Why Elms for your CSD degree?
- Gain extensive clinical practicum experience — 100 hours or more.
- Take advanced classes like neuroscience and counseling.
- Master your skills in our student speech and hearing lab.
- Enter a rewarding field — by 2026 an estimated 25,900 jobs will open for speech language pathologists, and audiologists will experience 21% employment growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Learn to Treat Speech, Language, and Hearing Conditions
The communication sciences and disorders (CSD) major at Elms empowers you to help people with speech, language, and hearing conditions. CSD majors study human physiology, neuroscience, and speech and language disorders to diagnose and treat the factors that affect communication.
Our program is unique for its strong focus on clinical practicum experience. As a CSD major you will:
- Gain 100 hours or more of hands-on experience, working alongside a local speech language pathologist (SLP) in a school setting.
- Become an expert at applying the theories, diagnostics, and treatments that you learn about in the classroom by working with diverse student populations.
- Have the option to bridge your practicum experience into a graduate program — many schools will accept up to 75 practicum hours toward a master’s or doctoral degree.
Pre-Professional Preparation
To become a licensed SLP or audiologist, you’ll need to earn your master’s degree or doctor of audiology (Au.D.) degree. Our program gives you a competitive edge for applying to grad school by emphasizing academic rigor, clinical experience, interdisciplinary coursework, and personalized teaching from expert faculty. Our small class sizes enable you to collaborate with your professors and benefit from personalized instruction.
Whether you’re called to help children develop fluency or counsel young adults on the autism spectrum, the CSD major at Elms prepares you to make a positive difference in the lives of individuals with speech, language, and hearing disorders.
- What is a Speech-Language Pathologist? SLPs work to prevent, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.
- What is a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant? An SLPA provides support and performs tasks related to the treatment and intervention of speech and language impairment as directed and supervised by a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist.
- What is an Audiologist?Audiologists are the primary healthcare professionals who work to educate, prevent, diagnose, and manage hearing loss and balance disorders in children and adults.
Quick Info
Degree Option
BA-CSD; BA-SLPA
- Elms also offers a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA). With an SLPA degree, you’re immediately qualified to support speech therapists with treatment.
- CSD and SLPA majors can join the Elms College local chapter of the National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association (NSSLHA) to network, complete community service projects, and support local organizations.
- Our program has a 97% graduate school placement rate. Students have gone on to attend Boston University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Penn State, University of Washington, and others.
Sarah Girouard ’18
After double majoring in CSD and SLPA — and gaining over 100 hours of practicum experience — Sarah Girouard ’18 was accepted to the master’s program in speech-language pathology at UMass Amherst.
Read more about Sarah’s experience at Elms.
Curriculum
Click to view course requirements for the Communication Sciences and Disorders (B.A.).
Students must also complete all core course requirements of the college.
Major in Communication Sciences and Disorders
| Course # | Formerly | Course Name | # of Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASD 3001 | Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder | 3 | |
| CSD 1001 | Introduction to CSD | 3 | |
| CSD 1003 | Sign Language I | 3 | |
| CSD 1004 | Sign Language II | 3 | |
| CSD 2000 | Professional Communication in CSD | 3 | |
| CSD 2002 | Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech Mechanism | 3 | |
| CSD 2003 | Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech Mechanism II | 3 | |
| CSD 2004 | Phonetics and Phonology | 3 | |
| CSD 2007 | Introduction to Linguistics | 3 | |
| CSD 3001 | Hearing Science | 3 | |
| CSD 3004 | Speech Science | 3 | |
| CSD 3005 | Speech and Language Acquisition | 3 | |
| CSD 3006 | Audiology | 3 | |
| CSD 3007 | Observational Methods and Procedures | 4 | |
| CSD 3008 | Diagnostic Procedures | 3 | |
| CSD 4003 | Speech and Language Disorders: Pediatric Population | 3 | |
| CSD 4004 | Speech and Language Disorders: Adult Population | 3 | |
| CSD 4005 | Aural Rehabilitation | 3 | |
| CSD 410 | Seminar in Communication Sciences and Disorders | 3 | |
| CSD 4104 | Counseling Methods in Communication Disorders | 3 | |
| CSD 4200 | Neuroscience | 3 |
Students may enroll in one or more clinical practicum only with permission of the program director
| Course # | Formerly | Course Name | # of Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSD 4008 | Clinical Practicum in Schools I | 3 | |
| CSD 4008L | Clinical Practicum in Schools I Lab | 1 | |
| CSD 4105 | Clinical Practicum in Schools II | 3 | |
| CSD 4105L | Clinical Practicum in Schools II Lab | 1 |
Additional Course Requirements (30 credits)
| Course # | Formerly | Course Name | # of Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIO 1005 | 3 | ||
| MAT 1008 (formerly MAT 108) College Math, MAT 1009 (formerly MAT 109) Statistics, MAT 1200 (formerly MAT 120) Pre-Calculus, or MAT 1301 (formerly MAT 131) Differential Calculus | 3 | ||
| PHI 2408 | Health Care Ethics | 3 | |
| Physics or Chemistry course | 3 | ||
| PSY 1001 | General Psychology | 3 | |
| PSY 2002 | Statistics for Behavioral Sciences | 3 | |
| PSY 2004 | Human Behavior Social Environment | 3 | |
| REL 2104 (formerly REL 214) World Religions: Eastern Traditions, REL 2105 (formerly REL 215) World Religions: Western Traditions, or REL 3002 (REL 302) Spirituality World Religions | 3 |