Prospective Undergrad Students

Your path to helping others begins here.

Students who major in communication sciences and disorders commonly say the same thing: they are passionate about helping others.

Our students use technology and rehabilitation techniques to diagnose and treat patients with speech, language, cognition, hearing, and swallowing disorders.

In your first years, you’ll learn about the origin and anatomy of communication disorders. Once you master the basics, you can choose an area of emphasis in either pre-speech language pathology or pre-audiology – focusing your upper level classes on an area you’re passionate about.

Ready to find out more?

Communication Sciences & Disorders

See why students choose UNI

communication sciences and disorders student in a lab
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What Sets our Program Apart?

Hands-on Experiences

Through the Roy Eblen Speech and Hearing Clinic, Scottish RiteCare Early Language Program, community placements, and internships, our students provide more than 18,000 hours of clinical services to individuals with communication and swallowing disorders each year – gaining invaluable real-world experience at the same time.

A clinician wearing gloves uses a small scope to examine a seated student’s throat in a clinical room, while a monitor displays a close-up image of the vocal cords during the procedure.

Outstanding faculty

Our students frequently cite the knowledgeable, caring and accessible faculty as one of the best aspects of their UNI experience.

All of our classes are taught by faculty, not graduate assistants, meaning you’ll work closely with faculty in integrated classroom and clinic-based instruction.

A woman in a denim jacket shows a smiling young man in a yellow sweatshirt how to use an audiology testing machine in a classroom lab, while other students work at stations with mannequin heads in the background.

Undergraduate Research 

Our faculty provide undergraduate and graduate students with research opportunities in nearly every area of the discipline through our E.A.R. Laboratory, Speech and Voice Science Laboratory, and Sertoma Research Laboratory.

Several students hold a newborn training mannequin wearing a knit cap and diaper, with a tube attached at the abdomen, while viewing medical data on a laptop in a clinical classroom setting.

Hands-on Experiences

Through the Roy Eblen Speech and Hearing Clinic, Scottish RiteCare Early Language Program, community placements, and internships, our students provide more than 18,000 hours of clinical services to individuals with communication and swallowing disorders each year – gaining invaluable real-world experience at the same time.

A clinician wearing gloves uses a small scope to examine a seated student’s throat in a clinical room, while a monitor displays a close-up image of the vocal cords during the procedure.

Outstanding faculty

Our students frequently cite the knowledgeable, caring and accessible faculty as one of the best aspects of their UNI experience.

All of our classes are taught by faculty, not graduate assistants, meaning you’ll work closely with faculty in integrated classroom and clinic-based instruction.

A woman in a denim jacket shows a smiling young man in a yellow sweatshirt how to use an audiology testing machine in a classroom lab, while other students work at stations with mannequin heads in the background.

Undergraduate Research 

Our faculty provide undergraduate and graduate students with research opportunities in nearly every area of the discipline through our E.A.R. Laboratory, Speech and Voice Science Laboratory, and Sertoma Research Laboratory.

Several students hold a newborn training mannequin wearing a knit cap and diaper, with a tube attached at the abdomen, while viewing medical data on a laptop in a clinical classroom setting.
College students sit at desks in a classroom, working on laptops and listening attentively to a lecture; one student in the foreground types on a sticker-covered laptop beside a large water bottle.

Preparing You for Graduate School

To meet most state licensure and national certification standards, individuals who wish to work as a Speech-Language Pathologist or Audiologist must complete a graduate degree in their desired discipline. The undergraduate major in Communication Disorders is designed to provide the academic preparation and experiences required for admission into a graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology. Students may also elect to complete the coursework required for the Iowa Department of Education endorsement for educational audiologists or speech-language pathologists.