Communication Sciences and Disorders, Ph.D.
Department Chair: Michaela Ritter, Ed.D., CCC-SLP
Doctoral Graduate Program Director: Diane Loeb, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
The Ph.D. in CSD is offered by Baylor University through the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. The emphasis of this degree program is on the education of basic and applied scholars in the areas of speech-language pathology, speech, language, and hearing sciences, and deafness. There is a critical need for individuals trained at the level of Ph.D. in our profession. Our future graduates will transform the world, reflecting Baylor’s servant leadership model at the highest level of research skill. Graduates of our program will be prepared to be servant leaders and research educators nationally and internationally in the areas of speech, language, hearing, deafness, and swallowing disorders.
Admission Requirements
Students must meet the general admission requirements for graduate study and must have demonstrated in their undergraduate and any postgraduate courses a scholarly and professional interest considerably above the average. There are two types of applicants that may apply for the CSD Ph.D. First, most applicants will have a Master of Arts or Master of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Speech-Language Pathology, or Speech and Hearing Science. Students with Master’s degrees from other professions will be considered and evaluated on a case-by-case basis for admission. Second, students with a Bachelor’s degree and exceptional academic records and backgrounds may pursue a Ph.D. in CSD. These types of students who are admitted into CSD Ph.D. program will be required to take additional prerequisite CSD core courses, which will be determined by the primary mentor and the CSD Ph.D. admission committee. A personal statement from the applicant as well as three letters of reference are required. A current TOEFL/IELTS is required for all international applicants. Prior research experience at the undergraduate or master’s level is valued highly.
Admission to this program is made in the Fall semester only. Applicants should submit their application no later than Jan 15th prior to the proposed Fall entry. Full-time study is preferred and part-time study permissible. Applicants who are admitted at full-time status will be offered four years of funding, contingent on successful progress each year. To determine “successful progress,” annual reviews will be completed by the student and reviewed by the student’s mentor, the Ph.D. Director, and the Department Chair, with financial support offered only as available and necessary. Admission will require the concurrence of the chairperson of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, the applicant’s faculty mentor, and the Graduate School. Students must apply to this doctoral program even though another graduate degree may have been earned at Baylor University.
Program Requirements
Period of Study
The Doctor of Communication Sciences and Disorders degree is typically a four-year program. Four years, including summers, consist of campus residency, including didactic courses and research totaling 60 semester hours beyond the baccalaureate degree. Students may take 5000-level or 6000-level courses to meet program requirements. The student and the mentor work together to determine which courses will be taken in their plan of study. However, the following program requirements are required to be met:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Program Requirements for CSD Doctoral Program | ||
| Major Concentration Area | 39 | |
| Statistical and Experimental Design | 9 | |
| Comprehensive Examination | 0 | |
| Dissertation | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 60 | |
Time Limitation
The maximum time limit for the doctoral degree is eight years from the time the student first matriculates into the doctoral program. After this time the student may request a one-year extension. Once a student’s time limit expires, any student wishing to return to complete their degree after a one-year absence, must reapply for admission to graduate school. The student would enter under the current catalog and the appropriate course work for degree completion may be revalidated or not, according to the policy of the individual program in consultation with the Graduate School.
Foreign Language Requirement
There is no requirement for competency in a foreign language for the CSD Ph.D. program.
Residency
Consecutive semesters of residency are encouraged but not required. These decisions should be made by the student and their mentor. Students must be registered for at least one semester hour of graduate credit during the semester of intended graduation.
Comprehensive Examination
The student must pass the written Comprehensive examination at the end of their course work and before the beginning of the dissertation. The committee for the examination will include three members of the CSD faculty. If any part of the Comprehensive examination is failed, the examining committee may recommend reexamination. Candidates who fail this examination may take a second one only upon the recommendation of the Ph.D. Graduate Program Director and the student’s research faculty mentor. In no case will this examination be given until an interval of at least four months has elapsed. After two failures, no further examination is permitted. If the student does not pass the reexamination, they will be dismissed from the program.
Admission to Candidacy
Admission to the doctoral program is not equivalent to admission to candidacy. Formal application for admission to candidacy is made through procedures established by the Graduate School. Students must complete the following to apply to advance to candidacy:
- Satisfactory completion of 60 hours of course work.
- Satisfactory completion and submission of article for publication.
- Teaching portfolio completed.
- Satisfactory annual student activity reports from all previous years.
- Passing the written comprehensive examination.
Dissertation Supervision
A Dissertation Committee is designated by the student’s faculty research mentor and the student. The committee consists of four readers, all members of Graduate Faculty. The student’s mentor is the chairperson of the committee.
Dissertation
Candidates for the Doctor of Communication Sciences and Disorders degree must present an acceptable dissertation on a problem in the field of their major subject. The dissertation must give evidence that the candidate has pursued a program of research, the results of which reveal scholarly competence and a significant contribution to knowledge. Candidates should acquire the Guidelines for Preparing the Dissertation and Thesis and other necessary materials at the beginning of the semester in which the dissertation is being prepared. The most recent edition of Guidelines is available on the Baylor Graduate School website. Additional degree completion materials not available on the homepage are provided to students when they file for graduation. The Guidelines contain the directions for the procedure to complete the dissertation, an explanation of forms necessary, the semester calendar, and an explanation of fees associated with the process.
Dissertation Examination
This oral examination is conducted by an examining body upon the recommendation of the graduate program director only after all research and dissertation requirements have been fulfilled. The dissertation research committee is an integral part of the examining committee. The dissertation examining committee will include a minimum of four members. At least two members, including the chairperson, will be Baylor Graduate Faculty from the degree-granting program. At least one member must be a member of Baylor’s Graduate Faculty whose primary appointment is from a program other than the one conferring the degree. This non-program member helps to ensure a consistent level of quality, rigor, and fairness across all graduate programs at Baylor University. The committee may also include one member from outside of Baylor with approval of the candidate’s Graduate Program Director. Non-Baylor committee members are not eligible to serve as the dissertation chairperson. The Graduate Program Director is responsible for ensuring the relevant expertise of the non-Baylor committee member and notifying the Graduate School through the Announcement of Doctoral Oral Examination form. The candidate’s dissertation director will serve as the chairperson of the committee and ensure that formal announcement of the examination is made, that the exam is conducted fairly, and that it is open to the faculty. The committee may include additional members beyond the required minimum of four. Preferably, the student and the examiners will be present in person, but in certain cases (e.g., online degree programs, extenuating circumstances, etc.) this may not be logistically possible. The Ph.D. Graduate Program Director may approve alternative formats for examination, including virtual, video-conferenced participation of one or more examiner(s). Such approval needs to be accompanied with justification to the Graduate School.
Candidates who fail this examination may take a second one only upon the recommendation of the Ph.D. Graduate Program Director and the approval of the Graduate School. In no case will this examination be given until an interval of at least four months has elapsed. After two failures, no further examination is permitted.
No longer than ten days after the oral examination, but no later than the “last day” deadline posted in the Graduate School Academic Calendar for the semester of graduation, an electronic pdf copy of the dissertation in its final departmentally approved form should be submitted to the Graduate School. With the dissertation copy, the student should also submit the appropriate forms required, as stated in the Guidelines. A student is certified for graduation once the pdf copy of the dissertation is submitted electronically and approved, and all remaining steps, as stated in the Guidelines, have been completed.
Other Requirements
Each student is required to comply in full with all additional policies and rules specified in the CSD Doctoral Program manual. This manual is distributed to all students enrolled in the program. Additional information. See “Communication Sciences and Disorders” in the courses section of the catalog.