Minor in Speech and Hearing Science

Undergraduate minor in speech and hearing science

The Division of SLP offers an undergraduate minor in speech and hearing science, which provides students with the basis necessary to develop foundational knowledge in normal and disordered processes of speech, language and swallowing.

Completing this minor will not allow students to practice as speech-language pathologists. However, completing this minor will prepare students to apply to a graduate program in speech and language pathology.

Students completing the minor who plan on applying to a graduate SLP program are advised to complete a course in each of the following areas*:

• Social science (psychology, sociology or anthropology)
• Physical science (must be in physics or chemistry); introductory physics or chemistry 
• Life science (biology of animal or human); introductory course focusing on animal or human biology; BIOL 105 or BIOL 113
• Lifespan development; PSYC 220 or HDEV 200 are recommended 
• Statistics; MATH 147, MATH 148 or PSYC 243 are recommended 

* Students are responsible for checking the admissions requirements (e.g., minimum GPA, course requirements) for each school they apply to for graduate programs. A list of graduate programs in speech and language pathology is available on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) website.

Who may take this minor?

Students in any major at Binghamton University (whether they choose to pursue a minor in speech and hearing science or not) may take this coursework.

Examples of majors that complement a minor in speech and hearing science include:

• Psychology
• Human development
• Linguistics
• Sociology
• English
• French
• Spanish
• Italian  

While the majors listed above integrate well with the speech and hearing science minor curriculum, the minor is open to students pursuing any major. 

Required courses   

Check the Binghamton University Academic Guide for course descriptions.                                           

Course	Credits	Prerequisite courses
SLP 408: Anatomy and Physiology of Speech, Language and Hearing	4	none
SLP 414:  Introduction to Communication Disorders	4	none
SLP 418: Clinical Phonetics	4	SLP 408 and SLP 414
SLP 409: Speech and Hearing Science	2	SLP 408 and SLP 418
SLP 415: Normal and Abnormal Speech and Language Development	4	SLP 414 and SLP 418
SLP 420: Audiology and Aural Rehabilitation	4	SLP 408 and SLP 409
SLP 435: Clinical Methods	2	SLP 414, SLP 415 and SLP 418
Total credits required for minor	24
Students should be advised that the courses above will not lead to certification in speech and language pathology.

Important information about registering for SLP courses: Students should register for classes during their assigned registration time since most SLP courses are offered only once each year. While there should be enough seats in these courses, students will want to ensure they can complete the minor. Students not enrolled in the speech and hearing science minor will have equal access to the coursework.

Application procedures for the minor

• Applications are reviewed for the fall and spring semesters.
  • Applications may be submitted at any point during the semester. There is no minimum credit/GPA requirement.
  • Decisions are made within 30 days of application submission. Upon approval, DegreeWorks will be updated to reflect requirements.
• Students may take any of the SLP courses at any point in their studies, but an approved application for the minor is required before graduation. Despite the flexibility when taking courses, there is a suggested sequence for students entering their first year.