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>> Dr. Diana Emanuel: Welcome to Towson University, the Doctor of Audiology program.
This is our 10th year.
We are actually going to be sending out a 10-year anniversary newsletter and
having a 10-year celebration.
And so 10 years of the program, I have been the program director for
the entire time and was the person who was instrumental in actually
creating the program along with the faculty who are here.
We have developed it over the last 10 years.
I want to introduce Dr. Steve Pallett, and Dr. Pallett is hearing
aids, private practice, calibration...
>> Dr. Stephen Pallet: Instrumentation.
>> Instrumentation.
So he's the go-to person in terms of technology.
Dr. Ashby-Scabis is also with us, and she's a clinical faculty.
And she'll be teaching clinical audiology next year for the first time.
Wonderful.
>>Dr. Ashby-Scabis: That's why I'm the best teacher ever.
>> And does a lot of clinical teaching.
Dr. Stephanie Nagle, some of you got a chance to meet.
And she teaches pretty much everything, right?
>> Dr. Stephanie Nagle: Yes, I do.
>> Pharmacology, aural rehab...
>> Genetics...
>> ...Genetics...
>> ...Hearing aids...
>> ...Hearing aids...
>> ...Ethics.
>> ...Ethics.
So she has quite a wide selection of classes.
We had a number of faculty who couldn't be with us tonight, unfortunately.
Now I teach in the area of neuro, hearing science, acoustics and a couple of
other areas as needed.
And we have a number of current Au.D students.
So, Au.D students, you want to sort of raise your hand and wave.
After the presentation, if you haven't had a chance to say hello and chat and
ask questions, one of the most valuable parts of the open house is actually to
talk to the current students and find out what it's really like as
opposed to what the faculty say that it's like or what our information says online.
Talk with the students, and they'll give you the skinny.
The second-year students are not here.
They're all first-year students.
The second-year students are not here because they have their second year
clinical exam tomorrow, and they are all at home studying and a little
stressed out.
So unfortunately, they couldn't be with us.
And then the third and fourth-year students are all doing clinical rotations.
But you get the first-year perspective.
So let me tell you a little bit about the program, a little bit
about audiology.
And if you have any questions, just ask as we go along.
So...
Why audiology?
Audiology is a spectacular career choice.
The long-term outlook for audiology is wonderful.
Every person who's graduated thus far who's wanted to get a job in
audiology has gotten a job and almost immediately.
And I say who's wanted a job because our first graduate walked across the
stage - Steve's smiling, he remembers - about eight and three quarter months
pregnant and decided to be a full-time mom after that but still comes to
continue education.
But every other student, besides that one, has been able to get a job in
audiology very, very quickly.
And the long-term outlook is excellent.
And they're expecting between 2008 and 2018, a 25 percent increase in the
number of audiologists that are needed in order to meet health care needs
for the aging of America and also infant hearing screening and infant
hearing intervention.
So one of the top-ranked careers, and what can you expect in terms of salaries?
The salaries are not bad.
So according to the ASHA Audiology Survey, median salary was 73,000 for
people working 11 or 12 months.
We've had a number of different salary surveys, and the range can be
all the way up above six figures if you're in a very lucrative private practice.
Obviously, if you're in maybe a school where you're working nine or 10
months, it's going to be a little bit less.
But you really have to take a look at the salaries.
They're not bad.
They're not bad.
Nice, nice long-term outlook and a good earning potential.
Where can you work?
One of the questions I get a lot from students is, is it just going to be me
in a hearing aid center?
No.
That's actually not where most audiologists end up.
There are audiologists in hospitals, rehab centers, community centers,
universities, balance centers and so forth.
And so there are many, many, many places that you can be as an audiologist.
You can work with pediatrics.
You can work with geriatrics.
You can do balance assessment if you're interested in that,
cochlear implant centers, working with children, helping to program
cochlear implants and so forth.
Why Towson?
I'm sure you've gone to a number of open houses, and you've taken a look at a
lot of programs.
And Towson has an exceptionally strong program.
When you take a look at Towson compared to other Au.D programs, you're
going to see a very large program.
We have seven full-time faculty and a whole lot of adjuncts and a number of
part-time faculty.
We have a very active clinic that sees patients from all over the area.
We have a student-focused approach.
I mean, this is not a Research I university.
We do not generate lots and lots and lots of research dollars.
Our focus is on students and on training and on teaching.
And so you get lot of time with faculty, and you get their full attention.
We don't have Ph.D students at the same time.
Au.D students are our focus.
We've had a tradition of having great funding, very diverse faculty in terms
of their research and teaching interests and so on, a lot of mentoring and
- what else do I want to focus on - very well-rounded curriculum.
After 10 years, our curriculum is solid.
We've gone through - Dr. Pallett, I hear him chuckling in the back.
We have gone through several iterations of the curriculum to come up with
what we think is absolutely the perfect step-by-step training set
for audiology students.
OK.
Some of our highlights.
We're the 11th program in the country, and we were the first program in Maryland.
There is now another program in Maryland and one in D.C., as most of you know.
We are ASHA-accredited.
And that's the professional accreditation for doctoral programs in
audiology.
And we currently have 47 students enrolled in the program, which is a very
large program.
Our first-year class is the largest class that we've ever taken in, and
there are 18 students in the first-year class.
And they actually - a really strong cohort.
And we haven't come up with a name for the cohort yet.
Each cohort has a personality.
But this cohort, they're really coming out the gate strong, which is awesome.
And they're still smiling, so we haven't killed them all yet.
OK.
We have some great clinical opportunities.
We're looking at, in the Baltimore-Washington area, just some spectacular
medical centers, some spectacular hospitals and pediatric centers and so forth.
We have, in the works, a brand new multidisciplinary clinical
center that will be opening next year in downtown Towson,
near sushi place, noodle place, Indian place.
So I'm pretty excited about that.
Not that university food is bad, it's sort of awesome - but looking
forward to that.
And this clinic is going to house audiology, speech-language pathology,
occupational therapy, the Center for Adults with Autism.
There's a preschool.
There's a cardiac wellness center.
Am I missing anything?
I think nursing is going to have a center there.
We have a brand new balance center that's going to go up in the building.
And so we're very excited about that coming on board.
Later, I will give you the nickel tour.
But, when we go down in the clinic, I'll have to say, well, this actually
is not going to be the clinic.
The clinic is going to be brand spanking new and spectacular.
OK.
So what do you need to come in?
You do not need a degree in communication sciences and disorders.
If you have it, great.
OK.
But if you don't, these are the prerequisite courses that you need.
So you're going to need a physical science - and that would be, like,
chemistry or physics - a social science - and that would be, like, psychology
or sociology - a life science, which is biology - OK - a math course,
a statistics course, and then these are the two CSD courses that we require.
So if a student comes in without these two courses, then they would have to
take them during the program.
Although some students, even from other disciplines, coming in
from English, psychology, biology, will pick up these courses before they get here.
Either way is fine.
So admission requirements.
Our minimum GPA, 3.2.
Now this is the last 60 credits.
So a number of students have had a pretty rocky first year or so when
you're freshman just adjusting to college life.
And we're not as concerned about that as we are when you continue on in
college, what kind of grades are you getting, especially the last two years.
So we look at the last 60 credits.
Last year, the average GPA for the last 60 credits was a 3.6.
But we do have quite a range.
OK.
So you don't have to have a 3.6 to a 4.0 to get in, OK?
You just need the 3.2 or above in order to make it into the program.
We also can conditionally admit down to a 3.0, and it depends on the
applicant pool.
So, for example, if you have great GRE scores, your GPA - little rocky -
great letters of recommendation, a good essay and it's a year that
we have fewer applicants, then you may get in as well.
OK.
There are some conditions in terms of coming in with a 3.0 or 3.1, but that's
something that we can talk about individually.
We do require an essay, and it's a topic-based essay.
And the topic is online with the application.
Three recommendations - it's better if they're from professors or someone
who has worked with you in a capacity of teaching and learning, as opposed to an
employer or a friend.
OK.
GRE scores.
Now here's the rub.
We had a minimum 950.
And again, this is for - taking a look at the minimum level that we're
going to do an automatic admission.
We have admitted some students with less, but again, it depends on how
strong the rest of the application is and also on the number of applicants
for that year.
OK?
However, they've now completely revised the GREs.
And just this week, actually, they came up with a conversion table.
So if you go online to the GRE website and you take a look at your scores, if
you've just taken them recently it'll show you what the translation is.
I don't think we have any international students but a TOEFL score of 600 for
international students.
And we do require an interview.
If you can't come onto campus, we can do a Skype interview.
But we very much prefer students come in and do a formal interview.
OK, so what's it like here?
I picked the words that I thought best illustrate the program - challenging,
inspiring, interesting and the gateway to a rewarding career.
Any students want to add any other words?
>>Dr. Stephanie Nagle: Fun. So fun.
>> Well, see, that's a faculty member saying fun.
So students are like, yeah, no, those words are good, Dr. Emanuel, we
don't need to add anymore.
This is...
(LAUGHTER)
>> Do I want to hear the word that came out?
Yes?
No?
Gina's like, oh, no, oh, no.
These are students at the White Coat Ceremony.
The White Coat Ceremony happens at the end of the third year when students
are finished the thesis, they're finished all their assessments, they're
finished all their classes and they are about ready to go out to the
fourth-year externship, which is a full-time clinical placement for 48 weeks.
And notice how happy they all look because everything is finished
except the final year, OK.
And so they are actually ceremonially presented with a white coat that has
their name embroidered on it, and that's a symbol of them transitioning from
the first three years of the classes and so forth into clinical learning.
All right, now it's hard to read the very, very top, but it says, do you
have to write a thesis?
This tends to be something that inspires fear in students.
The answer is, yes, but we help you a lot along the way.
You get a mentor.
You can pick a topic from a list of ongoing projects.
You could propose your own if you had an interest in a different area than was
on the list, but we do help you through it.
There are online examples.
We can show you projects from previous years.
So it's not that scary, OK.
All right, so here are the faculty.
I'm up in the far corner.
This was when I was blonde and spiked short hair, and now it's gone long and red.
But I haven't replaced the picture yet.
Dr. Pallett who's in the other room, Dr. Korczak, who couldn't be here, and
Dr. Kreisman - family duties - Dr. Ashby-Scabis, you met her, and
Dr. Jennifer Smart had a baby two weeks ago, so she will be back...
>> Four weeks ago.
>> ...Four weeks ago, oh, my goodness.
I'm losing track of time.
So she will be back in the spring.
Dr. Candice Robinson is our clinic administrator, and then Dr. Nagle you met.
And she's the one who told us that the program was actually fun.
OK, and this is what our off-campus preceptors are saying about us.
And this is Dr. Stephen Seipp and - working with Towson University students is a joy.
The enthusiasm they bring is contagious.
And he has a private practice, and students rotate through his practice.
This is Dr. Kim Banks, and she says that our students have a strong foundation,
ready to forge ahead into heavy clinical work.
And she is at GBMC, which is Greater Baltimore Medical Center, right next door.
This is Dr. Nancy Hart, and she is one of our first graduates.
And she now owns a thriving private practice and takes students through
her practice as well.
And she loves taking students.
She likes to give back.
She had some great mentors, and now she wants to be one of those.
And this is Dr. Matt Perry, and he is also a Towson graduate.
And he also owns a private practice up in Harford County - very successful,
and in fact, I think he just took his first fourth-year extern.
He's had students rotate through his program, but he's now got a fourth-year
with him as well.
And so his comment was that, now patients complain when it's just
him and not a student.
And so he very much enjoys having students rotate through the program.
So that is my spiel.
I said it was brief and - I don't know - somewhat brief.
Any questions about the program?
Any questions about funding?
Any questions at all?
OK, Molly?
>>Molly: Who do you interview with?
>> The interview is with three faculty members, and actually I think we might
have put it up on the web already.
Is it up there already?
And so we sort of rotate.
I do - I go to all of the interviews, but then we rotate the - who the other two are.
And we generally time bringing eight people in at a time depending on
their schedules.
And so we will just sort of do a round robin interview process.
And in the morning, half of the group goes and takes a tour.
And then we do the interviews, and then we switch.
And then we interview the ones that were on the tour, and they go out and
do a campus tour.
And what we learned from last year is to definitely warn students not to wear
heels because we had a very icy tour last year with a whole lot of people
walking around in spike heels.
So I'm seeing someone - yes, I remember that walk from Hell - walking
through with the heels like this.
So we definitely advise flats if it's a very icy day because you will do a
little bit of a walking tour.
Any other questions?
OK, yes, Kristen?
>>Kristen: What percentage of students do you accept versus the percent -
the number of students that apply for the program?
>> OK, number of students who are accepted versus number of students who apply.
The number of students who apply vary.
So far, they've varied from about 45 to 90, and it really depends -
it kind of goes in waves.
We will generally admit 25 to 30.
It depends on the year.
And then - 'cause we kind of have to do an educated guess as to how many
students are going to say yes.
So from that 25 to 30, we get between eight and 18.
So obviously the educated guess has a little wiggle room.
Our average in terms of the students that actually come in the door - 11
students is the average.
But like I said, some years - I think one year we had eight students.
The 18 we had coming in this year is unusually large, and then we had a
group of 16 one year.
And I think one year, we had 14.
So it sort of varies but - so I would say probably a little bit more than half
of the students who apply are admitted, and then about half of the students
who are offered admission come here.
>> When does a student begin to do the thesis?
>> The thesis of begins the fall of the second year.
At the end of the fall of the second year Dr. Nagle, who teaches the research
methods class, will invite the faculty in.
And the faculty will come in, and they will talk about their ongoing research.
And the students will have a list of projects to choose from.
So after the faculty have talked about the projects, students rank the projects.
And then the faculty meet.
And so if three people have picked one project, then we have to sort of
divvy up the students and who gets their first choice and who gets their
second choice.
>> Another question, is there an oral defense?
They have to defend their thesis?
>> Yes, yes, there is an oral proposal defense, which is when you've
written the review of literature and the proposed method, and
that's just with your committee.
So there's three people and you talking about how you're going to proceed with it.
The final defense when you've done everything, that's open.
Right, so you present then.
>> ...at the University of Delaware, a student does a presentation, and
everybody's invited.
>> Yes, yes.
>> Same thing?
>> Same thing.
So at University of Delaware, everyone's invited.
Here, Towson is the same thing.
It has to be an open presentation.
However, it's not like - I don't know - Thursday night TV where, you know,
everybody's tuning in.
You have to put up notices, and then you have to sort of invite people
and drag them in.
So it's not going to be a huge room full of people.
It will be your committee, the people in your class - 'cause they're going to
support you - and family members, usually.
And occasionally, you'll have someone from the university who
looks at the topic and says, oh, that's really interesting, and comes in.
So it's not as if you're going to have an auditorium full of people
that are asking you questions.
It is a group of people who are very supportive.
Your committee wants you to get through, and they've already seen your paper.
Your fellow students definitely want you to get through, and they also
want to see what it's going to be like.
And your family definitely wants you to get through.
So it's usually not as stressful as it sounds, which is not to say that
there's no stress involved.
Anytime you do a presentation, there will be.
>> And what's the deadline for you writing a thesis?
Do you do it in three years or seven years or...
>> It takes place - you do - you pick the topic.
You start writing in January.
So it's spring, summer, fall, spring.
So it's sort of four semesters, and then you defend.
So it's - yeah - it's a little over a year.
Sort of a year and four months.
>> One thing I just wanted to interject when you're talking about
picking the thesis project.
One of the things that I like that they do here that you don't always see
in other university programs, when faculty members come in to the
research methods class to talk about their projects, they also talk about
supervision style.
So faculty members can differ widely in terms of how they supervise Au.D
thesis projects.
And this is going to be a person that you're going to be working with very
closely for the next year and a half.
So they talk about - there are some professors that prefer to say, I want to
meet with you every two weeks.
You know, I want to see consistent progress.
There other professors that say, this is your project.
You're going to be primarily responsible for setting up meetings, for,
you know, being independent and taking charge and needing to get
done what you need to get done.
So in addition to the project itself, there's also sort of a style
discussion that you can get a little bit of information about as well.
>> Another question, do you do the APA format?
>> Yes.
>> Yes, yes, the APA format.
Any other questions?
Yes?
>> When students are given, like, clinical placements throughout
either campus or off-campus, do you give them placements where they
get a little bit - a taste of different fields as in, like, pediatrics,
vestibular, or do they get to choose one?
>> There's a couple of different answers to that question.
First, we do require that students have a pediatric placement.
You can do more than one, but you have to do at least one, even if you
walk in the door and say, I - I hate kids, I never want to work with kids.
You still have to do a pediatric placement.
And some of it is experience and skill-based.
So if we send you to a hospital and the hospital has a lot of balance
assessment, and the next semester you say, well, I'd like another type of
experience, then we could potentially do a cochlear implant center or a
private practice.
But if you're in two placements and it's, you know, adults with hearing
aids, adults with hearing aids, we look and we say, you haven't had enough
balance, you haven't had enough electrophys.
And we have a skills rating that's done at the end of every semester.
So if we see, OK, you're OK here, OK here - on these skills, either the
supervisor's marking N/A, which means you didn't do them, or you're getting
ones, twos, and threes, which means you need a lot of help.
And then we would need to select a placement that had more of whatever it is
that you need.
So it's skills-based with the understanding that you will have a certain number
of placements in various different types of settings and definitely
enough pediatrics.
Other questions?
Yes, Kim?
>>Kim: What's the time frame around where we decide - or we hear back
from you whether we're accepted or not?
>> Generally, it's very soon after the interview.
Our deadline for the application to come in is February 1, but we start
interviews in January because that's when a lot of people are off.
And so it's easier to do.
So as a general rule, we probably - if you interview third week in
January or fourth week in January, you'd hear right after that February 1 deadline.
And it's a rolling admission.
And we generally have two quick categories - automatic yes,
the application is just stellar.
There's really no reason to believe that we would not have you successful in
the program.
Absolutely no, which, you know, the GPA is below a 3.0, the GRE scores are
terrible, there's a question in the letter in terms of aptitude for
graduate study.
So there's an absolute yes, an absolute no, and then there's sort of a
middle category.
And that middle category - how soon you get information about being
admitted depends on how many people apply.
So if I get a huge rush of applications through December and January, it
may take me a little longer, and we may want to go through a couple more
interviews.
But you would most likely know probably - as long as you've interviewed by the
February date - by the end of February at the latest.
If you haven't interviewed yet, if your materials are still coming in and we set
up a March interview, then obviously we have to wait until after that.
And then you have until - goodness, last year was April 24.
I think it probably would be the same date.
We use the accepted graduate school council of allied health
professionals guidelines for when everybody gets to know.
So it's usually third week in April that you have to let us know by.
Theresa.
>> Of the faculty members, who are the people who actually sit
and, like, review everyone's information and decide who's going to get
in and who's not going to get in?
Who are, like, the decision-making...
>> Who - the committee.
Generally, what happens is right after the interview process, the three faculty
members who were involved in the - I review every single application.
I read all of the essays, and I rate the essays based on the topic and
based on whether they're grammatically correct, spelling errors, anything
like that.
So I essentially - I actually grade it - A, A-, B, you know, and that goes
into the mix.
So I do the initial review.
I read all the letters.
I sort of rate the letters, but the committee gets together after the
interview and we look at the entire application packet.
So it's generally the three people that you interview with who are
yes, no, maybe.
And then if we get near the end of the interview process and we have a
maybe pile, then we can bring the whole faculty together and have a
large-scale discussion of - it's called the diamond-in-the-rough
discussion, which is we have, you know, four more spaces, we have 10 applicants.
These 10 applications, they're not an automatic yes.
They're not an automatic no.
Which ones do we think will be successful in the program?
And that can be multifaceted.
They did a great interview.
Their GRE scores are meh.
Their GPA is pretty good.
You know, we look at every single part of the process.
It's not necessarily, for that middle group, an exact science because you
have to do a lot of predicting.
Who's going to come here, hit the ground running and do a beautiful job while
they're here?
OK.
Sometimes people blow it in the interview.
I had a student - don't know if I should say this on camera - I said why do
you want to come to Towson?
She said there's a really great mall next door.
And I was like, really, 'cause I'd some really great people - great
answers to questions.
I mean, the students in the other room had great answers to questions.
People were prepared.
They told me exactly why they wanted to come to Towson.
I even had one, I don't know if it was one of you two, who came and said how
do you think the change in the presidents will effect...
>> That was Nick.
>> Was that Nick?
(LAUGHTER)
>> Let me tell you how impressed I was that Nick had considered
the effect of changing the president of the university on the doctoral program.
I was, like, very impressed by that interview.
So you can make or break an application packet, which is not an automatic
yes or no on paper - you can sometimes make or break with the interview.
You know, we want to see someone who's serious and focused.
I mean, you don't have to downplay everything.
A number of students came in, probably students in this group and said, well,
I've had time management issues in the past, but here's my plan when I
become a doctoral student.
And that looks a lot better than sort of saying, oh, nope I have
absolutely no problems.
Randy.
>> So what type - I know you have gave a couple examples, but what are the
type of questions you ask, like, in the interview?
>> They're pretty standard interview questions.
You know, are you ready for graduate school?
Can you tell me about what you think it's going to be like?
Have you looked at what the program is, you know?
Have you considered where you want to be in audiology?
I mean, it's pretty much - it's interpersonal skills, communicating with the
interviewer, being professional and being prepared.
I mean, that's pretty much in a nutshell what we're looking for.
It's no secret, you know, how many X, Y and Z are - there's no tests on what's
on the website.
>> So nothing like, if you were an animal, what kind would you be?
>> If you were an animal, what kind would you be?
(LAUGHTER)
>> I don't know what you want me to say?
>> No, this is not - we aren't psychologists.
We're not, you know, no ink blot tests.
No, no.
Yes?
>> How many students from the speech program are accepted into the graduate
program for audiology?
Do you know?
From the undergraduate.
>> From the undergraduate program at Towson?
Oh, wow, it varies.
And a lot of it depends on how many people apply.
So anywhere from - if we look at an average class size of 11, which is the
current class, not average.
But anywhere from that 11 from, you know, some years it's two or three all the
way up to - I think we've had - the year we had 16 students, eight of them
were Towson undergraduates.
So the percentage really varies.
Some years, Towson students all want to become speech pathologists,
and so almost all the students are from out of state or
other programs, and some years a lot of Towson students are interested.
So it just varies.
Yes.
>> When you look at an application, do you look at all of the GRE scores
that were done or do you look at the best scores combined?
>> We take the best score from each category.
So if you took the GRE three times, we take, you know, the best verbal, the
best quantitative, the best writing.
And that's what goes on your folder.
So if you had a rough day one day - my daughter is going to take the SAT this
weekend, and she's very stressed.
So if you just had a bad day, and the next time you took them, you did better
or you did better verbal, worse quantitative, we will take the best.
OK?
Yes?
>> I saw the essay question online, and it was something like what is
the role of, like, research and clinical something, something.
How - like, do you have to cite that or pull outside resources or sources or is it?
>> Some students do, and some students don't.
My advice is there's only one person I've ever not admitted because of the
essay, and the essay was plagiarized.
So if you're going to cite, make sure you do it properly.
But, mainly, we want you to consider very carefully - there are some Au.D
programs that do not require a thesis, and if you don't want to do a
thesis, then this is not the program for you.
We feel it is a very important part of the growth of the students.
And so this is our way of looking at what - do you think it really has a role
in a clinical program?
And if you don't, then we want your thought process in terms of why are you
applying to a program that requires a thesis if you don't think it has any role there.
So you can cite or you can give your opinion.
And the students laughing - there might've been one who gave a no, but it's OK.
I look at rationale as well as the absolute answer. So...
OK.
Other questions.
Molly.
>> What about a personal statement, would you like to have that or you won't
even read it if?
>> I read them, but they're not required.
And sometimes, what people use the personal statement for is if they had a rocky
semester.
And they say, if you look at my transcript, everything is great except
the fall of 2009, and let me explain what happened.
So that's a great time to use a personal statement.
If you happen to be - you know that your application is not going to be the
strongest one, sometimes a personal statement talking about your motivation, why
you want to - you know, why you were inspired to become an audiologist, it
goes into the mix.
I'm not saying it's required.
I mean, you could write a personal statement and it could sway the committee
the other way if it's - I've seen some rather silly personal statements
over the years.
So you have to consider, do you want to put optional materials out
there realizing that anything that comes in in your packet I can read.
OK.
Anything else?
Yes?
>> You said that the three faculty member recommendations could be a
science, could be a history, and it doesn't matter?
>> I would rather have - if you only know one professor from speech
pathology, I'd rather have one speech professor, an English professor and a
math professor, than a speech professor and, you know, your employer at
Starbucks and, you know, your spiritual leader, you know, rabbi, pastor, what have you.
And it's not that I don't value their opinion or - it's wonderful to know
that someone has integrity and that they show up to work on time, but I need
to know that you're going to be able to sit through the doctoral classes and
do the doctoral level work.
And that is something that really only a teacher knows.
They know how you participate in class.
They know what kind of grades you get.
They know how much you put into a class.
So professors of any kind are better than oh, I only know one speech professor,
so I'll find someone who can write something really good.
>> How about a recommendation from an audiologist?
Could we do that too?
>> You could do that if you worked for an audiologist or volunteered
for an audiologist.
One letter could come from there, but again, if they haven't seen your
educational potential, I would put it in as an extra letter - an extra letter.
But, still, three letters from professors are your best bet - who have
experience with you.
Anybody else?
Questions?
Yes, Kristen again.
>> Who would we talk to to figure out if some of those basic classes that
you said were mandatory in order to do the program, who would we talk to to
figure out if these classes were done, things like that?
Like, if we're, OK.
>> Me.
Yeah.
If you send me the title of the class and the course description,
I can generally tell you right away.
Every once in a while, I need to see a syllabus.
But generally, I can tell from the course description.
Sara.
>> I'm not sure if this is going to happen in the near future, but I've had
an advisor tell me - I'm taking physics next semester on top of the
sciences I took as a core.
Do you think that it would be possible to be a requirement later in, like
a doctoral program if I wouldn't do that now?
>> In other words, you're worried about not having a class that you...
>> A physics class because I've seen that on other applications.
>> We used to require a physics class and we found that pretty much exposure
to any lab science can be number one, an advantage in terms of preparation,
number two, it can show us what you do in one of the physical sciences.
The problem, I think, in not doing a physics - you want to apply to several
Au.D programs because you're going to look for your best fit.
You know, I'd love to have every student that is interested in audiology
come here, but, you know, we have a limited number of space and sometimes
Towson is not the best fit and sometimes it is.
So if you gear yourself towards our requirements and then you check out
three or four programs and you fall in love with another program and they
require that course, then you're at a disadvantage for that program.
So if you, at this point, were to look at OK, here are my top three programs.
Towson, of course, and then X, Y.
OK?
Look at all the prerequisites and see - and you may actually throw
a program out of the mix because you're like, you know what, I'm not
prepared to do organic and inorganic chemistry, physics one, physics two
'cause some of the programs have a much more rigorous science
prerequisite requirement.
>> OK.
So it just kind of depends on the program, you don't think it would turn into a
guideline for most schools later on?
>> It is unusual unless the accreditation agency makes changes.
It is unusual for a program to suddenly make prerequisites more
difficult.
They may transition to that point, but at this point, if the program has
been in existence for a certain amount of time, they know what they want
their students to come in with.
A brand-new program - and we've changed our prerequisites twice.
We're stuck.
I mean, this is what we want, and this is what we know works.
Programs that haven't been around as long, you know, they might still see a
little wiggle room, but talk to the program directors, and they will
know if there's anything impending.
>> Thank you.
>> If one of the prerequisites is missing when you get an
application, is that a part of accepting them or can they just do that
prior to actually going, like in the summer or something?
>> No.
There's a lot of students that they'll take the class the semester before
they get here, they'll take the class the summer before they get here.
Usually, what I'll do when I do the review is I'll send a summary and say,
you know, you're missing this class.
Are you taking it now, are you going to take it in the summer, are you going
to take it when you get here 'cause you take some classes when you get here.
>> So it's not a yes or no.
>> No, because we've accepted students into the program with other degrees
where they're missing a couple of these and then they just have to either
add it onto their last semester or do a community college in the summer and
get a couple of the classes done and that's fine.