Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tenn., was ranked as the No. 1 audiology program, according to U.S. News & World Report in 2008. The university's department of hearing and speech sciences offers both an Au.D. degree—for those who wish to work in a hospital or audiology practice—and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in audiology—for those looking to go into research. Established in 1951, the hearing and speech sciences graduate programs is one of the largest at Vanderbilt University. As of 2005, the program moved into a state-of-the-art facility built for $61 million.
Vanderbilt University
2100 West End Ave.
Nashville, TN 37203
615-322-7311
vanderbilt.edu?
The University of Iowa's communication sciences and disorders department offers multiple options for students interested in audiology graduate degrees. Students can partake in the Au.D. program (ranked No. 2 overall by U.S. News & World Report) or they can pursue a Ph.D. in audiology or even a combined Au.D./Ph.D. program from which they actually receive two types of doctorates. Though not set in stone, the college states that applicants with less than a 3.0 grade point average and scores lower than 450 for each area of the GRE will likely not be accepted, as the program is intensely competitive.
University of Iowa?
101 Jessup Hall
Iowa City, IA 52242
319-335-3500
uiowa.edu?
Rounding out the top three in the rankings is the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The Au.D. program is part of the department of speech and hearing sciences, and it is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Students will received broad training in audiology their first two years, and then they are allowed to choose areas of specialty. The fourth and last year resembles on-the-job training, with students being placed into full-time clinical settings across the country.
University of Washington
1417 N.E. 42nd St.
Seattle, WA 98105
206-685-7400
washington.edu