SUGGESTED COURSE SCHEDULE FOR SPA STUDENTS
Pre-SPA
Freshman Year
GEC courses, with emphasis on required pre-SPA courses
Fall Orin 101 Orientation to University Life 1 hour
Spring SPA 199 Speech Pathology/Audiology Orientation 1 hour
Sophomore Year
GEC courses, with emphasis on required pre-SPA courses, plus
Fall SPA 200 Intro. to Speech and Hearing (3 hrs.) and/or
SPA 270 Effective Public Speaking (3 hrs.) 3 or 6 hours
Spring SPA 200 Intro. to Speech and Hearing (3 hrs.) and/or
SPA 270 Effective Public Speaking (3 hrs.) 3 or 6 hours
SPA B.S. Degree Program
Junior Year
Fall SPA 320 Speech Science (4 hrs.) 11 hours
SPA 322 Phonetics (3 hrs.)
SPA 342 Intro. to Identification Audiometry (3 hrs.)
SPA 390 Clinic Observation/SLP (1 hr.) or SPA 391 Clinic Observation/AUD (1 hr.)
Spring SPA 340 Hearing Science (4 hrs.) 11 hours
SPA 324 Language Acquisition (3 hrs.)
SPA 326 Articulation & Cleft Palate (3 hrs.)
SPA 390 Clinic Observation/SLP (1 hr.) or SPA 391 Clinic Observation/AUD (1 hr.)
Senior Year
Fall SPA 440 Audiological Assessment (4 hrs.)
SPA 420 Public School Clin. Programs (3 hrs.) 11 -14 hours
SPA 482 Speech Clin./483 Hearing Clinic (3 hrs.)
SPA 484, Clinical Study & Application (1 hr.)
*SPA 460 Professional Writing/Speaking Skills (3 hrs., Elective, *W-designation; fulfills Writing requirement)
Spring SPA 442 Aural Rehabilitation (3 hrs.) 13-16 hours
SPA 422 Voice and Stuttering (3 hrs.)
SPA 424 Language Disorders (3 hrs.)
SPA 482 Speech Clinic/483 Hearing Clinic. (3 hrs.)
SPA 485 Clinical Study & Application (1 hr.)
*SPA 362 Parent Programs Comm. Dis. (3 hrs., Elective, *W-designation; fulfills Writing requirement
NOTE: SPA 274 (Manual Communication), which is required, may be taken fall or spring semester. In addition, SPA 362 (Parent Programs), which is an elective, may be taken spring semester during the sophomore, junior or senior year. SPA 460 is reserved for seniors and offered in the fall semester.
It is possible that additional required and elective courses may be available during the junior and senior years.
Supporting Courses
Sometimes courses overlap and may count under two specific required areas. For example, Biology 101 and 103 are counted as 4 hours in Objective 2, and they may also be counted under Natural Sciences. However, remember that Biology 101 + 103 will count only as 4 hours even though they fulfill requirements under two areas.
Another example of an overlapping course is CDFS 110 which counts under Objective 4 and also may be counted under Normal Human Development; however, it only counts as 3 hours toward the required minimum hours of 128.
Even though you often may count courses under two requirement areas, you are encouraged to take a variety of courses in order to develop a basic foundation in the General Education Curriculum, to appreciate multicultural diversity, and to develop proficiency in speech pathology and audiology.
1. Normal Human Development (3 CH):
CDFS 110 Families Across the Life Span
CDFS 211 Infant Development
CDFS 212 Early Childhood Development
CDFS 412 Adolescent Development
CDFS 413 Contemporary Issues in Family Relations
CDFS 316 Child Development Practicum
PSYC 241 Introduction to Human Development (PR: PSYC 101)
PSYC 342 Prenatal and Infant Behavior (PR: PSYC 241)
PSYC 343 Child and Adolescent Behavior (PR: PSYC 241)
PSYC 345 Adulthood and Aging (PR: PSYC 241)
2. Abnormal Human Development & Related Issues (6 CH):
CHPR 170 Health of the Individual
COMM 308 Nonverbal Communication
COMM 408 Advanced Study in Nonverbal Communication (PR: COMM 308)
COMM 317 Communication and Aging
F & CS 282
F & CS 382 Disabilities and the Family
F & CS 385 Disability and Society
LING 514 Sociolinguistics
PHIL 331 Health Care Ethics
PSYC 202 Research Methods in Psychology (PR: PSYC 101)
PSYC 232 Sex Roles and Behavior (PR: PSYC 101) (fulfills gender/minority requirement)
PSYC 251 Introduction to Social Psychology (PR: PSYC 101)
PSYC 281 Introduction to Abnormal Psychology
PSYC 302 Behavior Principles (PR: PSYC 101)
PSYC 351 Social Psychology (PR: PSYC 251)
PSYC 364 Psychology of Adjustment (PR: PSYC 101)
PSYC 382 Exceptional Children (PR: PSYC 241)
PSYC 423 Cognition and Memory (PR: PSYC 101 & 202)
PSYC 424 Conditioning and Learning (PR: PSYC 302)
PSYC 425 Perception (PR: PSYC 101)
PSYC 474 Survey of Behavior Modification (PR: PSYC 302)
RDNG 421 Developmental Reading (PR: Consent)
RPTR 145 Recreation Services for Special Populations
SOWK 147 Understanding Human Diversity (fulfills gender/minority requirement)
SOWK 151 Introduction to Social Work
SOWK 300 Social Welfare Policy and Services 1 (PR: SOWK 151)
SOWK 494 Seminar in Social Work
SOCA 223 Death & Dying
SOCA 325 Illness & Health Care
SOCA 360 Sociology of Sex Roles (fulfills gender/minority requirement)
SOCA 362 Sociology of Aging
SPED 350 Survey: Exceptional Children & Adults (PR: Consent)
SPED 355 Introduction to Mental Retardation (PR: Consent)
Students who are interested in pursuing a Certificate in Gerontology should consider the following supporting courses in addition to those listed above.
MDS 212 Introduction to Gerontology
MDS 312 Issues in Gerontology
GERO 493 Field Experience
*Students who are within 12 hours of graduation may also take the following courses which are approved for both the Gerontology Certificate Undergraduate Program and SPA Supporting Area.
*BIOL 738 Fundamentals of Gerontology
*PSYC 524 Fundamentals of Gerontology
3. Biological and Physical Sciences (7-8 CH): * denotes GEC lab course
a. Biological Sciences
ANAT 301 (4 hrs) Principles of Human Anatomy
*BIOL 101 & 103 (4 hrs) General Biology
*BIOL 102 & 104 (4 hrs) General Biology
BIOL 115 (4 hrs) Principles of Biology
BIOL 337 (3 hrs) Physiological Psychology (PR: 9 hrs. Psych., Behavior, Physiology, or graduate standing)
BIOL 235 (3 hrs) Human Physiology (PR: Biol. 101/103 and 102/104, or consent) (intended for non-biology majors)
PSYC 301 Biological Foundations of Behavior (PR: PSYC 101 & 202)
b. Physical Sciences
*CHEM 111 (4 hrs) Survey of Chemistry
*CHEM 112 (4 hrs) Survey of Chemistry
*CHEM 115 (4 hrs) Fundamentals of Chemistry
*CHEM 116 (4 hrs) Fundamentals of Chemistry
CHEM 117 (5 hrs) Principles of Chemistry
CHEM 118 (5 hrs) Principles of Chemistry
*PHYS 101 (4 hrs) Introductory Physics
*PHYS 102 (4 hrs) Introductory Physics
PHYS 105 (4 hrs) Conceptual Physics
PHYS 107 (3 hrs) Physics of Music
PHYS 108 (3hrs) Light, Vision, and Color
*PHYS 111 (4 hrs) General Physics
PHYS 112 (4 hrs) General Physics
*PHSC 111 (4 hrs) General Physical Science 101
*PHSC 112 (4 hrs) General Physical Science 102
4. Computer Sciences
CS 101 (4 hrs) Introduction to Computer Applications
*CS 110 (4 hrs) Introduction to Computer Science
Clinical Information
SPA 390 and SPA 391. These courses are a sequence designed for the purpose of fulfilling the clinical observation requirement that is part of accreditation standards. They include preparation for and actual observation of clinical sessions. Students will be required to observe various clinical sessions and prepare written summaries.
All students must complete at least 25 clock hours of supervised observation prior to initiating clinical practicum. The 25 clock hours must concern the evaluation and treatment of children and adults with disorders of speech, hearing and language. The 25 required hours are divided between SPA 390 and 391. The observation experiences must be under the direct supervision of a qualified clinical supervisor who holds ASHA certification in the appropriate area (speech-language pathology/audiology).
SPA 390 and 391 are offered during the fall and spring semesters with juniors rotating through each one on alternate semesters.
SPA 482: Clinical Practice Speech: All seniors in good academic standing in the program will be scheduled as Therapy Assistants during their senior year. Each senior will be matched with a graduate clinician and client either at the WVU Speech and Hearing Center or a comparable site. Therapy Assistants attend all therapy sessions and assist in a variety of clinical tasks. Therapy Assistants also attend a specified number of clinical forums during the semester they are registered for speech clinic.
SPA 483: Clinical Practice Audiology: Undergraduate hearing clinic practicum assignments will be made during the senior year. All seniors will attend hearing clinic labs. These labs consist of hands-on experience for which students will obtain clinical hours. Additional assignments will include student presentations on hearing disorders.
SPA 484: Senior Seminar: Clinical Study & Application I
All required SPA courses through junior year. SPA seniors will meet in weekly seminars and with a faculty mentor to explore, develop & write a clinically-oriented research paper.*
SPA 485: Senior Seminar: Clinical Study & Application II
All required SPA courses through fall semester of senior year. SPA seniors will meet in weekly seminars and with a faculty mentor to develop and orally present the clinically-oriented research paper developed in SPA 484.* In addition, seniors also will prepare and present a poster.
Philosophy Regarding Volunteer Hours
It is recommended that undergraduates accumulate a number of hours of volunteer service in clinical sites in which Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists are employed. Each student is responsible for contacting a site to arrange for the volunteer experience. The student is also responsible for securing the supervising professional’s signature on the Volunteer Hours Record which is available from the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology and submitting it to his/her advisor to include in the academic folder. A sample of the Volunteer Hours Record form is included on the next page of this packet.
We believe that a volunteer experience may clarify future career goals for students, is credible information to include on a resume, and is consistent with the University’s service component. Therefore, we encourage all students to attempt to locate appropriate sites for volunteer service early in their undergraduate program. Please see your advisor if you need suggestions for appropriate clinical sites.