Hearing and Speech Sciences Minor

Hearing and Speech Sciences (HESP)
0100 LeFrak Hall
Phone: 301-405-4213
http://hesp.umd.edu

Department Chair: Rochelle Newman, Ph.D.
UG Program Director: Jared Novick, Ph.D.

This course sequence acquaints students with the primary basic science background in the speech, language and hearing sciences, and permits students to select two courses in the specific professional areas of speech language pathology or audiology.

This minor serves two different purposes:

  1. A minor in HESP can be used to compliment a major in a related field such as Special Education, Human Development, Linguistics, Psychology, Education or a Foreign Language. It allows a student to understand the relationship between speech, language and hearing, normal development, and their related disorders. It also encourages collaboration between this discipline and related ones.
  2. This minor can also be utilized for students who are in other majors but have decided to pursue graduate studies in either Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology. These courses are widely viewed as potential pre-requisites to such programs and constitute a proportion, but not all, of the prerequisites needed for eventual certification with an M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology or an Au. D. in Audiology.  Additional coursework would be required by any graduate program and by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. Any student interested in pursuing a HESP Minor for this purpose is strongly encouraged to meet with the HESP Academic Advisor to ensure that eventual educational goals are properly addressed.  

The HESP minor DOES NOT qualify an individual to work professionally as a Speech-Language Pathologist, or an Audiologist, but does provide a proportion but not all of the coursework required to practice in the State of Maryland as a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant.

Course Title Credits
Required Courses
HESP202Introduction to Hearing and Speech Sciences3
HESP300Introduction to Psycholinguistics3
HESP400Speech and Language Development in Children3
HESP403Introduction to Phonetic Science3
HESP407Bases of Hearing Science (Offered spring semester only)3
Elective Area
Select two courses in one of the two following elective areas6
Elective Option 1 (Speech-Language Pathology Focus):
Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech Mechanism (Offered fall semester only)
In addition to HESP305, select one of the following Disorder classes:
Language and Phonological Disorders in Children (Offered spring semester only)
HESP404
Acquired Neurogenic Communication Disorders in Adults
Seminar (Topics vary)
Elective Option 2 (Audiology focus):
Anatomy, Pathology and Physiology of the Auditory System (Offered spring semester only)
Introduction to Audiology
Total Credits21

Notes:

  • All classes must be completed with a grade of "C-" or better.
  • As with HESP majors, students must obtain a grade of "C-" or better in a class in order to enroll in any courses that require that class as a prerequisite.
  • Students must have a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average across all courses used to satisfy the minor requirements.