An Au.D. degree is a doctorate degree. In order to be accepted into a program, you must first complete a bachelor's degree. Au.D. programs do not require you to have a bachelor's degree in any specific major. If your undergraduate institution offers a bachelor's in Speech and Hearing Science, it is the recommended major. If your school does not, however, or if you ended up graduating with a different major, Au.D. programs will just want to see that you took an array of related science courses. Also, keep in mind your grade point average. Requirements vary from program to program but, generally, you must have at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Prerequisite coursework is recommended in subject areas such as behavioral science, social science, natural science, math, human communication and disorders, language acquisition, phonetics and speech science. Any introductory courses your undergraduate institution offers in speech-language pathology and audiology are definitely recommended as well. Always keep in mind that your grades in these courses matter most of all. If your overall grade point average is not excellent, admissions counselors have been known to make exceptions for those who show potential through good grades in the relevant coursework.
In order to be eligible for an Au.D. program, you will need to take the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) General Test. It will test your quantitative and verbal reasoning, as well as analytical writing. Test score requirements for audiology schools vary by the school and are generally not set in stone. Usually, a school can tell you what the students averaged that they accepted in previous years. As with almost all the requirements for an Au.D. program, a strong GRE score can help cancel out other weaknesses and a weak GRE score can still be accepted if you have an exceptional grade point average.
Most programs ask for two to four letters of recommendations. Professors and employers are your best bet, especially if they taught you in science courses or if you worked in the health care industry and they were your boss. Glowing recommendation letters are your easiest way to shine.