922, three years prior to the famous Scopes trial. Wishart Hall was erected in 1966, with much of the building funds coming from the citizens of Wooster and Wayne County, a tribute to the Department’s ties with the surrounding area.

In the Fall of 2020, The Department of Communication which included both Communication Studies and Communication Sciences & Disorders have become their own separate departments, creating The Department of Communication Studies and The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.


Faculty & Staff

Joan Furey

Joan E. Furey

Associate Professor and Department Chair of Communication Sciences & Disorders

jfurey@wooster.edu

Donald M. Goldberg

Donald Goldberg

Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders

dgoldberg@wooster.edu

Cara Hammond

Cara Hammond

Clinical Supervisor and Adjunct Instructor in Communication Sciences & Disorders

chammond@wooster.edu

Head shot of Scott Schwarzwalder

Scott Schwarzwalder

Wishart Administrative Coordinator

sschwarzwldr@wooster.edu


Latest Communication Sciences & Disorders News

Rachel Yamson '25

Psychology major conducts qualitative studies on bilingual children during APEX Fellowship

Rachel Yamson ’25, a psychology major and communication sciences and disorders minor, completed an APEX Fellowship at the Language Development Lab at the University […]

Azad presented her research to members of the College community at the Senior Research Symposium.

Communication sciences and disorders major explores alternative approaches to support patients

Aspiring speech-language pathologist Sabrina Azad ’24 wanted to focus her Independent Study research on understanding how to support patients with brain diseases that can […]

Stacey Lim ’01

Stacey Lim ’01 has been breaking sound barriers throughout her life

Stacey Lim ’01 never let being born profoundly deaf get in the way of living a full life. The 2001 communication sciences and disorders […]

Bri Lowry '25 surrounded by her students

Communication sciences and disorders student inspires an appreciation for the arts during APEX Fellowship

Brianna Lowry ’25 knew she wanted to encourage children to explore creative expression, so when an opportunity to intern as a camp counselor at […]

More Communication Sciences & Disorders Articles

Major

The major requires eleven courses in the department, including Introduction to Communication Sciences and Disorders, Phonetic Transcription and Phonology, Language Development in Children, Audiology, Auditory Rehabilitation, and Human Anatomy and Physiology of Speech, and two electives from within the department or in related disciplines. Students should take the research methodology course before the end of the junior year and demonstrate proficiency in public speaking.

Communication Sciences and Disorders majors complete four-semester of 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.

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Minor

A minor in Communication Sciences and Disorders requires six courses in the department, including Introduction to Communication Sciences and Disorders, Phonetic Transcription and Phonology, Language Development in Children, and Audiology.

View Courses

Independent Study

Communication Studies and Disorders I.S. Handbook

At Wooster, Independent Study (I.S.) provides all students the opportunity to engage in an activity both personally meaningful and appropriate to their individual fields and interests. Students work closely with their faculty advisors through regularly scheduled conferences and seminars that are designed to assist, encourage, and challenge the participants and to afford both students and advisors an opportunity to share the excitement of discovery and expression in areas of mutual interest.

Search the I.S. Database

Student Year I.S. Title Major 1 Major 2 Advisor
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Related Articles

Azad presented her research to members of the College community at the Senior Research Symposium.

Communication sciences and disorders major explores alternative approaches to support patients

Aspiring speech-language pathologist Sabrina Azad ’24 wanted to focus her Independent Study research on understanding how to support patients with brain diseases that can […]

I.S. button

Together Everyone Achieves More (T.E.A.M.): An Investigation of Recreational Sports Teams’ Coaches’ Knowledge of Best Practices for Working with Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Name: Abigail Johnson Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders and Education Advisor: Donald M. Goldberg, Ph.D. This study investigated community recreation sports teams’ coaches’ knowledge regarding working with […]

head shot for Mia Chen

An Investigation of the Clinical Considerations of Speech-Language Pathologists When Working With Spanish-English Bilingual Adults With Aphasia

Name: Mia Chen Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders Minors: Psychology and Spanish Advisors: Dr. Joan E. Furey; Dr. Grit Herzmann (second reader) The broad purpose of this […]

head shot of Rachel Semel

Help Wanted: An Investigation of Professionals’ Approaches to and Perceptions Regarding Vocational Development When Working with Young Adults with Autism or Down Syndrome

Name: Rachel Semel Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders Minor: Education Advisor: Joan E. Furey, Ph.D.; Cara Hammond (second reader) The purpose of this study was to investigate the […]

Alumni

The Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) major prepares students for graduate study or careers in speech-language pathology or audiology, education, nursing, social work, and more.

CSD graduates work as audiologists, speech-language pathologists, rehabilitation specialists, behavior therapists, special educators, early childhood intervention specialists, education directors, and teachers. Our majors also include graduates who have had successful careers as a social worker, a magazine editor, a pastry chef, and a director of college admissions, among other professions.


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Stacey Lim ’01

Stacey Lim ’01 has been breaking sound barriers throughout her life

Stacey Lim ’01 never let being born profoundly deaf get in the way of living a full life. The 2001 communication sciences and disorders […]

Chelsea “Sarae” Addison ’14

Alumna discusses her book on financial literacy for children

On Nov. 15, The College of Wooster hosted alumna Chelsea “Sarae” Addison ’14 for a presentation on her experience as a student and after […]

Kaitlyn (Evans) Jue ’10

Education alumna makes herself at home in the classroom

Kaitlyn (Evans) Jue ’10 finds her ‘Dream Job’ combining her interests

Prizes & Scholarships

Honors

Departmental Honors is conferred on students who meet the following criteria:

  • A grade of Honors on the Senior I.S. thesis or the unanimous vote of the Department
  • An average of 3.5 in all courses taken in the Department
  • An overall average of 3.2 for four years at Wooster

If students earned Honors on their I.S., the Department will automatically consider them for Departmental Honors. If students did not earn a grade of Honors, they may still be considered for Departmental Honors at the end of their last semester at Wooster.  Students earning a grade of Good and who meet the other two criteria will automatically have their names submitted to the Department by their advisor for consideration of Departmental Honors.  In the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, the unanimous vote of the faculty has typically gone to those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Department.

Prizes

The Emerson Miller Memorial Prize in Speech

The Emerson Miller Memorial Prize in Speech is awarded annually at graduation to the senior who is judged by the Departments of Communication Studies and Communication Sciences and Disorders to have contributed the most to the Departments’ programs during his or her college career.

The Cummings-Rumbaugh Speech Prize

The Cummings-Rumbaugh Speech Prize is awarded to the graduating senior in Communication Sciences and Disorders who has the highest academic standing.

Clinics

Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic

The Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic, located on the ground floor in Wishart Hall, functions as an outpatient clinic to the Wooster community. Staff members assess and treat communicative disorders that is, problems of speech, language, and hearing (e.g., stuttering, speech/language delay, voice problems, cleft palate, hearing loss, and deafness). Currently, the staff is composed of three professionals (Clinic Supervisor Cara Hammond, M.S., CCC-SLP; Professor Donald Goldberg, Ph.D., CCC-SLP/A, FAAA, LSLS Cert. AVT; and Associate Professor Joan Furey, Ph.D., CCC-SLP), along with student clinicians.

Clinic Experience for Students

For students majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders, the Freedlander Clinic serves another important function: It provides them with hands-on clinical experience, something that few undergraduate programs offer, Indeed, the Freedlander Clinic’s activities are natural sources of information for coursework in the major and for ideas about research that students might undertake. Student clinicians must enroll in the Speech and Language Clinic Practicum course for three semesters and work under the guidance of state-licensed and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) certified supervisors. In the fourth semester, students may continue in the Speech and Language Clinic Practicum course or they may elect to enroll in the Audiology Clinic Practicum course.

Services

The clients served at the Clinic are of any age, from infants through older adults, and the types of disorders managed are equally varied. Referrals come from numerous sources, including area physicians, local schools, and the College faculty, staff, and student body, in addition to self-referrals from the Wooster community. There are NO FEES for clients seen during the academic year, between regular clinic hours.

The Freedlander Clinic is equipped with modern audiologic test equipment, a new sound-treated audiology test booth, and a variety of tests, assessment protocols, and therapy materials for assessment and intervention. Audiologic or hearing evaluations, as well as speech/language evaluations, are scheduled throughout the academic year for clients of all ages.

In sum, the Freedlander Clinic serves as a catalyst for service, education, and research. The Clinic not only affords students the opportunity for rich educational experiences, but also provides individuals of the surrounding community with much-needed services, at no cost, that may significantly improve their quality of life.