Speech & Hearing Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences

The B.S. in Speech and Hearing Sciences is for students interested in the scientific and theoretical frameworks for understanding human communication and its disorders, including the roles of biology, cognition, environment and culture. The major provides an overview of the discipline, including the neurological, behavioral, physical and anatomic-physiological bases of speech, language, hearing and swallowing. It also provides an introduction to evaluation and treatment considerations for individuals with communication disorders. The program prepares students for paraprofessional employment (e.g., SLP assistant, audiology technician, ABA therapist, special education aide) as well as graduate study for a either a research or clinical career. This program is appropriate for students with interests in related fields such as education, early childhood development, linguistics, psychology, public health, biology, neuroscience and other health professions.

Major category: Capacity-constrained

Topic: Natural sciences

website   Degree requirements

Applicant type

Freshman

Freshmen can apply to the UW to begin autumn quarter or winter quarter (U.S. applicants only)

Read more about applying to the UW as a freshman, including details for programs that provide high school students with college credit (like Running Start).


Transfer

Quarters of general admission to UW: autumn / winter (U.S. applicants only) / spring

Preparation for the major is a factor in transfer admission.

  • Use the information below to help you prepare for this degree
  • Visit MyPlan to run a degree audit.
  • Use the UW Equivalency Guide to find out how courses taken at a Washington state community or technical college will transfer to the UW.
  • UW college and school graduation requirements

Department admission information

  • Departmental application deadline: February 15
  • Please contact the department for details about the application process.
This major is capacity-constrained. Completion of prerequisites does not guarantee admission.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 for all college course work.

Admission is for autumn quarter only. Application deadline is February 15th for transfer students. Transfer students can apply to the department (if they are at or near junior standing) and the UW concurrently.

Applications are available on the department website.

Read more about applying to the UW as a transfer student.

Courses required for the major:

  • One introductory statistics course
  • One social science course (psychology, public health, sociology, anthropology)
  • One biology course (human based)
  • One introductory physics or chemistry course
  • One introductory linguistics course (phonology, phonetics, morphology, syntax, and semantics.)

Notes:

  • Transfer students must have all prerequisite coursework completed prior to applying, with the exception of Linguistics. Transfer students may always apply to the major with Linguistics “in progress” or with it “planned” for their junior year. Linguistics is the only prerequisite exception for transfer students and if it is not completed prior to entering the major, it must be completed in either Autumn or Winter quarter of junior year.
  • Applicants must have completed 75 credits.

Entering transfer information:

Total undergraduates: 71
Total from Washington community colleges: 14

Entering transfer GPA (from WA community colleges):

3.75 – 4.00: 6
3.50 – 3.74: 3
3.25 – 3.49: 3
3.00 – 3.24: 0
2.75 – 2.99: 1
2.50 – 2.74: 1
2.49 and below: 0


Career outcomes